Visiting the Uffizi in winter: November to February
From November to February the Uffizi keeps its usual hours and weekdays are quieter. Book ahead only for 26 December to 6 January, free Sundays and the Vasari Corridor.
From November to February the Uffizi keeps its usual hours, 8.15 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. from Tuesday to Sunday, and on most weekdays you can buy a ticket on the day and still have room in front of the Botticellis. There is no cheaper winter ticket any more. The year-round afternoon ticket, €16 at the door for entry from 4 p.m., goes further in December than at any other time, because you go in shortly before sunset and leave into a lit-up Piazza della Signoria. The one stretch that feels like high season runs from 26 December to 6 January, so book ahead for those dates, and for the Renaissance Masterpieces Guided Tour ($84, 4.6 from 6,123 reviews) if you would rather follow a guide through the second floor.
What changes in winter is the holiday calendar, the short daylight, the coat you carry and what else is on in Florence that season. How the months compare, and the best time of day, are on our best time to visit guide.
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Hours from November to February
The winter timetable is the normal one. Doors open at 8.15 a.m., the ticket office and last admission close at 5.30 p.m., and the galleries clear at 6.30 p.m. The gallery is shut every Monday, on 25 December and on 1 January. There are no regular winter evenings: the Vasari Corridor’s Friday-night visits end on 20 November 2026, and nothing later has been announced. Full detail, including Monday exceptions and strike days, is on our opening hours and free days guide.
Christmas, New Year and Epiphany 2026–27
The two fixed closures are 25 December and 1 January. The rest of the holiday timetable usually appears on the museum’s notices page in the second half of December, so the table below separates the standing rules from what last season suggests.
| Date | Day | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| 8 December (Immaculate Conception) | Tuesday | Normal opening day, busy with Italian visitors |
| 24 December | Thursday | Expected open; check for an early close |
| 25 December | Friday | Closed |
| 26 December (Santo Stefano) | Saturday | Expected open, normal hours, very busy |
| 28 December | Monday | Not announced; the equivalent Monday was closed in 2025 |
| 1 January | Friday | Closed. In 2026 only the Boboli Gardens opened, 10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. |
| 3 January | Sunday | Free first Sunday, long queues |
| 4 January | Monday | Not announced; the Monday before Epiphany opened in 2026 |
| 6 January (Epiphany) | Wednesday | Normal opening day |
The dates after 25 December are expected, not confirmed. If your trip falls between 26 December and 6 January, book a timed ticket in advance and take either the 8.15 a.m. slot or the 4 p.m. one.
Is there a cheaper Uffizi ticket in winter?
No. Older websites still quote a cut-price November-to-February ticket, but that seasonal tariff was dropped for 2025 and the official price list now shows one price all year. Its replacement suits winter better: since 1 January 2026 the afternoon ticket, for entry from 4 p.m., costs €16 on the day or €20 booked ahead, against €25 and €29 for a standard ticket. The museum’s notice lists the scheme through 2030.
| Ticket | Price (on the day / booked ahead) | Who it suits in winter |
|---|---|---|
| Standard ticket | €25 / €29 | Flexible weekday visits, bought at the office under the east loggia |
| Afternoon ticket, entry from 4 p.m. | €16 / €20 | Dusk visits and short trips; the cheapest full-price way in |
| Reduced ticket, EU citizens aged 18 to 25 | €2 | Eligible students and young travelers |
| Under-18s, any nationality | Free with ID | Families |
| Uffizi + Vasari Corridor | €43 / €47 combined; €20 supplement on an existing ticket or pass | A one-off visit; book weeks ahead |
| PassePartout 5 Days (Uffizi, Pitti, Boboli) | €40 | Stays of three days or more |
These are official prices from uffizi.it; discounts, free days and passes are explained in full on our guide to Uffizi ticket types and discounts. If you want a reserved slot with free cancellation, which helps when winter weather or a train strike moves your plans, the Uffizi Gallery Reserved Entry Ticket & Audioguide ($49, 4.4 from 2,168 reviews) can be cancelled up to 24 hours before. The Uffizi Gallery Timed Entry Ticket + App Audioguide ($38, 4.5 from 1,402 reviews) costs less but is non-refundable. Resellers sell the PassePartout too: the Uffizi, Pitti Palace & Boboli Combined 5-Day Pass ($77, 4.4 from 1,915 reviews) bundles the €40 pass with a booking service.
