Visiting the Vasari Corridor: tickets, rules and timing

Is the Vasari Corridor open in winter 2026–27?

Yes, for daytime visits, Tuesday to Sunday, all winter.

Do you need to book early in winter? Yes. Groups are fixed at 25 and there are only a handful of slots a day, so the corridor sells out in January much as it does in May. Local press reported between 12,000 and 14,000 corridor visitors a month in the first half of 2025, with the winter months close to the spring ones.

How do you get Vasari Corridor tickets?

You need a combined Uffizi + Vasari Corridor ticket, booked online at tickets.uffizi.it or through the museum’s call center (+39 055 294883). You cannot buy daytime corridor access on its own.

Ticket options

Official prices from uffizi.it, checked October 2026.

The reseller ticket costs about twice the museum’s price. The extra buys free cancellation, which the museum’s own corridor tickets do not have; with only 11 reviews so far, read the latest ones before you book. A second reseller ticket with an audio app has 309 reviews but averages below 4 stars, so I have left it out.

The booking rules that catch people out

• Tickets carry your name and are checked against photo ID. They cannot be transferred.
• Official tickets are non-refundable, and the date and time cannot be changed.
• The limit is five tickets per transaction, even across different slots.
• Free tickets have to be booked too, including for children and disabled visitors.
• Pitti and Boboli are not included. The corridor ends at Palazzo Pitti, but entry there is a separate ticket unless you hold the PassePartout.

When do January to March 2027 slots go on sale? The museum has not said. Tickets have been released in blocks, and the April to December 2026 block went on sale on 2 February 2026, so check tickets.uffizi.it and the notices page every couple of weeks.

How does a Vasari Corridor visit work?

You see the Uffizi first, join your corridor group inside the gallery, walk across the river and leave at Palazzo Pitti. There is no way back into the Uffizi. (For a shorter version with the tour options, see how a corridor visit works on the tours page.)

Step by step

1. Enter the Uffizi up to two hours before your corridor slot. The combined ticket is set up this way so you have time for the gallery. Allow a good 30 minutes just to get from the entrance through security and the galleries to the corridor door.
2. Hand back any Uffizi audio guide before you join the group.
3. Be at the meeting point, Room D19 on the first floor, five minutes before your slot. Latecomers lose their place and cannot join a later group.
4. Two museum staff go with each group of 25. They give a short safety briefing and lead you through; they are attendants, not guides.
5. Keep moving. The rules say visitors may not linger, and the group stays together.
6. You exit by the Buontalenti Grotto in Boboli, and staff walk you about 100 meters to the Ammannati Courtyard of Palazzo Pitti. With a Pitti or Boboli ticket you carry on; without one you leave from there.

Timing calculator

These slot times are examples; the ones on sale can differ, so go by the time printed on your ticket.

Holding a separate Uffizi ticket? You can book the corridor supplement for as little as 30 minutes after your Uffizi entry time, but if the gap is under two hours you sign a form at the entrance accepting less time in the gallery. I would leave two hours if you want to see the Uffizi properly.

What should you bring (and leave behind)?

Carry everything you came with. You do not come back to the Uffizi, so anything left in its cloakroom means a walk back over Ponte Vecchio along Via Guicciardini, about ten minutes each way.

Toilets and a café are at the end of the visit, in the Pitti courtyard area.

Is the Vasari Corridor wheelchair accessible?

Yes. The 2016–2024 restoration made the corridor step-free, with ramps, platforms and lifts. You can use your own wheelchair or walker within two limits: a total weight of 230 kg including the user, and a length of 120 cm. Free courtesy wheelchairs and walkers are lent at the Uffizi’s Door 1, the accessible entrance, while they last. Disabled visitors and a companion go free, but they still have to book.

What will you see inside the Vasari Corridor now?

Mostly windows, views and the odd feeling of passing through the city unseen, plus a line of Roman portrait busts. The corridor has changed since older guidebooks were written, so set your expectations before you pay.

