Florence, at the heart of the Italian Rennaisance, might seem like an open air museum to most visitors. The piazzas and buildings themselves are a testament of the history of architecture and of past eras. Florence's cathedral, churches and many palaces were designed, built and decorated by many of the most illustrious of artists of the time, from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, and can be admired freely from the outside. But in order to see another side of Florence, the side the contains most of its treasures, you need to go indoors and visit at least one or two museumswhile you are here. There you will find the paintings, sculptures and frescoes imagined and created by the greatest minds of all time.

The value of the works preserved in the monuments of the City of Florence is not calculable. The only value of the masterpieces kept in the Uffizi Gallery is estimated at over 100 billion US dollars. It is an estimate of a heritage that can not be bought and rebuilt once lost. This heritage has been largely accumulated by the Medici family and left forever a legacy to the citizens of Florence because it may keep for the whole world. The rescue of the works from the destruction of World War II and from theft of soldiers of Hitler (in particular from Goering) is one of the most beautiful pages of history of the city of Florence.

Among the most famous people who have contributed to the rescue there Rodolfo Siviero, agent of the Italian secret services. Its home is today a museum that you can visit in Florence (www.museocasasiviero.it). His adventure story is a legend.

In Florence there are 100 museums that can be visited (in addition to the monuments).

To visit the most important museums and avoid long queues (even several hours) you need to book tours online.

This is the link to purchase (official) tickets for state museums (Uffizi, Galleria Accademia, Palazzo Pitti, etc...).

This is the link to purchase tickets for the municipal museums (Palazzo Vecchio, Bargello, etc.).

 

This is the cathedral access link (allows access to the cathedral, the baptistery and the great new cathedral museum)

 

Prior to your stay we will provide you all the best tips for planning your trips.

To enhance your experience suggest to accompany you to an experienced guide who can tell you about the history of places and masterpieces.  The best guide is Maurizio Tocchioni (www.florencepass.com). My guests can use its services at a discount of 10% on list prices.

If you're planning to visit many museums you can buy the Firenze Card which offers many benefits and is valid for 72 hours to visit all the museums without queues.

Museums included in the Firenze Card 

In Florence:

Church and Museum of Santa Croce

Cappella Brancacci

Medicce chapels

Casa Buonarroti

The frescoes of the Last Suppers: the Fuligno, Ghirlandaio, Andrea del Sarto and Apollonia

Cloister of the Scalzo

Contini Bonacossi collection

Orsanmichele

Palazzo Strozzi

Fondazione Salvatore Romano

Foundation for Science and Technology

National archeologic museum

Uffizi Gallery

Accademy's Gallery

Dante's House

Modern Art Gallery - Pitti

Palatine Gallery and the Royal Apartments - Pitti

Boboli Gardens - Pitti

Museo degli Argenti - Pitti

Costume Gallery - Pitti

Porcelain Museum - Pitti

Bigallo Museum

Football Museum

Museo Opificio delle Pietre Dure

Museo degli Innocenti

Museum of Casa Martelli

Palazzo Davanzati

Museo di San Marco

Natural History Museum - Anthropology and Ethnology Section

Museum of Natural History - Geology and Paleontology

Museum of Natural History - Mineralogy and Lithology

Museum of Natural History - Zoology "La Specola"

Natural History Museum - Botanical Garden "Garden of Simple"

Museum and Institute of Prehistory "Paolo Graziosi"

Galileo Museum

Museo Horne

Marino Marini Museum

Alinari National Museum of Photography

Museo Nazionale del Bargello

Museo Stefano Bardini

Museo Stibbert

Palazzo Medici Riccardi

Church and Cloisters of Santa Maria Novella

Sinagoga

Palazzo Vecchio - Museum and Tower

and Piazza del Duomo (all visited with a new Pass for € 10 can be purchased from the Opera del Duomo):

Baptistery

Giotto's Tower

Dome

Museo dell'Opera del Duomo

 

Fiesole:

Archaeological Area and Museum

Bandini Museum

 

Near Florence (neighboring cities, within 5 km):

Villa Corsini in Castello

The Garden of the Villa Medici in Castello

Villa Medici Petraia

Villa Medici in Cerreto Guidi and the Historical Museum of Hunting and the Territory

Villa Medici at Poggio a Caiano

 

Of course in other historic cities of Tuscany (Siena, Pisa, Volterra, ....) you can find many other important museums, famous internationally.