The 2025 early-morning ticket has been withdrawn and does not appear on the current price list. Full comparisons are on our Uffizi tickets page.
How busy the Uffizi is in winter
The Uffizi Galleries, which include Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens, recorded about 5.3 million admissions in 2024, second among Italy’s state sites after the Colosseum, and most of them arrive between Easter and October. In winter, weekdays are quieter and weekends and holidays are not. The museum publishes no queue times. Visitors report walk-up waits from none to about half an hour on winter weekdays, against an hour or more in spring and summer, so treat these figures as a guide.
| Quieter | Moderate | Busiest |
|---|---|---|
| Weekdays from mid-November to early December | Saturdays | 26 December to 6 January |
| Weekdays from mid-January to mid-February | Tuesdays, the day after the Monday closure | Free first Sundays: 6 December, 3 January, 7 February |
| Wednesday to Friday mornings | The February school-holiday week | The 8 December long weekend |
Morning or 4 p.m.: picking a winter slot
Go at the 8.15 a.m. opening or at 4 p.m. The morning gives you the emptiest Botticelli rooms and leaves the short day free for walking; take the first slot on a weekend or during the holidays.
The 4 p.m. ticket in December
Florence’s earliest sunsets fall in early December, at about 4.37 p.m. If you enter at 4 p.m. you still catch the last light on the Arno from the corridor windows, then have two and a half hours inside before stepping out into the lit piazza. It is the cheapest standard entry and, in December, the most charming. Two and a half hours covers the second-floor highlights but not the whole collection, so if you want everything, start in the morning.
Using the daylight
Florence has under nine hours of daylight around the winter solstice: 8 hours 54 minutes on 21 December 2026. Do the outdoor sights, the Ponte Vecchio, Piazzale Michelangelo and the Boboli Gardens, while it is light, and keep the museums for after dark. Our list of more things to see in Florence marks which sights are free and outdoors. Boboli closes at 4.30 p.m. from November to February, with last entry at 3.30 p.m.
For a two-hour route through the masterpieces, see what to see in the Uffizi.
Booking ahead in winter
On most winter weekdays you do not need to. On weekends, holidays and for the Vasari Corridor, you do.
- Weekdays outside Christmas to Epiphany: buying on the day is realistic and saves the €4 booking surcharge. A few days ahead is plenty if you want certainty.
- Weekends, 8 December and 26 December to 6 January: book one to three weeks ahead.
- Vasari Corridor: always book ahead. Groups are small, reservation is compulsory and tickets are non-refundable.
| Your situation | Book ahead? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 26 December to 6 January | Yes | The busiest stretch of the winter |
| Saturdays and Sundays | Yes | Italian weekend visitors |
| Tuesdays | Recommended | Visitors who found the gallery shut on Monday come back |
| 8 December (Immaculate Conception) | Yes | National holiday, a Tuesday in 2026 |
| Strike days | Yes, and check the hours | A shortened opening squeezes everyone into fewer hours |
| Only one day in Florence | Yes | The €4 surcharge buys certainty |
| Vasari Corridor | Always | Small groups, compulsory booking |
| Weekdays from mid-November to early December | Optional | Usually quiet |
| Wednesday to Friday from mid-January to February | No | Among the quieter weeks of the year |
| Free first Sundays (6 December, 3 January, 7 February) | Not possible | No reservations, no priority entry |
If the walk-up line looks long when you arrive, you have three ways round it: buy a same-day ticket on your phone at tickets.uffizi.it if it lists same-day sales that day; come back at 4 p.m. for the €16 afternoon ticket; or be there for the 8.15 a.m. opening the next morning.
