Florence for a weekend: Museums
By: Francesca Visits
Tags: Travel Tips, Culture, Florence, Museums, Art History

So far in this series of posts about how to enjoy a long weekend in Florence soaking up culture without exhausting yourself, I have suggested both places to eat and some of my favourite churches to visit. In this third post I’ll share my opinion on which museums might be best suited for a short visit. As a city full of culture and museums it is always hard to do everything and my advice is to limit yourself to 1–3 museums if you’re only going for a long weekend. They are both time-consuming and physically tiring so minimising the number will help you to make the most out of the weekend without burning out. They have lots of different characters so there’s definitely something for everyone.

Pitti or Uffizi — the big decision

I would say these are the two biggest museums in the city and both of them take hours to visit. They both have great collections but very different vibes so be sure to choose carefully. Easily the Uffizi knocks you out for the rest of the day, Pitti less so but it is still tiring. The Uffizi is very much your typical gallery — lots of rooms filled with (predominantly) paintings and they usually have interesting temporary exhibitions too which may be in other media. In the large hall there is also sculpture. It is also what many would consider THE gallery to visit in Florence and, indeed, is probably the one people enquire about first if they hear you’ve been to the city. On the other hand, the Pitti, located on the south side of the river, has a bit more variety. It is usually a bit less crowded too. Depending on the type of ticket you opt for, you can visit the gardens, the porcelain museum, silver museum, costume gallery, fine art gallery or ducal apartments. Both of these types of tickets are great — in summer I particularly enjoy the garden one. The gardens are really vast with beautiful views and are great for lounging away an afternoon (admittedly not great if you’re on a tight schedule). The fine art collection is probably a bit smaller than the Uffizi but as the ticket includes access to splendid rooms and other galleries I would almost always opt for this over the Uffizi. In particular I love the music room, one of the first rooms you enter when you begin the fine art route, which has an enormous malachite slab table and lots of musical themed furnishings such as trumpet wall lights and drum stools/side tables. Be sure to take water with you to either of the museums as they can easily take more then 2 or 3 hours and you’ll be glad of refreshment. If you just love to look at paintings all day long, the Uffizi is probably the better choice for you. If you want to mix it up a bit, Pitti is probably better. Booking in advance for both of these is essential in order to avoid lengthy queues.

Is the combined Piazza del Duomo ticket worth it?

In my second post I mentioned the combined ticket which would grant entry to various sites in the Piazza del Duomo: the Baptistery, the bell tower, the top of the dome and the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo which houses many of the original works from the cathedral and Baptistery and other works related to them. If you include the queues then it is a very time consuming activity to visit everything on the ticket. If you have a longer visit I would definitely recommend doing so as, in particular, the museum is amazing and in the last ten years or so has been wonderfully modernised and updated to give you a much greater understanding of how the cathedral as we know it today evolved. I think for a short visit though, the activity really worth trying to squeeze in is either the bell tower or the dome. The climbs you’ll recall I covered in my previous post. The Baptistery usually has a small if not nonexistent queue and is itself a small structure which is a delight to experience, especially the exquisite mosaic ceiling. But much of its beauty is on the exterior and you can see the dome from outside by peeking your head in. The combined ticket is definitely worth it if you want to access two or more of the sites but if you only want to see one then it is quite steep. That said, if that one site is the museum, I think you’re already getting your money’s worth. If you are a museum-lover, I recommend you definitely try to fit it in.

Secret passageways tour of Palazzo Vecchio

I am not usually one to book tours in museums because I love to take my time and slowly soak it all in, reading all the plaques and just looking at everything. However, I simply cannot recommend this tour enough. You can book your tour with a standard ticket for a small premium and then at the end of the tour are free to continue wandering the building. The tour itself is 40 minutes to 1 hour long and it takes you all around the Palazzo Vecchio via the secret passageways between rooms, walls and behind paintings and even into some hidden rooms where members of the leading family practised the forbidden science of alchemy. Hear about the amorous adventures and the political intrigue which went on both behind the scenes and in the public eye. It really is a treat. If you can also manage to book yourself in to the Vasari corridor tour (rarely open and pretty expensive), this would be an extension of the secret passageway tour because the corridor connects the Palazzo Vecchio to Palazzo Pitti and runs over the top of the Uffizi and over the Ponte Vecchio on its southern route. I’ve never managed to go but always wanted to. Even so, the secret passageways tour is a treat and I love especially entering and leaving the beautiful room of maps though two different hidden doorways behind the map panels and watching the confused and intrigued faces of the other museum goers while I do so! This could also be a really fun one if you have children to entertain.

Gucci Museum

Florence is not just filled with art museums and Renaissance palaces, although you would be forgiven for thinking so based on what immediately meets the eye. It also has plenty of other museums including for leather, high fashion brands (Gucci, Ferragamo), science and homes of illustrious literary personages (Dante). The Gucci Museum is located very centrally and right next to the Palazzo Vecchio and is a great shout if you’re after something a little different from your usual museum. I really enjoyed it because it gives you a great history of the man himself and how he rose through his trade ultimately founding a hugely successful and respected luxury brand. You see his links to Florence and leather works, his national pride and the workmanship involved in his creations. They take you on a well curated journey and you come out feeling as though you’ve really learned a lot — it is so much more than just indulging yourself in fashion.