What’s there

• 73 windows, which the museum itself treats as the main point of the visit. Over Ponte Vecchio, small round windows look down on the bridge on one side, and rectangular windows look along the Arno toward Ponte Santa Trinita on the other.
• The view into Santa Felicita, from the balcony where the Medici heard Mass.
• More than 50 Roman portrait busts, installed along the bridge section in July 2025, among them Cicero and Augustus.
• The detour around the Mannelli Tower, which you feel as the passage bends.

Some sources mention ancient inscriptions, fragments of the 16th-century frescoes from the outer walls, and memorials to the 1944 and 1993 bombings. The museum does not list them, so treat them as a possible bonus.

What isn’t there any more

The self-portraits. Hundreds of artists’ self-portraits lined the corridor from the 1970s until it closed in 2016. A selection now hangs inside the Uffizi on the first floor, in rooms C1 to C5 on the current map, which you pass on the same ticket before your corridor slot. The highlights of the Uffizi guide covers what else to see in your two hours.

Is the Vasari Corridor worth it?

For history lovers and first-time visitors who want a view of Florence nobody else gets, yes. If you came mainly for the paintings and the budget is tight, probably not.

Reviews split sharply. Some visitors call it magical: crossing the Arno inside the bridge and looking down at the crowds photographing the windows you are standing behind. Others call it a bare corridor with views and resent paying €20 more for a brisk, escorted 45-minute walk.

My pick is the PassePartout 5 Days + Vasari Corridor at €58. The corridor then becomes your route across the river: the Uffizi in the morning, the Medici’s passage over Ponte Vecchio, then Palazzo Pitti and Boboli on the same pass.

Can you take a guided tour of the Vasari Corridor?

Yes, but read the small print. Every group is led by museum staff, and the museum says those staff do not give tours. A private guide can walk with you and counts toward the 25, but operators such as the Uffizi Gallery with Optional Vasari Corridor Tour (4.8 from 54 reviews) state that guides are not allowed to explain inside. Many tours end their commentary at the corridor door.

Questions to ask before you book a tour:

• Is corridor access included, or is it an optional upgrade at extra cost?
• Does the guide continue inside the corridor?
• Is there a named, timed corridor ticket, with a meeting point inside the Uffizi?
• How big is the group? Groups of 9 to 15 get the best reviews.
• Can you cancel for free? Official tickets cannot be refunded.

Watch out for “Vasari Corridor walking tours” that only follow the route outside, at street level. They never go in. Real access always comes with a named, timed corridor ticket.

Which of these tours to book, with their options and reviews, is on our Vasari Corridor tours page, and the wider choice of Uffizi guided tours has its own page.

Can you see the Vasari Corridor for free?

From the outside, yes, and it makes a good self-guided walk. Follow the route at street level:

1. The Uffizi arcade, looking up at the windows above the long courtyard
2. Lungarno degli Archibusieri, where the corridor rides on top of the arcade along the river
3. Ponte Vecchio. Look up at the row of small round windows above the shops.
4. The Mannelli Tower, where the corridor swerves around on stone brackets
5. Piazza Santa Felicita, where the corridor crosses the church’s front porch
6. Inside Santa Felicita (free entry; opening hours are short and vary, so check on the door). Look back and up to spot the Medici balcony, and find Pontormo’s Deposition in the chapel on the right.
7. Via de’ Guicciardini, to Piazza Pitti

Do you need tickets for Ponte Vecchio? No. The bridge is a public street, open day and night. The only ticketed way to see it from above is the Vasari Corridor.

A short history of the Vasari Corridor

• 1565, built for a wedding. Cosimo I wanted a safe, private route between the seat of government at Palazzo Vecchio and the family home at Palazzo Pitti. Joanna of Austria entered Florence in December 1565.
• Late 16th century, butchers out, goldsmiths in. The meat market on Ponte Vecchio was replaced by goldsmiths, reportedly so the smell would not reach the duke’s corridor. The decree is usually dated to 1593.
• 17th to 20th centuries, a gallery of faces. Cardinal Leopoldo de’ Medici began the Uffizi’s collection of artists’ self-portraits, now more than 2,000 works. From the 1970s many hung in the corridor.
• 1938, a disputed story. Legend says the large central windows over the bridge were cut for Hitler’s visit to Florence. Historians, including a former Uffizi director, doubt it and date the big openings to other periods, so treat it as a legend.
• 1944, the bridge that survived. Retreating German forces blew up every bridge over the Arno except Ponte Vecchio, destroying the medieval buildings at either end instead. Why the bridge was spared has never been proven.
• 1993, the Georgofili bomb. A Mafia car bomb near the Uffizi killed five people and damaged the gallery and the first section of the corridor.
• 2016 to 2024, closed, restored, opened up. The corridor shut in 2016 for safety work. A restoration of around €10 million added lifts, ramps, emergency exits, lighting and climate control. It reopened on 21 December 2024; before that, access had been limited to scholars and expensive private tours.

