Vasari Corridor visitor guide — everything you need to know before visiting

At a glance

What it is

An elevated, enclosed passage (about 750 metres per the Uffizi; up to around a kilometre by other counts) linking the Uffizi to the Pitti Palace / Boboli Gardens, over the Ponte Vecchio

Built

1565, by Giorgio Vasari, for Duke Cosimo I de' Medici (to mark Francesco I's marriage to Joanna of Austria)

Reopened

21 December 2024, after closing in 2016 — an eight-year restoration

Ticket

Combined Uffizi + Vasari Corridor ticket only (no Corridor-only ticket); nominative, personal and non-transferable, ID-checked at entry; reservation mandatory

Group size

Maximum 25 visitors per timed group (plus staff), one group at a time, one-directional Uffizi → Boboli

Days & times

Tuesday to Sunday; first group 10:15, last group 16:35; closed Mondays

What's on the walls now

Almost 300 ancient Greek/Latin inscriptions; ~50 Greco-Roman busts (Augustus, Antoninus Pius, Commodus, Sabina, Faustina); 16th-century Vasari frescoes; 1944 'Night of the Bridges' and 1993 Georgofili memorials. The historic self-portrait collection has been moved into the main gallery.

Accessibility

Fully accessible — integrated ramps, platforms and lifts; toilets at the far end

UNESCO

Within the Historic Centre of Florence (World Heritage inscribed 1982); a landmark within the listing, not separately inscribed

How to get in

Scarce, fast-selling timed slots — best secured via a no-payment named priority waitlist, booked in your name the moment a slot opens

What is the Vasari Corridor?

The Vasari Corridor is a covered, elevated passageway in Florence — the Uffizi describe it as about 750 metres long, though it is often cited as up to around a kilometre — that connects the Uffizi Galleries — beside the Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of Florentine government — with the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens on the south bank of the Arno. It is named after Giorgio Vasari, who designed it, and it crosses the top of the Ponte Vecchio, the medieval shop-lined bridge that is one of the city's defining landmarks.

The Corridor was built so the ruling Medici family could move between their palaces in privacy and safety, above the public street. It is one of the most evocative pieces of Medici-era engineering in Florence — a private road in the sky threaded through the fabric of the city — and after eight years closed it reopened to the public on 21 December 2024.

Who built the Vasari Corridor, and when?

The Corridor was commissioned by Duke Cosimo I de' Medici and designed by Giorgio Vasari, who built it in 1565 — completing the work at remarkable speed to coincide with the marriage of Cosimo's son Francesco I to Joanna of Austria. Routing an elevated structure of this length between existing palaces and over a working bridge in a matter of months was an extraordinary feat of Renaissance engineering.

To carry the passage over the Ponte Vecchio without demolishing the bridge's shops, Vasari ran it above them. Tradition holds that the Medici later replaced the bridge's butchers with goldsmiths so that the noble passage above would not be troubled by the smell of the meat trade — and goldsmiths still occupy the Ponte Vecchio today. From the 17th century the Corridor became famous as a gallery of artists' self-portraits, begun by Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici; that collection has since been relocated into the main Uffizi galleries.

What can you see inside the Corridor now?

Since the 2024 reopening, the Corridor is presented as a walk through the restored structure rather than a picture gallery. The route is lined with almost three hundred ancient Greek and Latin marble inscriptions — the core of a grand-ducal epigraphic collection assembled between the 17th and 18th centuries — and around fifty Greco-Roman portrait busts, including Cicero, the emperors Augustus, Antoninus Pius and Commodus, and the empresses Sabina and Faustina, set along the stretch suspended over the city.

There are 16th-century frescoes created under Vasari's direction, and two memorial spaces: the 'Night of the Bridges' of 4 August 1944, when Florence's bridges were destroyed (the Ponte Vecchio alone was spared), and the Via dei Georgofili bombing of 27 May 1993, a Mafia attack outside the Uffizi that killed five people and damaged this Corridor, burning roughly a quarter of the paintings then on display. The round windows looking out over the Arno and the rooftops of Florence are themselves a memorable part of the walk.

How do Vasari Corridor tickets work?

There is no Corridor-only ticket. The Vasari Corridor is sold exclusively as a combined Uffizi + Vasari Corridor ticket through the official Uffizi Galleries, and the same ticket admits you to the Uffizi itself. Reservation is mandatory, and the ticket is nominative — issued in a named visitor's name, personal and non-transferable, and checked against a physical ID at the entrance. Bring the passport or government ID matching the name on the ticket.

Visits run in tiny timed groups of a maximum of 25 people, one group at a time, one-directional from the Uffizi over the Ponte Vecchio towards the Boboli Gardens side. Because the daily capacity is small and the calendar releases dates on a short horizon, slots sell out quickly — which is why securing a named waitlist place before the date opens is the most dependable way in.

What are the Vasari Corridor's opening hours?

Timed groups run Tuesday to Sunday. The first group of the day enters the Corridor at 10:15 and the last at 16:35; the Corridor is closed on Mondays, like the Uffizi. The combined ticket also admits you to the Uffizi Galleries, which keep their own broader hours, so plan to arrive early enough to enjoy the gallery before your Corridor slot. The exact timed-group schedule is set by the Uffizi and can adjust seasonally and on public holidays — the precise slot is confirmed when the booking is made.

When is the best time to visit?

Because every group is capped at 25 and entry is timed, there is no quieter hour in the usual crowd-avoidance sense — your group size is the same whenever you go. The timing decision is really about availability. Slots are scarcest in the high-summer and holiday peaks and slightly easier in the spring and autumn shoulder seasons, but in all seasons the calendar moves fast. The single most useful thing you can do is set up a waitlist for your dates as early as possible, so you have the best chance of landing any slot — and of getting a time of day that fits the rest of your Florence itinerary.

Is the Vasari Corridor accessible?

Yes. The reopened Corridor was rebuilt to be fully accessible, with an integrated system of ramps, platforms and lifts, low-energy LED lighting and toilets at the far end. Visitors with specific access needs should contact the Uffizi Galleries in advance; booking through us, you can tell us your requirements when you join the waitlist and we will relay them when we secure the slot.

How do you get there?

The Uffizi Galleries sit beside Piazza della Signoria in the heart of Florence's pedestrian historic centre, about a 15-minute walk from Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station. The centre is a Limited Traffic Zone (ZTL) and most visitors arrive on foot; cameras automatically fine unauthorised vehicles and there is no parking at the gallery. Enter the Uffizi with your combined ticket — the Vasari Corridor starts inside the gallery, from room D19 on the first floor, and the walk runs one direction over the Ponte Vecchio towards Boboli.

Is the Vasari Corridor a UNESCO World Heritage Site?

The Corridor lies within one. The Historic Centre of Florence was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1982, recognising the city's extraordinary concentration of Renaissance art and architecture under the Medici. The Vasari Corridor and the Ponte Vecchio it crosses are celebrated features within that World Heritage area rather than separately inscribed monuments — so when you walk the Corridor over the bridge, you are moving through the heart of a listed World Heritage landscape.

Why is a waitlist the best way to book?

The Corridor's tiny daily capacity, short release horizon and high demand since the December 2024 reopening mean the official calendar is often sold out, and newly released or returned slots are taken within hours. A named priority waitlist is built for exactly this: you give us each visitor's name up front at no charge, we watch the official calendar 24/7, and the instant a slot opens for your date we email a secure payment link and book the timed entry in your name. You pay only when there is a confirmed slot; if none opens before your travel date, you are never charged. Because the ticket is nominative and ID-checked, having your names ready in advance is what makes the slot bookable the moment the window appears.

Frequently asked questions