Visitors to Florence can now buy a single entry ticket for the Uffizi and the reopened Vasari Corridor, the elevated walkway bridging Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti — a path that Grand Dukes, dignitaries and dictators once tread.
Spanning 750 meters (2460 feet), the pedestrian passageway cuts through the heart of the city and crosses the famed Ponte Vecchio (Florence’s oldest bridge). Closed since 2016, it was previously visitable only through private tour operators or other special arrangements. But in late December, it officially welcomed the general public for the first time — a sharp contrast to its original purpose of helping the ruling Medici family to travel stealthily between Palazzo Vecchio, the longtime seat of Florentine government, and Palazzo Pitti, the family’s private residence, allowing them to bypass interacting with Florence’s “regular” citizens (and potential assassins in the streets).
Commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici on the occasion of his son Francesco’s wedding to Joanna of Austria, the Vasari Corridor was completed in just five months’ time; its reopening has been a much longer process. Between 2022 and the end of 2024, the Uffizi and the Florentine Soprintendenza (heritage authority) carried out extensive interior restoration, safety checks, accessibility improvements and structural consolidation for an estimated €10 million. The last major renovation took place in the 1990s.
Tunnel vision
Video: UffiziTV for the Uffizi Galleries
The corridor technically begins on the south side of Palazzo Vecchio, but the portion open to visitors is accessed through the Uffizi. The pathway winds along the banks of the river Arno, crosses over the Ponte Vecchio, passes through the church of Santa Felicita and runs atop various palazzi and towers before concluding in the Boboli Gardens — naturally, with plenty of incredible views along the way.
One legend goes that even Adolf Hitler was moved by these views during a 1938 visit. The landmark portion of the corridor that stretches above the old bridge is lined with terracotta pavers and fitted with a set of panoramic windows, several of which fascist dictator Benito Mussolini is said to have ordered enlarged for Hitler’s visit. Local legend claims that Hitler was so enamored with the beauty and history of the bridge that he later spared it from bombing during World War II.
How to visit the Vasari Corridor
Though visits to the corridor are simpler and more democratic than they used to be, space is still limited. Only 25 visitors can enter the corridor at a time. A special reserved ticket is required and costs €43, plus a €4 booking fee (about $48.45). Uffizi officials advise visitors to enter the gallery two hours before heading to Room D19 Meeting Point on the first floor, where the Vasari Corridor visitors’ route begins.
The route is one-way, so once you start down the corridor, you won’t be allowed back into the Uffizi.
Accessibility
The new Vasari Corridor route has an integrated system of ramps, platforms, stairlifts, and elevators to allow visitors with disabilities to navigate its twists and turns with ease.
Other new services include restrooms, energy-efficient LED lighting and video surveillance.
If you go
Uffizi Galleries and Vasari Corridor
Piazzale degli Uffizi 6
Hours: Tours run Tuesday to Sunday from 10.15am to 4.35pm.
Tel. +39 055 294883
Website
