Visitors to the city are spoilt for choice when it comes to museums in Florence to visit. We’ve included information abuot some of the Florence museums you may want to visit during your stay but we certainly don’t claim that this is an exhaustive list!
Admission to the state museums in Florence is free for all EU citizens under the age of 18 or over the age of 65. You will need to take your passport with you to qualify for free entry though. 18-25 year olds get a 50% discount on admission prices as do teachers!
For those not lucky enough to qualify for free admission to the Florence museums, it may be worth your while investing in an ‘Amici degli Uffizi’ card. It’s not cheap at 60 euros (40 euros for those under 26) but it is valid for a year and gives you unlimited access (with no queuing) not just to the Uffizi but also to the other of Florence’s state museums which include the Accademia, the Bargello, the Palazzo Pitti museums (including the Boboli gardens), the Medici chapels in San Lorenzo, the Archaelogical museums and the San Marco Museum.
It’s also worth checking opening times of the Florence museums before you go. Many of the museums are closed on Mondays and opening hours do vary depending on the time of year.
Uffizi Gallery
This must surely rank as Italy’s best art gallery, and the staggering number of visitors each year reflects this. Visitors are keen to get a glimpse of works of art by, amongst others, Giotto, Paolo Uccello, Masolini, Piero della Francesca, Boticelli, Michelangelo, Titian, Rubens, Van Dyck and Leonardo da Vinci.
Palazzo Vecchio
The palaces exquisite inner courtyards and chambers house a staggering collection of works of art.
Accademia Gallery
Whilst the copy of Michelangel’s David might be in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, you’ll find the original in the Accademia Gallery along with other wonderful works of art,
Museo Nazionale del Bargello
This is certainly another ‘must see’ during your stay, housing a wonderful sculpture collection.
The Museo dell’ Opera del Duomo
This includes works by Donatello, Michelangelo and others.
Museo del Bigallo
Open daily, except on Tuesdays, it’s certainly not the best of the museums in Florence.
Museo di Storia della Scienza
Florence’s science musuem, housing many of Galileo’s original instruments.
Alinari Photography Museum
Dedicated to the history of photography, the museum houses hundreds of thousands of vintage prints and numerous photographic instruments.
Museo Marino Marini
The museum houses around 200 works of art left to the city of Florence in Marini’s will.
Museo di Santa Maria Novella
A museum housing yet more remarkable works of art.
Museo di San Marco
A gallery within the museum houses one of the most important collections of Fra Angelico’s work as well as including the works of some of his pupils.
Museo Archeologico
If you want to escape the crowds, this is one of quieter of the museums in Florence, housing Etruscan, Roman, Greek and Egyptian collections.
Museo della Fondazione Horne
This houses a collection left to Florence by the art historian Herbert Percy Horne
Galleria d’Arte Moderna and Galleria Palatina, Palazzo Pitti
Founded in 1914, the museum’s collection includes works of art from the nineteeth and early twentieth centuries.
Museo degli Argenti (Silver Museum), Palazzo Pitti
The museum displays the beautiful collections of the Medici family.
Museo Bardini
Like the Horne museum, this was built around the bequest of a private collector, this time Stefano Bardini who was most the most important art dealer in Italy.
Museum of Anthropology
This unique museum houses an interesting collection of artefacts from different cultures around the world as well as an extensive bone collection.
Museum of Natural History (La Specola)
The museum contains 24 rooms dedicated to zoology and a further 10 to anatomic waxes. Those dedicated to zoology are crammed full of specimens preserved through the use of taxidermy.