Your name is on your ticket
Since 13 October 2025 every Uffizi ticket carries the holder’s name, reseller bookings included. If the name does not match your ID, you will not be let in and you will not get a refund. Check every name, middle names and children included, as soon as the confirmation arrives, and bring original ID for everyone, including teenagers who go in free. Tickets cannot be passed on to a friend, and each account can buy up to 10 tickets a day, or 5 for the Vasari Corridor.
What a skip-the-line ticket skips
A reserved ticket skips the queue to buy a ticket, and nothing else. The Uffizi has four separate lines, and no ticket gets you past all of them. Everyone passes the metal detectors, so allow time for that even with a timed slot.
| Queue | Who is in it | Can you skip it? | Winter weekdays, as visitors report it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ticket-buying queue | Walk-up visitors buying on the day | Yes, with any timed ticket, guided tour, Firenze Card or PassePartout | Often short, sometimes none |
| Reserved-entry line | Timed-ticket holders, tour groups, pass holders | No, but it moves quickly | A few minutes |
| Security check | Everyone | No | A few minutes; slower with winter coats |
| Cloakroom | Anyone with a large umbrella, backpack or bulky bag | No, but you avoid it by packing light | Builds up on rainy days |
Some reseller products add a fifth queue: a voucher exchange at a meeting point, where you swap your booking for the real ticket. In reviews it causes more skip-the-line complaints than anything else. In winter the ticket queue you pay to skip is often the shortest of the four, so on a quiet weekday a reservation saves you little.
Official ticket, reseller or guided tour
| Option | Price | At the door | Flexibility | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walk-up, official | €25, or €16 from 4 p.m. | Queue to buy, then security | Nothing booked | Flexible weekday visitors |
| Official timed ticket, tickets.uffizi.it | €29, or €20 from 4 p.m. | QR code and matching ID, reserved line, security | Named, non-refundable | Holidays, weekends, fixed plans |
| Reseller timed ticket | $31 to $49 | A ready-to-use named ticket, or a voucher to swap first | Some offer free cancellation to 24 hours before | Plans that might move; sold-out official slots |
| Small-group guided tour | About $76 to $84 | Your guide takes you through the reserved line | Usually free cancellation | First visits with the stories explained |
| PassePartout 5 Days | €40 | Priority entry; Uffizi slot booked when you buy | Fixed dates | Visitors also seeing Palazzo Pitti |
| Firenze Card | €85 for 72 hours | Priority entry, but you still reserve a free Uffizi slot | 72 hours | Four or more paid museums in three days |
Our picks on GetYourGuide: for a reserved slot you can cancel, the Uffizi Gallery Reserved Entry Ticket & Audioguide ($49, 4.4 from 2,168 reviews); for the lowest price, the Uffizi Gallery ALL Collections Ticket & Audio App ($31, 4.2 from 7,362 reviews), which is non-refundable; for a guide, the Renaissance Masterpieces Guided Tour ($84, 4.6 from 6,123 reviews); and for the pass with a booking service, the Uffizi, Pitti Palace & Boboli Combined 5-Day Pass ($77, 4.4 from 1,915 reviews, against €40 at the museum). The three reserved tickets are set side by side on our Uffizi skip-the-line tickets page, and every official price and discount is on our guide to Uffizi ticket types and free entry.
Before you pay a reseller, check you are not on a lookalike site: our guide to the official Uffizi website vs resellers has a 30-second test.
Which one to buy in winter:
- Book an official timed ticket for 26 December to 6 January, a weekend, a Tuesday or 8 December, or if you only have one day in Florence.
- Book a small-group guided tour if it is your first visit and you want Botticelli, Leonardo and Michelangelo explained in about two hours.
- Book a reseller ticket with free cancellation if weather, trains or a strike could move your plans. Official tickets cannot be refunded.
- Do not pre-book at all if you are flexible and visiting midweek between mid-January and February. Walk up, or arrive at 4 p.m.
