The best way to visit the Uffizi Gallery
Here are some tips to make the most of your visit to the Uffizi Gallery
- Avoid Tuesday mornings – On Tuesday morning, which is usually very busy, the Uffizi Gallery is closed due to Monday. It is therefore recommended that you avoid visiting the Uffizi on Tuesday morning or purchase a skip-the-line ticket in advance.
- In high season, standing in line can easily take an hour or two. Book your tickets in advance! With an online ticket, you’ll save 4 euros, but you’ll have to wait in line less.
- In the museum, the peak hours are between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Most tourists plan to visit the Uffizi in the morning and spend approximately 3-4 hours inside the museum. As a result, the first wave of tourists begins to subside by the time noon arrives. It is difficult to queue under the midday sun, so many people decide to have lunch before visiting the Uffizi, at the same time it gets quite difficult to queue under the midday sun. In the afternoon, after 2 p.m., the waiting line starts to increase again, but after 4 p.m., the waiting line only starts to diminish.
- November to February are the best months to visit (with the smallest queues), while May is the busiest.
- The entrance to the museum is free on the first Sunday of each month. You’ll see the longest queues on this day, so avoid it.
- When visiting the Uffizi, you should take an audio guide or a guidebook: the paintings are only identified by their name and their author.
What is the reason for the long line at the Uffizi?
The Gallery can only accommodate 900 visitors at a time for security reasons. In peak hours, the waiting line gets long quickly because the entrance is only permitted after another visitor exits. By 9 am, the limit is usually reached, so those waiting in line will have to wait at least 60-90 minutes until the first wave of visitors leaves. Tourists waiting in line at this time will suffer the longest wait since even 2 hours are not usually enough to visit the Uffizi. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you avoid coming at 10 a.m. As more people leave and enter, the queue becomes longer and longer. The later it is, the quicker you’ll be able to get in.