8 museums to visit in Florence

Are you going to explore the capital of Tuscany in Italy? Discover our selection of 8 must-see museums to visit in Florence!

Ancient capital of the kingdom and birthplace of the Renaissance in Italy, the city of Florence is known all over the world for its beauty and its many historical monuments. Its city centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is full of churches, palaces, gardens and museums. Among all these monuments you will have to make choices, because a stay in Florence is rarely enough to discover them all. The “Cité du Lys” has some of the world’s finest art collections. The major artists of the Renaissance helped make Florence the capital of the Italian arts. Dante Alighieri, Michelangelo, Donatello or Leonardo da Vinci have all left their mark in the city's palaces. To discover the masterpieces of the great masters, visit eight museums in Florence with our selection of uncontourable!

1. Galleria degli Uffizi (Office Gallery)

The Offices Gallery is one of the most important museums to visit in Florence. Dating from the 16th century, it hosted state institutions at the time. Over time, this set of offices has become a museum. He first welcomed the private collection of the Medici family. Later, many other works by Italian artists came to add to the collection. Moreover, this museum in Florence is one of the most beautiful and complete works of the Renaissance. You can admire the paintings and sculptures of the greatest artists, such as Machiavel, Dante, Vinci, Vespucci, Raphaël...

The visit takes place naturally by a series of galleries that each present an era, with works dating from the twelfth to the eighteenth centuries. Depending on your interest in art, you can spend 2 hours in the museum until a full day, both the collection is important.

2. Galleria dell’Academia (Gallery of the Academy)

The Academy Gallery is located in the building of the former Academy of Fine Arts of Florence. It is one of the museums in Florence that must be visited and for cause: this is the second most frequented after the Gallery of Offices. It comes mainly to discover the David by Michelangelo, masterpiece of the artist and emblem of the museum. But in addition to this monumental statue of 5 meters high carved in a gigantic marble block, you will discover major works of Florentine and Italian painting and sculpture. Among them, many paintings by Boticelli such as the Madonna of the Sea or the Madonna and the child.

You will marvel at the many rooms that each have a particular theme. For example, discover international Gothic works, Russian icons or musical instruments. Depending on your desires, you can make a quick visit. Just focus on major paintings and sculptures. When visiting all rooms, it can take between 2 and 4 hours.

3. Corridoio Vasariano

The Vasari corridor is a passage through the Arno River on the Ponte Vecchio . The latter connects the Palazzo Pitti and the Palazzo Vecchio and was borrowed by the Medici to rally their different palaces. It allowed them to pass from one shore to the other safely and without having to go down the street. Indeed, at that time, the risk of attacks was particularly high. The full course passes through the gallery of the Offices, then follows the dock of the Arno before going to the Ponte Vecchio . It then bypasses the Manelli Tower House, passes before the church Santa Felicita and the Buontalenti Cave before arriving at the Pitti Palace.

Throughout the course there are paintings by Italian artists from the 17th and 18th century. But the most important collection is that of self-portraits. Indeed, it is a unique selection in the world of over 200 self-portraits of Italian and foreign artists such as Rembrandt, Ingres, Chagall or Diego Velasquez. The small windows pierced in the wall of the corridor allow you to observe people in the street in a discreet way, but also to enjoy new views of the city.

You will have understood it, Corridoio Vasariano is a museum in Florence to note in its list of uncontourable!

4. Museo Nazionale del Bargello (Il Bargello National Museum)

The Bargello Museum is the first Italian National Museum, established by Royal Decree in 1865. It houses objects from the Medici collection, but also convents and monasteries that have closed their doors or private donors. The result is one of the largest collections of Italian art in the Renaissance era, with major works by Donatello, Luca della Robbia or Benvenuto Cellini. When the tour takes place on three floors.

On the ground floor you will find the magnificent courtyard of the palace and the room of Michelangelo. On the first floor are the Donatello room with the sculpture of the emblem of Florence, the Marzocco . Various rooms have Italian ceramics, the 14th century, Islamic art or ivory. On the top floor, you can admire the masterpieces of Andrea and Giovanni della Robbia, and the bronze, medal or armoured rooms.

5. Museo dell’Opera del Duomo

It is the museum of the work of the Cathedral . It is located in a building behind it. You can visit it in combination with the dome, the baptistery, the campanile and the crypt of Santa Reparata . This museum in Florence was opened to the public in 1891 and houses more than 700 works from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, on a total surface exceeding 6,000 square metres.

Among the essential parts, the Pieta Michelangelo and Marie-Madeleine de Donatello. Many beautiful religious works are also exhibited, such as altars or the doors of the Baptistery by Lorenzo Ghiberti. All these pieces were placed here for conservation reasons and replaced by copies in the cathedral, baptistery and campanile.

6. Pitti Palace and Palatine Gallery

The Pitti Palace was built in 1458 by Luca Pitti, a rich Florentine banker, then bought in 1549 by the Medici family. He then served as a residence for the Dukes of Tuscany, lords of the city. Generation after generation, an impressive collection is created, each resident adding his personal touch to the decoration of the whole. If the exterior of the building gives an impression of power and may seem austere, the interior is full of beautiful works of art. The Palatine gallery on the first floor contains paintings by Raphaël, Titien, Rubens or Pierre de Crotone. It makes the Palazzo Pitti one of the most important museums to visit in Florence. Royal apartments and the Modern Art Gallery will not leave you indifferent.

Other collections are presented in the Galerie des Costumes, the Galerie de la Porcelaine, the Musée de l’Argenterie and that of the Transports. The Palazzo Pitti is a beautiful visit that allows you to discover different forms of art dating from several epochs.

7. Palazzo Vecchio

The Palazzo Vecchio , literally "old palace", is located on the famous square Piazza della Signoria . Built in 1299 to accommodate senior officials in the heart of the city, it now houses the city hotel and remains, among the museums in Florence, a must-see for any stay.

The Tower of Arnolfo overlooking the building is impressive with its 95 meters high. You will first enter a sumptuous courtyard decorated by Vasari before landing in the Five Cents Hall. This is one of the most beautiful of the visit, with its immense murals to the glory of the Medici family. There is also the sculpture of Michelangelo's Victorious Engineering. The other rooms when they succeed and compete with beauty, such as the room of the Lys and the apartments of the elements.

Finally, the highlight of the visit is the climb of the 233 steps leading to the top of the tower. Here you can enjoy a magnificent panoramic view of Florence and the best view of the cathedral dome.

8. Bardini Museum

This home-museum brings together more than 3600 works in a luxurious setting, a beautiful visit when you are looking for what to do in Florence. The paddling ceilings and ocean blue walls highlight the many pieces accumulated by the museum's founder. Among them, paintings and sculptures but also ceramics, coins, musical instruments or antique furniture. Among the masterpieces, the Madonna dei Cordai and Madonna della Mela of Donatello, or the original of the famous Porcellino Pirto Taca.

In addition to the permanent collection, this museum in Florence welcomes temporary exhibitions of contemporary art and photography. The visit of the Bardini Museum is often combined with that of Rodolfo Siviero’s house, the 007 of Italian art.

You now know the most important museums to visit in Florence. And you, what are the ones that marked you most?