- Avoid low-review “skip-the-line” tickets that make you swap a voucher away from the Uffizi itself.
How to judge a skip-the-line product
Reseller listings for the Uffizi range from thousands of reviews averaging above 4.5 to a handful averaging under 2. On some low-review listings recent reviewers say nobody turned up at the meeting point, and they had to queue again and buy a second ticket. Look for:
- Thousands of reviews, not dozens.
- Recent reviews, ideally from the last few months and from winter.
- A named ticket issued directly, or a meeting point on Piazzale degli Uffizi.
- A small group on guided tours; the listing should state the maximum.
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before, if your dates might change.
- Honest wording that says you still go through security.
| Common complaint | How to avoid it |
|---|---|
| “I paid for skip-the-line and still queued” | Expect the security check; arrive 15 minutes before your slot |
| “Couldn’t find the meeting point” | Pick a meeting point on Piazzale degli Uffizi, or a ticket with no voucher swap |
| “The guide was late or never came” | Stick to high-volume, well-reviewed listings |
| “We felt rushed” | Choose a small group, and check whether you can stay on after the tour |
| “It cost far more than the official ticket” | Compare with the €29 official price first, and pay extra only for what you will use |
Free first Sundays in winter
On the first Sunday of every month entry is free, and in winter 2026–27 those Sundays are 6 December, 3 January and 7 February. The free day has three drawbacks. Nobody can book, so everyone queues at the door. Priority entry is suspended, even for pass holders; only visitors with disabilities and pregnant women keep it. And recent free Sundays have each drawn more than 10,000 visitors. The Vasari Corridor is open on free Sundays at no extra charge, with an online reservation while slots last.
A quiet weekday on a €16 afternoon ticket is a better visit than a free Sunday spent queuing in the cold.
The Vasari Corridor in winter
Daytime visits run from Tuesday to Sunday all winter. The corridor was built in 1565 so the Medici could walk from the Uffizi to Palazzo Pitti without touching the street, and it reopened on 21 December 2024 after eight years of closure, open to the general public for the first time.
- Booking: compulsory. Tickets carry your name, are checked against ID and cannot be refunded.
- Group size: 25, accompanied by museum staff rather than guides.
- Length: about 45 minutes, one way, roughly 760 meters, ending in the Boboli Gardens beside Palazzo Pitti on the other side of the river.
- Timing: your Uffizi entry is booked about two hours before your corridor slot, so you see the gallery first. You cannot go back into the gallery afterwards.
- Your coat: keep it with you. You come out across the river, and anything left in the Uffizi cloakroom means a walk back over the Ponte Vecchio.
- Not running: on special Monday openings, and on Friday evenings after 20 November 2026.
A guided option is the Uffizi Small Group Tour with Optional Vasari Corridor Access ($70, 4.6 from 162 reviews); the Uffizi Small-Group Tour (Max 9) with Vasari Option ($107, 4.8 from 123 reviews) keeps the group to nine. The rules and timings are in our full Vasari Corridor guide, and the tours that include it are on our Vasari Corridor tours page.
Coats, umbrellas and bags
Winter adds a coat and an umbrella to the security and cloakroom rules. This is what the Uffizi allows:
| Item | Allowed in the galleries? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Large umbrella | No | Leave it in the cloakroom just after the entrance |
| Small folding umbrella | Yes, if it fits in a pocket or handbag | Keep it with you |
| Coat | Yes | Take it off for the security check |
| Backpack or bulky bag | No | Cloakroom, free for ordinary bags |
| Water | Up to half a liter, no glass | No drinking in the galleries |
| Food | No | Use the café |
| Stroller | Yes | Keep it with you |
Security is where winter visits lose time. Everyone passes a metal detector and a bag check, staff may ask you to take off your coat for inspection, and coats, scarves, umbrellas and backpacks all slow the line. Carry a small cross-body bag, a folding umbrella that fits in a pocket, and your QR code ready on your phone with matching ID; leave knives, metal tools and glass bottles at the hotel.