What’s near the Vasari Corridor exit?

You come out in the Oltrarno, the artisan quarter across the river:

• Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens, right where you exit (separate ticket, or the PassePartout)
• Magnifico 1492, the Uffizi Galleries’ exhibition on Lorenzo de’ Medici’s collection, announced for 3 December 2026 to 1 March 2027. 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 first.
• Santa Felicita, a two-minute walk back toward the bridge
• Santo Spirito and Via Maggio, for workshops, cafés and an Oltrarno lunch

Winter tip: Boboli closes at 4.30 p.m. from November to February. If you want the gardens too, take a morning corridor slot. The Uffizi’s own hours and closing days are on our opening hours and free days guide, and on a wet day the Florence museums for a rainy day guide lists what else is under cover nearby.

Daytime corridor vs evening vs passes: which to choose

Frequently asked questions

How do I book the Vasari Corridor?

Book a combined Uffizi + Vasari Corridor ticket at tickets.uffizi.it or through the museum’s call center: €47 ahead, €43 on the day. Tickets are named, timed and non-refundable. Resellers such as GetYourGuide also sell tickets and tours with corridor access, some with free cancellation.

Can I visit the Vasari Corridor without the Uffizi?

Not during the day. Daytime access comes only with Uffizi entry. Corridor-only visits ran on Friday evenings in summer and autumn, and the 2026 season ends on 20 November.

How long is the Vasari Corridor visit?

About 45 minutes. You walk about 760 meters of the passage, from the Uffizi to the Boboli Gardens, then a short escorted stroll to the Pitti courtyard.

Can I go back to the Uffizi after the corridor?

No. The route is one way and ends at Palazzo Pitti, so see the Uffizi first.

Are Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens included?

No. You exit at Palazzo Pitti, but entry needs a separate ticket. The PassePartout 5 Days + Vasari Corridor, €58, covers all three.

Is the Vasari Corridor open on Mondays?

No, not even on the Uffizi’s special Monday openings.

Is the Vasari Corridor open on the free first Sunday?

Yes, but only for visitors with an online reservation, subject to space.

What happens if I’m late for my Vasari Corridor slot?

You must be at Room D19 five minutes before your slot. Latecomers lose their place and cannot join another group.

Are the self-portraits still in the Vasari Corridor?

No. A selection moved to rooms on the Uffizi’s first floor. Today the corridor’s draw is its 73 windows, the views and more than 50 Roman portrait busts.

Can I take photos in the Vasari Corridor?

Yes, for personal use and without professional equipment. Video is not allowed.

Is the Vasari Corridor suitable for children?

Yes. Under-18s go free but must be booked. The walk is short and flat, though the group keeps a steady pace. Backpacks are not allowed, so bring a small bag.

Do I need tickets for the Ponte Vecchio?

No. The bridge is a public street. The Vasari Corridor is the only ticketed way to cross it from above.

Did Hitler walk through the Vasari Corridor?

Popular legend links the large windows over Ponte Vecchio to Hitler’s 1938 visit, but historians now dispute it and date the windows to other periods.

Plan the rest of your visit

• Uffizi tickets: which to book
• Visiting the Uffizi in winter
• Uffizi opening hours and free days
• Uffizi ticket types, discounts and free entry
• Uffizi guided tours
• Vasari Corridor tours compared

When you have a date, check availability for the corridor tour near the top of this page, and book the corridor option early: it has far fewer places than the gallery-only tour.