In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The museum is €18 and the Arnolfo Tower (with its walkway) is €20, each plus a €1 presale fee online, on booked times. Palazzo Vecchio is open every day, but only until 14:00 on Thursdays. The tower is mandatory to book, 418 steps, and closed in rain. Several rooms are closed: the museum lists the Tesoretto, the Terrazza di Saturno and the mezzanine as shut and the Studiolo as limited. The Firenze Card covers both the museum and the tower. Buy at the Florentine civic museums’ box office. Or book: the Secret Passages tour with entryad, run by the museum’s foundation, is from €31.68.
The tickets, compared
Prices are the adult rate from the box office. Search results for Palazzo Vecchio include sites with the palace’s name in their web address that say on their own pages they are independent sellers.
| Ticket | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Museum | €18, plus €1 presale | The museum, at a booked time |
| Tower and walkway | €20, plus €1 presale | The Arnolfo Tower up to the patrol walkway, at a booked time |
| Under 18 | Free | The box office still asks for a booked time |
- The museum and the tower are separate tickets. For both on one day, book both.
- Firenze Card: the museum and the tower are included, each with a booked time. See Firenze Card: is it worth it?.
Which to book
- The museum if you want the Salone dei Cinquecento and the rooms. It is open Monday to Wednesday and Friday to Sunday, 9:00 to 19:00, and on Thursday 9:00 to 14:00.
- The tower if you want the view from the walkway. Its hours are 9:00 to 17:00, and 9:00 to 14:00 on Thursday. Arrive 15 minutes before your time.
- Not on a Thursday afternoon, and not the tower in rain. The tower is closed to the public in rain, and the medieval guardwalk stays open.
- Not on a day with a council ceremony. The palace is also the seat of the city council, and the museum may close wholly or partly for institutional ceremonies, which cannot always be announced long in advance.
Tours worth paying for
The museum’s foundation runs its own tours. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, per person.
The Secret Passages tour with entry
From €31.68 · 75 minutes · 1,324 reviews
Palazzo Vecchio: Skip-the-Line Entry and Secret Passage Tourad is run by Associazione MUS.E, the foundation that runs the museum’s activities. The tour takes in the stair built into the thickness of the walls for Gualtieri di Brienne and the roof trusses above the Salone dei Cinquecento. The museum runs it at 10:00, 11:30, 14:30 and 16:00 (Thursday: 10:00 and 11:30).
Guided tour of the palace
From €54.90 · 1.5 hours · 1,400 reviews
Florence: Palazzo Vecchio Guided Tourad is a 90-minute tour with Hidden Experiences, covering the Salone dei Cinquecento and the palace’s chambers and passages.
Ticket with an audio app
From €19 · 177 reviews
Palazzo Vecchio Skip the Line Ticket & Audio Guidead is the museum’s €19 price (€18 plus the €1 presale fee) with an audio app.
What to see
The palace has been the seat of Florence’s government for more than seven centuries. The museum names these among its masterpieces:
- The Salone dei Cinquecento, the main room of the palace, with Vasari’s roof structure above its ceiling.
- Michelangelo’s Genius of Victory.
- Donatello’s Judith and Holofernes.
- Bronzino’s paintings in the Chapel of Eleonora.
- The Arnolfo Tower, 418 steps to the patrol walkway.
The Salone dei Cinquecento in Palazzo Vecchio. Photo: Gary Campbell-Hall, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
The museum and the tower have separate booked times, so choose a dry day for the tower. The museum lists the Tesoretto (Cosimo I’s study) as closed, the Studiolo of Francesco I as limited, and the Terrazza di Saturno and the mezzanine floor as closed. In a level 3 heat alert (red code) further areas are restricted.
What to skip: the tower, if you are also climbing the Duomo’s dome. Best views in Florence compares the two.
Hours, rules and getting there
- Hours: the museum is open 9:00 to 19:00 and on Thursday 9:00 to 14:00. The ticket office closes one hour before closing.
- The tower: children under 6 are not allowed, and under-18s must be with an adult. It is not accessible to wheelchairs or pushchairs.
- Where: Piazza della Signoria, beside the Uffizi. The box office phone is +39 055 2768325.
Palazzo Vecchio and the Loggia dei Lanzi on Piazza della Signoria. Photo: Yair Haklai, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Uffizi shares the square, and the Duomo’s dome is the other big climb. Palazzo Vecchio is open on Mondays, when the Uffizi and the Accademia are shut, so it is the Monday ticket: Florence museums lists what else is open. What to book before you go to Florence has the closed days, and Florence in one or two days plans round Thursday. Where to stay in Florence compares the areas.
Common questions
How much are Palazzo Vecchio tickets?
The museum is €18 and the Arnolfo Tower with its walkway is €20, each plus a €1 presale fee online. Children under 18 are free but still book a time. The box office is the official Florentine civic museums' site, ticketsmuseums.comune.fi.it.
Is Palazzo Vecchio open on Thursdays?
Only until 14:00. The museum is open 9:00 to 19:00 on other days, and the Arnolfo Tower 9:00 to 17:00 on other days and 9:00 to 14:00 on Thursdays. The ticket office closes one hour before.
Do I need to book the Arnolfo Tower?
Yes. The museum says reservation is mandatory, by buying the ticket in advance, and asks you to arrive 15 minutes early. The tower is 418 steps, closed in rain, and not open to children under 6 or to wheelchairs and pushchairs.
Which rooms of Palazzo Vecchio are closed?
The museum's notice lists the Tesoretto as closed, the Studiolo as limited, the Terrazza di Saturno and the mezzanine floor as closed, and the Arnolfo Tower as open up to the patrol walkway. Parts of the museum are restricted in a level 3 heat alert, and the council's ceremonies can close it.
Is Palazzo Vecchio included in the Firenze Card?
Yes, the museum and the Arnolfo Tower are both in the card, and both need a booked time.
What is the Secret Passages tour at Palazzo Vecchio?
A 75-minute guided tour run by the museum's foundation, MUS.E, through spaces not on the normal route, including the stair built into the thickness of the walls and the roof trusses above the Salone dei Cinquecento. It starts at 10:00, 11:30, 14:30 and 16:00, and on Thursdays at 10:00 and 11:30.