The ordinary entrance leads to the Grand Ducal Staircase, 126 steps up to the second floor, and Door 1 under the colonnade is the accessible entrance with a lift. Door arrangements for reserved tickets and groups have changed since the new ticketing system arrived in 2025, so follow the signs and staff on the day.
If you are seeing Michelangelo’s David the same day, the Accademia has no cloakroom and admits only bags up to 40 × 30 × 18 cm, so travel light on a winter double day.
What else is on in Florence this winter
Magnifico 1492
The Uffizi Galleries’ big exhibition this season reconstructs the collection of Lorenzo de’ Medici as it was recorded at his death in 1492, with more than a hundred works on loan. It is announced for 3 December 2026 to 1 March 2027, and the Ministry of Culture’s listing gives 30 November as the start and the Treasury of the Grand Dukes at Palazzo Pitti as the venue. Ticketing has not been published, so check uffizi.it before you plan around it. If you will see Pitti anyway, the PassePartout 5 Days covers the Uffizi, Pitti and Boboli for €40.
The Accademia and David
Michelangelo’s David is not in the Uffizi. The original stands in the Galleria dell’Accademia, a 15- to 20-minute walk north, and the statue in Piazza della Signoria is a copy. Winter is a good season to do both in one day: the Accademia Gallery David Guided Tour with Timed Entry ($74, 4.7 from 4,915 reviews) runs for an hour with a guide. Our Uffizi and Accademia in one day guide has the timings.
When it rains
A rainy winter day in Florence is a museum day. The Uffizi, the Accademia, Palazzo Pitti and the Bargello are all within a short walk of one another, and only Boboli suffers in bad weather: it can close at short notice when the wind or rain is heavy. Our guide to Florence museums for a rainy day groups them by walking distance and lists what is open on a Monday.
Skip-the-line at other Florence sights in winter
| Sight | Book ahead in winter? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Uffizi | Weekdays: rarely. Weekends and holidays: yes | Walk-up is cheaper and usually quick midweek |
| Accademia (David) | Weekends and holidays: yes. Weekdays: helpful | The museum warns that waits without a reservation can be long, and it has no cloakroom |
| Duomo dome climb | Always | The climb needs a timed slot on the cathedral’s combined pass; no walk-up dome entry |
| Florence Cathedral, the church itself | No | Entry is free and the line usually moves |
| Vasari Corridor | Always | Booking is compulsory; groups of 25 |
If you pair the Uffizi with the Accademia, the Uffizi Gallery and Accademia Gallery Guided Tour ($163, 4.8 from 2,234 reviews) books both entries with a guide. Dome passes are sold on the cathedral’s official site, duomo.firenze.it.
A winter day around the Uffizi
| Time | Plan |
|---|---|
| 8.15 a.m. | Accademia at opening for David; book ahead on weekends |
| 10 a.m. | Walk south past the Duomo for coffee and a pastry |
| 11 a.m. | Ponte Vecchio and the Oltrarno while the winter light lasts, following our self-guided walking route |
| 1 p.m. | A long Tuscan lunch; ribollita weather |
| 3 p.m. | Piazza della Signoria and the Loggia dei Lanzi |
| 4 p.m. | Uffizi on the afternoon ticket: Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Caravaggio |
| 5.30 p.m. | The view over the Arno from the corridor windows as the lights come on |
| 6.30 p.m. | Out into the evening piazza for an aperitivo |
If you prefer a guide for the 4 p.m. visit, the Uffizi Gallery Small Group Guided Tour ($84, 4.8 from 1,350 reviews) lasts an hour and a half; check that the slot you pick starts by 4 p.m. More guided options are on our Uffizi guided tours page.
