In 2024, all top sights, galleries, churches, and museums in Florence are open with normal opening hours but buy skip-the-line tickets with online time-slot reservations wherever possible.
Most of the top attractions in Florence, especially museums and galleries, are open to visitors and in 2024 mostly operate with normal opening hours. Buy skip-the-line, timeslot reservation tickets online wherever possible — the small reservation fees are money well spent. The Uffizi, Accademia (Michelangelo’s David), Bargello, San Marco, and the Medici Chapels are open and as popular as ever. Tickets are required for the top churches with the best works of art such as Santa Croce, San Lorenzo, and Santa Maria Novella. Whenever possible, buy tickets and make reservations online in advance — it is almost always high season in Florence.
Opening Hours of Top Sights in Florence in 2024
Top museums in Florence are open in 2024 and mostly use the regular opening hours, although one-way systems and only small group tours are enforced at busy times. Time-slot reservations are no longer obligatory for sights in Florence other than climbing the cupola or campanile of the Duomo and the Torre di Arnolfo of the Palazzo Vecchio but buying a fast-track priority entrance ticket remain utterly sensible for top sights such as the Uffizi, Accademia (David), Pitti Palace, and Boboli Gardens. There really is no low season for the top museums in Florence.
The €3 to €4 timeslot reservation surcharge on Florence museum tickets is absolutely worth the time saved, as visitors without reservations remain at the back of the long lines while others enter. Buy pre-booked tickets in advance — GetYourGuide has very generous and easy refund conditions. With visitor numbers again increasing, visiting early or late remains the best time slots to see top sights.
Guided tours are also a sound option to get easy admission to museums with all groups currently small. The Firenze Card, which is usually a great savings option, is again available in 2024 but without a transportation option. The Turbopass Florence City Pass is a good alternative that includes an option for easy online timeslot reservations for the Galleria degli Uffizi, Galleria dell’Accademia, and climbing the cupola of the Duomo.
Museums Opening Hours in Florence in 2024
Most top museums in Florence are open with regular opening hours (which are often rather irregular) in 2024 — timeslot reservations for visiting the Uffizi, Accademia, Pitti, and Boboli are no longer obligatory but very sensible at all times. Not booking a time slot for these top sights is saving at the wrong end.
Opening hours are mostly as follows in early 2024 with longer opening hours likely during the summer vacations — evenings are a great time to visit the major museums in the warmer months:
- Accademia (David) — Tuesday to Sunday, 8:15 to 18:45; closed Monday. From early June 2024 until autumn, the Accademia is open until 22:00 on Tuesday (until end October) and also until 21:00 on Thursday (until end September). Buy Accademia timeslot tickets online.
- Uffizi — 8:15 – 18:30, Tuesday to Sunday; closed Monday, closing 21:30 on most Tuesdays. Buy Uffizi tickets with timeslots online.
- Bargello Museum — usually 8:15 to 13:50, but sometimes closing at 17:50 on select days, when visiting in the afternoon is a good option. Closed most Tuesdays and often the 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month but sometimes open on Tuesdays and later closing times during the peak season or major special exhibitions. Buy Bargello tickets online.
- Medici Chapels — 8:15 – 18:50 on Wednesday to Monday (sometimes closing at 13:50 on Sundays) and closed all day on Tuesday. Buy Medici Chapel tickets online.
- Orsanmichele Church & Museum — 8:30 – 18:30 on Wednesday to Monday but on Sunday the church closes at 12:00 and the museum at 13.30. Closed on Tuesday. Buy Orsanmichele tickets online.
- Museum of San Marco — 8:15 to 13:50, daily but closed 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sunday each month and Monday after the 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month. Buy San Marco tickets online.
- The Medicea Laurenziana library is open weekdays from 10:00 to 13:30 and closed on weekends.
- Palazzo Vecchio — 9:00 to 19:00, Monday to Sunday but closing 14:00 on Thursday. Climbing the Torre di Arnolfo requires a separate ticket with a time-slot reservation.
- Museums in the Palazzo Pitti — 8:15 to 18:30, Tuesday to Sunday; closed Monday.
- Boboli Gardens — 8:15 to 17:30 (16:30 November to February, 18:30 April to October), Monday to Sunday; closed first and final Monday each month.
The various civic museums (Musei Civici Florentini), including the Palazzo Vecchio and the Cappella Brancacci (reservation essential), are open but with the usual idiosyncratic and complicated opening hours.
Free Admission to Florence’s Museum
Free admission to the state museums on the first Sunday of each month is again possible. On these Sundays, no time-slot reservations are possible — queuing up is the only way in. Expect very long queues at all participating venues — visitors with limited time in Florence may spend precious time better elsewhere. Free Sunday museums include amongst others all the main Florence museums listed above (except Palazzo Vecchio) as well as the Boboli Gardens and the Giardino Bardini.
Children under 18 usually get free admission to museums in Florence but the extra charge is payable when making online reservations. EU citizens aged 18 to 25 visit many state museums for only €2.
