Uffizi & Accademia Small-Group Walking Tour Florence

The Accademia Gallery and the David

The tour begins at the Galleria dell'Accademia, the museum built around one of the most famous statues in the world. Michelangelo carved the David between 1501 and 1504, when he was in his twenties, from a tall block of Carrara marble that had been left damaged and unused for decades. It stood in Piazza della Signoria for more than three centuries before being moved here in 1873 to protect it from the weather.

Your guide explains how the statue was made, why the head and hands are oversized and what the David meant to the Florentine Republic. On the way to the Tribune you also see the Prisoners, unfinished figures still half trapped in the stone. This part of the Accademia guided tour takes about an hour.

Piazza del Duomo: the cathedral and the dome

From the Accademia the walk follows Via Ricasoli to Piazza del Duomo, the religious heart of the city. Here the guide introduces the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, begun in 1296, with its facade of white, green and pink marble finished only in the 19th century, and Brunelleschi's dome, completed in 1436 and still the largest brick dome ever built.

Beside it rise Giotto's bell tower, about 85 metres high, and the octagonal Baptistery of San Giovanni with its gilded bronze doors, the eastern pair known as the Gates of Paradise. The stop is outside, a short pause to understand how these buildings shaped the Renaissance city; entry to the cathedral and the dome climb are not part of this tour.

Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio

A few minutes further on foot lies Piazza della Signoria, the political centre of Florence for seven centuries. Palazzo Vecchio, the fortress-like town hall begun in 1299, still houses the city council beneath its tall crenellated tower. In front of it a marble copy of the David stands where the original was placed in 1504, next to the Fountain of Neptune.

On the south side the open arches of the Loggia dei Lanzi shelter an outdoor gallery of sculpture, including the bronze Perseus holding the head of Medusa and the twisting marble group by Giambologna. Your guide uses the square to tell the story of the republic and its rulers before you cross to the Uffizi entrance next door.

Inside the Uffizi Gallery

The last part of this Uffizi and Accademia guided tour takes you inside the Uffizi, the gallery Giorgio Vasari designed in 1560 as government offices. With your timed entry you pass the security check and climb to the second floor, where the corridors of ancient statues lead to the painting rooms. The guide follows the story of art from the gold altarpieces of the 13th century to the High Renaissance.

You see Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera, Leonardo da Vinci's Annunciation and Michelangelo's Doni Tondo, the only finished panel painting by him in Florence, with stories that bring each work to life. Allow about 1.5 hours here; you can stay on after the tour ends.

The Ponte Vecchio view and the end of the tour

Before finishing, the guide takes you to the windows of the short river corridor, which frame the Ponte Vecchio, the medieval bridge lined with goldsmiths' shops since the 16th century. Above it you can trace the covered Vasari Corridor, which links the Uffizi across the river to Pitti Palace.

The tour ends inside the museum, where the terrace cafe above the Loggia dei Lanzi offers a close view of Palazzo Vecchio and the cathedral dome. From here it is a short walk to the Ponte Vecchio itself and to the Oltrarno district. For many people this is the best way to see the highlights of Florence in one go, with the two must-see museums and the main squares on a single route.