Is the Vasari Corridor Worth It? An Honest 2026 Verdict

Booking choice: The small-group Uffizi tour with the Vasari option, from $89 per person. Check dates Compare the options below

The Vasari Corridor is about a kilometre of covered passage from the Uffizi, over the Ponte Vecchio, to the Boboli Gardens. Since it reopened in December 2024 it has been restored to what the museum calls its original bareness: the self-portraits that hung there until 2016 are not back.

So is it worth it? It depends on what you expect. Here is what you actually see, what disappoints people, what it really costs, and who should go.

The quick answer

Yes, once, if you know what you are paying for. On the official ticket the corridor adds €18 to an advance Uffizi ticket, for about 45 minutes in a museum group of 25: windows over the Arno, the Roman busts above the Ponte Vecchio, the tower the corridor bends around and the balcony into Santa Felicita. It is not an art gallery any more, you cannot linger, and nobody explains it. Skip it if you want paintings, more time in the Uffizi or cannot walk a kilometre without stopping.

Roman marble busts on dark pedestals along a sunlit corridor, a large window on the right looking down on the Arno and the Ponte Vecchio — The best stretch: busts on one side, the river and the bridge on the other.

Is the Vasari Corridor worth it?

For most first-time visitors, yes, once: it costs €18 on top of the Uffizi and gives you a view of Florence you cannot get anywhere else.

The corridor's value is the experience, not the contents. You walk in the duke's private route, above the city, crossing the river inside a building, and you come out in a garden on the other side. People who come for that tend to love it. People who expect the old self-portrait collection, a guided talk or time to stand at the windows tend to be disappointed.

What do you actually see in the Vasari Corridor?

Windows, mostly: 73 of them, framing the Arno and the rooftops, plus more than fifty Roman busts above the Ponte Vecchio.

The river side of the Uffizi and the Arno below.
The Ponte Vecchio from inside, with the wide panoramic windows over the bridge and, since July 2025, Roman portrait busts of figures such as Cicero and Augustus.
The Mannelli Tower, which the corridor bends around on stone brackets.
A balcony into the church of Santa Felicita, where the ducal family heard Mass unseen.
The exit by the Buontalenti Grotto in the Boboli Gardens.

The full story behind each is in the history of the Vasari Corridor.

A plain whitewashed passage with a wooden beamed ceiling and small windows, a large window on the right framing the river and old town — Plain walls, deep windows: this is what most of the walk looks like.

What disappoints people about the Vasari Corridor?

The pace, the lack of paintings and the silence: you walk at the group's speed for about 45 minutes, with no commentary.

Groups of 25 set off at fixed times with two museum staff, stay together and may not linger or turn back. The staff do not give tours, and operators say their guides may not explain inside. One guest from the UK put it plainly: some of the views were stunning, but the inside of the corridor was quite underwhelming. Read up before you go and the walk makes far more sense.

Two hours with a licensed guide in the Uffizi first, so the corridor is the finale and not the whole visit.

Check dates for the small-group Uffizi tour with the Vasari option

How much does it really cost?

€18 more than the Uffizi on its own, if you book the museum's own ticket: €47 against €29.

There is no daytime corridor-only ticket, so the fair way to judge the price is the supplement: €18 for the walk. On a Friday evening, until 20 November 2026, the corridor alone costs €24, without the gallery; see the Friday evenings. Tours cost more because they add a guide in the Uffizi, not because they add anything in the corridor; they are compared in Vasari Corridor tours.

The Ponte Vecchio over a calm Arno at golden hour, its covered upper storey running above the colourful shops — From the river bank the corridor is the long top storey of the bridge, and seeing it from here costs nothing.

Who should walk the Vasari Corridor?

Anyone visiting the Uffizi for the first time with a little flexibility, history readers and people who love city views.

First-time Uffizi visitors, because the €47 ticket covers both and ends near the Boboli Gardens.
Medici and Renaissance fans, who will know what they are looking at.
Photographers: photos are allowed, though not video or professional equipment.
Wheelchair users, since the restoration added ramps, platforms and lifts, and courtesy wheelchairs wait at Door 1.

Uffizi + Vasari Corridor Reserved Ticket

The same Uffizi and corridor entry as the museum's ticket, booked for you, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

★ 5.0 10 reviews · 2.5 to 3 hours · from $93

Explore the Uffizi and Vasari Corridor ticket

Who should skip the Vasari Corridor?

People who want more time in the Uffizi, art lovers expecting paintings, and anyone who cannot walk about a kilometre in 45 minutes without stopping.

The combined ticket gives you two hours in the Uffizi before your slot, and guests report that it felt short; one spent five hours in the gallery and missed his corridor slot. If the Uffizi is your priority, buy the gallery on its own and come back for the corridor on a Friday evening, until 20 November 2026. Skip it too if you travel with a backpack you cannot leave behind: backpacks and suitcases are refused at the door, without a refund.

A crowd of visitors photographing Botticelli's Birth of Venus in its gilded frame — If the paintings are why you came, the Uffizi may deserve the whole morning.

Is a tour worth it on top?

Only for the Uffizi part. A tour adds a guide in the gallery or a slot on a sold-out date, never commentary in the corridor.

If you want the paintings explained, the two-hour small-group tour ($89, rated 4.7) is the best-reviewed option; choose its Vasari option at checkout, because the from-price leaves the corridor out. For your own guide and pace, the private tours start at $302. Otherwise the museum's ticket gives you the same corridor.

Want the paintings explained first? A small group of nine at most, with the corridor as an option.

Check dates for the small-group Uffizi tour with the Vasari option

Is there a cheaper way to get the feeling?

Yes: walk across the Ponte Vecchio for free and look up, or take the €24 Friday evening corridor ticket.

The Ponte Vecchio is a free public bridge, and the corridor is the upper storey running along its east side, above the goldsmiths' shops. From the bridge and the river banks you can follow its whole line. Inside, though, there is nothing else like it in Florence.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the Vasari Corridor walk?

About 45 minutes by day and about 35 minutes on a Friday evening, at the group's pace. The museum gives the length as about a kilometre, plus 100 metres from the grotto exit to the Pitti courtyard.

Are there still paintings in the Vasari Corridor?

No. The self-portrait collection hung there from the 1970s until 2016 and has not returned. Since July 2025 the section above the Ponte Vecchio holds Roman portrait busts.

Is the Vasari Corridor better than the Uffizi?

They are different things. The Uffizi is one of the world's great painting collections; the corridor is a historic passage with views. On the official ticket you get both.

Is it suitable for children?

Children are welcome, but every child needs a reservation, under-6s included, and the group walks for about 45 minutes without stopping. Operators say under-18s go free.

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