Uffizi & Vasari Corridor audio-app ticket: our review

Our take: this is the self-guided option with the longest language list of the six here, and the one we would put in front of a traveller who wants the corridor without a group pace. You install the apps on your own phone before you leave home, which is the step people forget. Its weakness is honest and comes from its own reviewers: the commentary points out more than there is realistically time to stand and look at.

Our verdict: the best self-guided versionSee today’s price and availability on GetYourGuide ›

FormatTimed entry to the Uffizi and the corridor on one booking

Live guideNone. Audio apps you install on your own phone

LanguagesEnglish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Croatian

Where it startsCentral Florence; the meeting point varies by booking option

Optional extraSome options add a tasting of Tuscan products

AccessibilityThe museum describes the corridor as wheelchair accessible; confirm the product on the booking page

What you are actually buying

A reserved slot for the gallery and a reserved slot for the corridor, plus audio commentary delivered through software rather than through a person. Nobody meets you at a statue and nobody counts heads. That suits some people enormously and irritates others, and it is worth being clear which you are before you book. Download the apps at home. The wifi in the queue is not a plan, and the security check is not the moment to be watching a progress bar.

The corridor is walked one way, entering from Room D19 on the Uffizi’s first floor and leaving by the door beside the Buontalenti Grotto. That matters more than it sounds. You finish on the Oltrarno side of the river, a walk back over the Ponte Vecchio from where you started, so plan the afternoon from the Pitti end rather than the Signoria end. We set out the geography in how to get there.

Where it falls down

Waldemar, a Polish traveller who reviewed this exact product on GetYourGuide, made the most useful point anyone has made about it: the audio guide draws your attention to more than there is time to see. That is not a fault in the recording. It is what happens when a timed slot meets a gallery this size. Treat the commentary as a menu rather than a checklist, pick the works you came for, and let the rest go. Our route through the highlights is written for exactly that problem.

What works

The longest language list of any corridor product here, which makes it the default for travellers not working in English
No group pace, no headset, no waiting for stragglers
Covers the gallery and the corridor on one booking, so there is no second reservation to line up
Some booking options bundle a tasting of Tuscan products, including olive oil, truffle and cantuccini

Worth knowing

The apps must be installed before you arrive, and this is the most common way the morning goes wrong
Nobody to answer a question, in a corridor that is now bare architecture with very little labelling
Reviewers report the commentary suggests more than the slot allows for
The meeting point differs between booking options, so read the one you are buying rather than the one you read about

What its reviewers say

The GetYourGuide reviews on this activity are unusually consistent about what the appeal is. Craig, from the United Kingdom, notes that the corridor has been refurbished to a modern standard, and that the pleasure lies in treading the Medici’s route rather than in inspecting an old interior. Enrico, an Italian, wrote about the odd satisfaction of walking somewhere in his own city that he had never been allowed into. Petra, from Germany, praised the two apps you install beforehand and the Tuscan tasting attached to her booking option. Julie, from the United States, treated it as a way to open a Florence trip rather than close one. We are quoting themes from the platform rather than a score, and the live rating is one click away on the activity page.

Insider tip

Install both apps and test the audio at home, then bring wired earphones. Bluetooth pairing in a queue with a hundred other phones is a small misery you can avoid for nothing.

Who should book it, and who should not

Book it if you read labels for pleasure, travel in one of the eight languages listed, or simply cannot bear being shepherded. Do not book it if you want the paintings explained by a person who can answer back, in which case the small-group tour or a private guide is the better spend. And if the app itself is the part you do not want, the plain reserved ticket strips the product back further.

Check dates & live price on GetYourGuide

Cancellation terms differ by option and are shown on the booking page before you pay.

The alternatives

Self-guidedCorridor access included

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to download the audio app before I arrive?

Yes, and this is the part people get wrong. The apps install on your own phone, so do it on home wifi with time to spare, then check the audio actually plays. Bring earphones and a charged battery. Everything else that should be in your bag is listed on what to bring.

Is there a live guide on this ticket?

No. It is a timed entry ticket to the Uffizi and the corridor with app-based commentary and nobody leading you. If you want a person, compare it against the small-group guided tour, and note that even there the corridor itself is walked unguided.

What languages does the audio app cover?

English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Croatian, which is the broadest list of any corridor product we review. The only comparable spread is on the private tour, where the guiding itself happens in one of five languages.

Is a timed ticket enough, or should I allow more time?

Allow most of a morning for the pair of them and do not schedule anything tight afterwards. The corridor is walked one way and puts you out on the far side of the Arno. Our timing page gives the realistic shape of the day. For the current clock, the Uffizi publishes its own hours at uffizi.it.