Vasari Corridor Private Tour

For nearly eight years it was closed. The Vasari Corridor — the elevated passage Giorgio Vasari built in 1565 so the Medici could cross from the seat of government to their home without setting foot in the street — has reopened, and it is the most requested thing we book.

It runs roughly a kilometre from the Uffizi, along the Arno, over the shops of the Ponte Vecchio and through to the Pitti Palace side. You are walking a private road built above a public one, which is the whole point of it.

The rules, before you plan around it

Access is tightly controlled and the conditions matter more here than at any other Florence museum. These are the Gallerie degli Uffizi’s own rules.

• Groups are capped at 25 visitors in total, private guides included, plus two Uffizi staff members.
• The accompanying staff do not give a guided tour. Without your own guide, you walk it with no commentary.
• The corridor is one-way. You cannot turn round and walk back.
• No visitor may leave the group, and lingering is not permitted.
• Backpacks, suitcases and large umbrellas are prohibited, in any size.
• You must be at the meeting point five minutes before your entry slot. Arrive later and you lose the entry.

Source: Gallerie degli Uffizi, rules for accessing the Vasari Corridor.

Tickets

The corridor is sold as a combined ticket with the Uffizi: €43 purchased on the day of entry, €47 in advance. If you already hold an Uffizi ticket, the corridor supplement can be added while slots remain in your chosen time band. Entry to the Uffizi is set two hours before the corridor slot.

Source: Gallerie degli Uffizi, official fares. Slots are limited by the group cap and sell out well ahead in spring and autumn.

Why book it with a guide

Because of that one rule: the staff who walk with you are there for security, not interpretation. The corridor is a long, narrow, sparsely labelled space, and walked without context it is a corridor. Walked with someone who can point out where it bends around the Torre dei Mannelli because the family refused to let Vasari demolish their tower, it is the best hour in Florence.

Because the group cap counts your guide, booking a private guide means one fewer stranger in your 25, not one more.

Common questions

Can we do the corridor without the Uffizi?

The standard route is sold combined, with Uffizi entry two hours earlier. In practice you are visiting both.

Is it accessible?

Access arrangements have changed since the reopening and are set by the museum, not by us. Tell us your requirements when you write and we will check the current position before anything is booked.

Where do we leave our bags?

Not in the corridor, and there is no cloakroom at the far end. Plan to travel light that morning — this is the single most common reason people are turned away.

How far ahead should we book?

As far as you can. With 25 places per slot, the corridor is the first thing to sell out in your Florence itinerary.

Plan your visit

Tell us your dates and we will check corridor availability before anything else in your itinerary is fixed. Get in touch. See also the private Uffizi tour.