Uffizi : Tour Guide vs Solo

I did a tour with Context Travel at the Uffizi in 2015. It was great. Small group of 6 people. Our guide was a PhD-level art historian who worked at the museum. The tour was scheduled for 3 hours, but she happily extended it for those who wanted to stay longer. It was nice to have someone who could walk us to the more important pieces of art in the museum but who also shared some of her personal favorites. Tours are more pricey than others, but the company provides Master's or PhD level guides for their small-group tours. Private tours with them? CRAZY expensive.

We used the Rick Steves audio guide to go through the Uffizi. If you love art, I would not skip this museum. It’s fabulous!

We used Rick's audio guide, too, and found it sufficient for our needs.

I also used Rick's audio guide. It's nice to adapt it if necessary as you move through the galleries; if there is a huge tour group in front of a painting or sculpture, you can skip it and circle back at a better time. It's one of the most popular sites in Florence and usually heaving with people. If I did do a tour, I would prefer a small group one. Enjoy!

We toured on our own using just the written tour from Rick’s guidebook and it was fine. The collection is very well organized and it flows chronologically along the route where visitors are guided.

Thank you all for sharing your experience. I downloaded the Uffizi audio tour app and had the family compare it to the RS audio tour. The consensus here is that the RS tour is better, so we'll be going with that this time around.

Thanks again!

I’ve been there twice - first time was with the RS Best of Italy tour, and we had an art guide.

I went again in 2022, taking my adult daughter. The reason for this reply is to encourage you to purchase the earliest opening ahead of time. We were in line before it opened and one of the first inside. People in front of us had to check their backpacks, etc. and I knew not to bring anything but my phone. So, we ended up in many rooms before anyone else was there - just an unbelievably wonderful experience!

Jean, just curious. Around what time would you say the Uffizi started getting very crowded? I ordered our tickets for a 10am entry; I now wish I ordered earlier tickets. Do you have any other hints for getting away from the crowds?

My experience, both in December 2017 and in November 2024, was that the earliest time does get you about an hour before it gets crowded. However, during both visits what was crowded were the areas in front of the most famous paintings, in the hallways, and around the window with a view of the Ponte Vecchio. And the crowds come and go somewhat in waves, like, if you want to see Botticelli's Venus, keep edging towards it and the people is front will eventually leave and sometimes an entire group of people will leave at once. So, if you really want to see something, try not to be discouraged by the packed crowd and instead wait your turn. Some people literally run to the things they really want to see first and then double back to take the rest at a more relaxed pace. An amazing number of people just want to have their own photo of themselves in front of a painting, so unless they get into a real posing fest (amusing to watch!), they don't stay long. You are going to have to skip some art and some whole rooms, so having a plan helps, and the Rick Steves map is useful and the gallery's map, too ---- https://www.visituffizi.org/museum/uffizi-floor-plans/

Good luck and have a great time!

If you can go on a Tuesday night I highly recommend it. The museum stays open late on Tuesdays. We did that in June 2024 and I have photos of my son in the long hallways of the Uffizi with not another person in sight. My friend did the same in August with the same result…no crowds. Bianca, do you have kids? You mentioned your family. My son loved doing a scavenger hunt of sorts in the Uffizi with a book I bought on Amazon called Mission Florence.

I was at the Uffizi at 9:30am on Sunday, March 9 and it was packed! I thought the Sunday morning ticket would be a good option but apparently so did everyone else. :-) I did an audio tour, which was provided by the museum, and it was helpful.

Nancys8, thank you so much for your helpful response! Your advice for the Uffizi is exactly what we did to see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. And thanks for the link of the floor plan. I printed it out and will bring it with me.

8:15am according to this site. I remember it was early! : )

We somehow missed the Venus painting, and when we went backwards to go see it afterwards, it was a stuffed hallway of people we had to walk through.

https://shop.uffizi.it/en/info-ticket/