Florence: Vasari Corridor & Uffizi Gallery Private Tour

Walk the Secret Passage the Medici Built to Avoid the Streets

You start at Via Cavour with a private guide who takes you through the Uffizi's masterpieces (Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo) in two hours without getting lost in the crowds. After a terrace break overlooking Florence, museum staff opens the Vasari Corridor, the 750-meter elevated passage the Medici used to avoid the streets, and you walk it in 30 minutes with views of Ponte Vecchio and the city below. You exit into the Boboli Gardens and return on foot to Piazza Signoria, seeing the corridor from outside as well. The whole tour takes three hours, includes earphones, and requires a valid ID or passport.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stops and time at each

1. Florence Via Cavourpass by
2. Uffizi Galleries2m · entry included

Vasari Corridor and Uffizi Gallery tour

• Meet guide at Via Cavour 12 black
• Walk to Uffizi Gallery
• Explore Uffizi Gallery artworks
• Take break on Uffizi terrace
• Enter Vasari Corridor
• Walk through Vasari Corridor to Boboli Gardens
• Exit by Buontalenti Fountain
• Return to Piazza Signoria via Vasari Corridor

The Experience

"You know, most people come to Florence and never set foot in here," your guide will tell you at Via Cavour 12, where the tour starts. The Vasari Corridor has been closed for eight years, and it's only just reopened. What you're about to do is walk a 750-meter elevated passage that Giorgio Vasari designed in 1565 so Cosimo I de' Medici could move between Palazzo Pitti and Palazzo Vecchio without touching the crowded streets below. It's not a museum in the traditional sense. It's a working piece of Renaissance architecture, and the views alone, especially of Ponte Vecchio from inside, are the kind of thing you don't forget.

Before you get there, though, you spend two hours in the Uffizi Gallery with your private guide. The museum is enormous (one of the largest in the world), but the guide knows how to move through it without wasting time on the crowds. You'll see Botticelli's "Birth of Venus," Michelangelo's "Tondo Doni," Leonardo da Vinci's "Annunciation." The paintings are arranged chronologically, so you're essentially walking through the history of Italian art from the Middle Ages through the Late Renaissance. The Uffizi was founded in 1560 as the seat of Florentine magistracies and didn't become an art gallery until 1769, which is the kind of detail that sticks with you once someone explains it while you're standing in front of the actual paintings.

After a short break on the Uffizi terrace (where you can look out over Piazza Signoria and Florence spread below you), the museum staff opens the doors to the Vasari Corridor. The guide won't narrate the walk itself. Instead, they'll point out the architectural tricks Vasari used, like the Mannelli tower he had to build around because the family refused to let him demolish it. The 30-minute passage takes you all the way to the Boboli Gardens, and you exit near the Buontalenti Fountain, a Mannerist sculpture that blends architecture, painting, and stone in a way that feels almost impossible. Then you walk back along the outside of the corridor to Piazza Signoria, so you see it from both sides.

The whole experience is three hours, and you'll need a valid ID or passport to enter: tickets are nominative, so provide full names and dates of birth when you book. Earphones are included so you can hear your guide clearly even in the larger rooms. The tour is private to your group, though museum rules allow up to 25 people on the Vasari walk itself, so you might share that section with others. Admission is €47 per person for both the Uffizi and the Corridor.

What’s included

• Private professional guide for the full 3-hour tour.
• reserved access to the Uffizi Gallery.
• reserved access and special opening of the Vasari Corridor.
• guided exterior walk along the corridor.
• break on the Uffizi terrace.
• earphones for hearing your guide clearly.
• admission to both the Uffizi Gallery and Vasari Corridor.

Days and timesTue–Sun · 09:00, 11:00 and 14:30

Meeting point and pickupNo pickup · ends elsewhereMeeting point, per the operator: “Uffizi Gallery, in front of the statue of Leonardo da Vinci, near Door n°1 - Your private guide will hold a sign with your name on it”

Cancellation and refundsNo refund if you cancel.

Prices and times updated 10 days ago

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendly

Operated by Ciao Florence Tours Srl

Is this one for you?Best for art lovers and anyone who wants to see the Uffizi's masterpieces without navigating crowds alone, plus access to the Vasari Corridor: a space most visitors to Florence never get to enter. The private guide and reserved access mean you move through both at a pace that lets the art land, and the 3-hour structure fits a morning or afternoon without eating your whole day.

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Top questions

What languages is the guide in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

When does the Vasari Corridor tour start?

The tour begins at Via Cavour 12 in Florence. Exact times may vary slightly due to museum access management, and you'll be notified in writing of any changes.

What do I need to bring to enter the Uffizi and Vasari Corridor?

You must carry a valid ID. Non-EU visitors need a passport. Museum staff may refuse entry without proper identification.

How long is the Vasari Corridor walk itself?

The walk through the corridor takes 30 minutes. During this section, the guide points out sights and architectural features but does not provide explanations.

Will I be alone with the guide on the Vasari Corridor?

The tour is private to your group, but museum rules allow up to 25 people on the Vasari walk. You may share this section with other visitors.

What happens after we exit the Vasari Corridor?

You exit near the Buontalenti Fountain in the Boboli Gardens, then walk back with your guide along the outside of the corridor to Piazza Signoria.

Is the Uffizi Gallery included in this tour?

Yes. You spend two hours in the Uffizi with your private guide before entering the Vasari Corridor. Both are included in the €47 per person admission.

What if I'm traveling with children?

The tour is suitable for all fitness levels. Infants and small children can travel in a pram or stroller.

Do I need to provide names when booking?

Yes. Tickets for the Vasari Corridor are nominative. Provide the full names and dates of birth of all participants when you book. You must present the voucher with all names at the ticket office before entry.