My two cents on some of the other museums that might be of interest

Accademia : particularly because it has the original statue of Michelangelo’s David, copies of which stand in spots all over the city including Piazza della Signoria (its original home) and the Piazzale Michelangelo. You’ll also find versions of the other pieces in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Piazza della Signoria in here which are interesting to look at but in my opinion a visit involves serious queuing even when you book in advance, is quite expensive, very crowded and also a bit anticlimactic. If you are pressed for time on a short visit, I wouldn’t prioritise it for those reasons. I would say that they do often have more contemporary art exhibitions including photography and also from students (the Accademia is the art school) so if you are particularly interested in that then you may think differently.

: particularly because it has the original statue of Michelangelo’s David, copies of which stand in spots all over the city including Piazza della Signoria (its original home) and the Piazzale Michelangelo. You’ll also find versions of the other pieces in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Piazza della Signoria in here which are interesting to look at but in my opinion a visit involves serious queuing even when you book in advance, is quite expensive, very crowded and also a bit anticlimactic. If you are pressed for time on a short visit, I wouldn’t prioritise it for those reasons. I would say that they do often have more contemporary art exhibitions including photography and also from students (the Accademia is the art school) so if you are particularly interested in that then you may think differently. Science Museum : I really enjoyed this museum but it was very long. I think if you are visiting for a longer time, perhaps save it for then. If you are visiting with children however, it might be more appealing than going to one of the other large museums like the Uffizi or Pitti because it has more interactive and varied displays. Note the pregnancy room is pretty graphic so prepare yourself!

: I really enjoyed this museum but it was very long. I think if you are visiting for a longer time, perhaps save it for then. If you are visiting with children however, it might be more appealing than going to one of the other large museums like the Uffizi or Pitti because it has more interactive and varied displays. Note the pregnancy room is pretty graphic so prepare yourself! Dante’s house : is hard to find but full of information. It is where he lived and is full of beautiful passages relating his writing to his life and his inspiration, Beatrice. It is small and inexpensive. When I visited, admittedly some years ago, all the exhibits were in Italian without English plaques so it may not be as enriching an experience if you don’t understand the language. Noted that this may have changed since then so it is worth checking if you are interested in going. There’s rarely any queue because it is tucked away down an alley and easy to miss.

: is hard to find but full of information. It is where he lived and is full of beautiful passages relating his writing to his life and his inspiration, Beatrice. It is small and inexpensive. When I visited, admittedly some years ago, all the exhibits were in Italian without English plaques so it may not be as enriching an experience if you don’t understand the language. Noted that this may have changed since then so it is worth checking if you are interested in going. There’s rarely any queue because it is tucked away down an alley and easy to miss. Bargello : this is a lovely little sculpture museum which used to be the old prison, hence the fortified look it still retains. It is a cool building and the collection is not overly large. I really like it because I love sculpture. It also rarely has a queue - I think because it is not an obvious museum. I love the smaller pieces, some of which have the most exquisite details such as a cheeky amorous embrace where you can see the indentation of the man’s hand on the lady’s thigh. They have some stained glass and weaponry, but not much else so if you aren’t really into sculpture, this probably isn’t for you.

: this is a lovely little sculpture museum which used to be the old prison, hence the fortified look it still retains. It is a cool building and the collection is not overly large. I really like it because I love sculpture. It also rarely has a queue - I think because it is not an obvious museum. I love the smaller pieces, some of which have the most exquisite details such as a cheeky amorous embrace where you can see the indentation of the man’s hand on the lady’s thigh. They have some stained glass and weaponry, but not much else so if you aren’t really into sculpture, this probably isn’t for you. Palazzo Medici Riccardi: was originally built by the Medici family before they ascended to the level of dukes and grand dukes. This is a really interesting palace in their home district of San Lorenzo. I love it because I have a keen interest in the fifteenth century Medici. The architecture is interesting and some of the rooms are amazing. However, some of the building is still used commercially today and I also think that it is quite pricey considering the level of access you get as a museum visitor. Nice if you have time but probably not a priority.

This is certainly not an exhaustive list of museums but I hope I’ve singled out enough for you to make an informed decision about what you might enjoy most during your long weekend — and perhaps lined up some options which will make you want to return! If it were my first time in Florence, I would probably opt for the Pitti over the Uffizi (controversial!), combined Piazza del Duomo ticket and the secret passageways tour of Palazzo Vecchio. If it weren’t (and assuming I had been to the Uffizi before) then I would opt for the Gucci Museum and the Pitti, possibly throwing in the secret passageways tour or, if I could get it, access to the Vasari corridor. If I were going for longer than a weekend I’d probably get overexcited and try to fit in more museums than realistically possible! Remember to always check opening times because the museums usually close one day a week so you should plan around that if there are any you really want to visit. If you think after these first three posts that you can’t possibly fit everything in which you want to see in three days, then watch out for my fourth and final post which will either make your decision much harder or much easier as I’ll be outlining what I think are other unmissable sites or activities to see/do while you are there.

Ciao for now