Visitors to the city are spoilt for choice when it comes to museums in Florence to visit. We’ve included information about as many of the Florence museums as we can. 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 also 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 but it is valid for a year and gives you unlimited access (with no queuing) to Florence’s state museums. In other words, it provides entry not just to the Uffizi but also to the Accademia, the Bargello, the Palazzo Pitti museums (including the Boboli gardens), the Medici chapels in San Lorenzo, the Archaeological 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. Plus, opening hours do vary depending on the time of year.
There can be no denying that most of the museums in Florence house collections of art.
Uffizi Gallery: This must surely rank as Italy’s best art gallery. Certainly, 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 and Masolini. Not to forget works by 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: A copy of Michelangelo’s David can be found in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. However, 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 art museums in Florence. Nevertheless, it’s worth visiting.
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 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 nineteenth 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 the collector is Stefano Bardini. He was most the most important art dealer in Italy.
Alinari Photography Museum: This museum is dedicated to the history of photography. The museum houses hundreds of thousands of vintage prints and numerous photographic instruments.
Museo di Storia della Scienza: Florence’s science museum, housing many of Galileo’s original instruments.
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.
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.
Museo Archeologico: If you want to escape the crowds, this is one of quieter of the museums in Florence. It houses Etruscan, Roman, Greek and Egyptian collections.