Many top sights in the heart of Florence remain free and open all day. Visitors may enjoy the beautiful city for free including the magnificent architecture of the Renaissance period, the older Duomo and baptistery, the 14th century Campanile of Giotto, church facades, piazzas, and the Ponte Vecchio bridge over the Arno River. Large crowds gather on the Piazza della Signoria at all hours with its free outdoor museum of sculptures (now with just a good copy of Michelangelo’s David) while many fail to notice the fine (copies) of sculptures by very famous artists on the exterior of Orsanmichele.
Churches Opening Hours in Florence in 2024
Most churches and attached museums in Florence are open in 2024.
Opening Hours of Duomo Sights in Florence in 2024:
As before, admission to the Duomo (cathedral) remains free and without a ticket reservation option, while ticket reservations are obligatory for climbing the dome and the campanile. The previous combination ticket system was reintroduced:
- Duomo (Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore and Santa Reparata) — 10:15 – 15:45, Monday to Saturday; closed Sunday except for services.
- Brunelleschi Dome — 8:15 – 18:45 on weekdays, 8:15 – 16:30 on Saturday, 12:45 -16:30 on Sunday. (Time-slot reservations are always essential.)
- Campanile of Giotto — 8:15 – 18:45, Monday to Sunday. (Time-slot reservations are required, except when using a Brunelleschi Pass.)
- Museo dell’Opera del Duomo — 8:30 – 19:00, Monday to Sunday; closed first Tuesday of the month.
- Baptistery — 8:30 – 19:30 Monday to Sunday, closing at 13:30 on the first Sunday of the month.
- Crypt (Cripty Santa Reparata) — 10:15 – 16:00 daily, except opening at 13:30 on Sundays. (Reservation essential if using a Ghiberti Pass.)
Other Major Florentine Churches:
- Church and Museum of Santa Maria Novella — 9:00 – 17:30 daily but opening on Sunday only at 13:00 and Friday at 11:00.
- Church of Santa Croce — 9:30 – 17:30 daily but opening only at 12:30 on Sunday. Buy skip-the-line tickets online.
- The church of San Lorenzo — 10:00 – 17:00, Monday to Saturday; Sunday closed. (The Biblioteca Mediciae Laurenziana weekdays only from 10:00 to 13:30.)
- Orsanmichele Church & Museum — 8:30 – 18:30 on Wednesday to Monday but on Sunday the church closes at 12:00 and the museum at 13.30. Closed on Tuesday. Buy Orsanmichele tickets online.
Most smaller churches in Florence are open for visitors but often close during the middle of the day from around noon to 16:00 — some longer, some shorter. Times are posted on the door.
The Florence Tourist Office updates the opening hours of sights frequently in a downloadable PDF document — it is well worth finding this document and printing it out, as it usually includes even special closing and opening hours for all museums and major churches. As always, the guard at the door has the final say, so never visit a top sight too close to closing time.
More Articles on Florence Sights
The high season in Florence is increasingly long: Easter, May, July, August, and the Christmas holidays are especially busy. November and January to mid-March are the only quiet months. Plan and book time-slot reservation tickets and tours when available in advance — the Accademia and the Uffizi are again sold out weeks in advance. Top sights are quieter directly at opening time or in the late afternoon.
→→ Special opening hours for top sights in 2024 — most sights are open normal hours in 2024 but advance time-slot reservations when available are always sensible even for sights where bookings are optional.
- Tips on Buying Tickets for the Uffizi Museum
- Tips on Buying Skip-the-Line Tickets for the Accademia (Michelangelo’s David)
- See Michelangelo’s David in the Galleria dell’ Accademia
- Visit the Duomo sights: Cathedral (Duomo), Baptistery (Battistero), Bell Tower (Campanile), Dome (Cupola), Museum (Museo), and Tickets + Opening Hours
- Visit the Bargello Museum of Sculpture (Donatello’s Davids)
- Visit San Marco Museum to see the frescoes and altarpieces painted by Fra Angelico.
- Visit Santa Maria Novella Church and Museum to see medieval and Renaissance Art.
- Visit Santa Croce for Giotto Frescoes and Michelangelo’s Grave
- San Lorenzo complex: Visit the Basilica for Renaissance Art, See the Laurentian Medici Library by Michelangelo, and Visit the Medici Chapels (Michelangelo Statues)
- Save on Sightseeing in Florence with the Firenze Card (again available but not including transportation or the Duomo sights, or consider the Turbopass Florence City Pass that includes online timeslot reservations for both the Uffizi and Accademia.
- Travel to Pisa to see the Field of Miracles and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
- Visit the magnificent Romanesque-Gothic cathedral in nearby Siena.
- Save on top Italian designer fashion at The Mall Factory Outlet Stores.
Florence Resources
- The official website of the Firenze Tourist Office is a bit cumbersome but has very useful information. Especially the pdf (alternative link) with the opening hours of all major sights. Unfortunately, it is only available for the current month but it is the second last line on opening hours — the final say is the guard at the door, NOT the ticket window!
- Get Your Guide offers tours of all major sights while Tiqets sells online tickets for many top sights in Florence.
- Book luggage storage online and explore Florence more easily on foot.
- Trainline is good for booking online train tickets in Italy and most of Europe.