Winter compared with high season
| November to February | April to October | |
|---|---|---|
| Crowds | Light on weekdays, heavy at holidays | Heavy, especially at weekends and on long weekends |
| Same-day tickets | Usually available on weekdays | Often sold out |
| Ticket price | Same all year | Same all year |
| Best-value ticket | Afternoon ticket, a dusk visit | Afternoon ticket, still daylight |
| Opening hours | 8.15 a.m. to 6.30 p.m., closed Mondays | Same |
| Vasari Corridor evenings | Not running after 20 November | Fridays in summer and autumn |
| Daylight | About 9 to 10 hours | Long evenings |
| Atmosphere | Calm rooms, low sun | Lively, hot and crowded |
Skip-the-line myths
| What you will hear | The reality |
|---|---|
| “Skip-the-line means no queue at all” | Everyone goes through security |
| “Booking ahead is cheaper” | At the Uffizi it costs €4 more than buying on the day |
| “Any site called ‘Uffizi tickets’ is official” | Only uffizi.it and tickets.uffizi.it are official |
| “With a Firenze Card you just walk in” | You still reserve a free Uffizi time slot |
| “Free Sunday is a shortcut” | No booking and no priority entry: the longest queues of the winter |
| “I can give my ticket to a friend” | Tickets are named; a mismatch means no entry and no refund |
| “You must pick up paper tickets at the door” | Official online tickets are QR codes on your phone |
Frequently asked questions
Is the Uffizi worth visiting in winter?
Yes. Weekday crowds are lighter, tickets are easier to get and you can stand in front of the masterpieces for as long as you like. The cost is the short daylight for sightseeing outside.
Is the Uffizi cheaper in winter?
No. The low-season price was dropped for 2025 and one price applies all year. The cheapest standard entry is the afternoon ticket, from 4 p.m., at €16 on the day or €20 booked ahead.
Is the Uffizi open on Mondays in winter?
Normally no; it is closed every Monday. A few holiday Mondays open as exceptions, such as 5 January 2026, and they are announced only a few weeks ahead on uffizi.it.
Is the Uffizi open on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day?
No. It is closed on 25 December and 1 January, and normally open on 26 December and 6 January.
Can I buy Uffizi tickets on the day in winter?
On most winter weekdays, yes, and buying at the office saves the €4 booking surcharge. Book ahead for weekends, the Christmas-to-Epiphany fortnight and the Vasari Corridor; on free Sundays nobody can book.
Do I need skip-the-line tickets for the Uffizi in winter?
Usually not on weekdays from November to February, when the ticket queue is short and tickets bought on the day cost €4 less. Book ahead for 26 December to 6 January, weekends, Tuesdays, 8 December, or if you only have one day in Florence.
Does skip-the-line skip security at the Uffizi?
No. A reserved ticket skips the ticket-buying queue only. Everyone goes through the security check.
Are GetYourGuide Uffizi tickets worth it?
For free cancellation, for availability when official slots are gone, or for a guide, yes. Choose products with thousands of reviews, and avoid ones that need a voucher exchange away from the Uffizi.
Does the Firenze Card let me skip the line at the Uffizi?
It gives priority entry, but you must reserve a free Uffizi time slot first. Priority entry does not apply on free first Sundays.
Do I need skip-the-line tickets for the Accademia in winter?
They help at weekends and holidays. On quiet weekdays the line is shorter, but the museum warns that waits without a reservation can be long.
How long do I need at the Uffizi?
Most visitors spend two to three hours. A highlights visit takes about two hours, which fits inside the afternoon ticket.
Can I leave my coat at the Uffizi?
Yes, in the cloakroom just after the entrance, where large umbrellas, backpacks and bulky bags must go. If you continue through the Vasari Corridor, keep your coat with you, because you come out on the other side of the river.
When are the free Sundays at the Uffizi this winter?
6 December 2026, 3 January 2027 and 7 February 2027. You cannot book, so expect long queues.
Is the Vasari Corridor open in winter?
Yes, for daytime visits from Tuesday to Sunday, with compulsory advance booking. The Friday-evening openings finish on 20 November 2026.
Related reading
- Best time to visit the Uffizi Gallery
- Uffizi Gallery opening hours and free days
- Which Uffizi ticket or tour is right for you?
- Vasari Corridor tours
Reserved-entry tickets for a specific slot are compared on our Uffizi tickets page.
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