The Ponte Vecchio over the Arno in Florence — the Vasari Corridor runs above its shops, linking the Uffizi to Palazzo Pitti

Walk the Medici's secret passage above Florence

The Vasari Corridor reopened in December 2024 after eight years closed — a tiny-group, timed-entry walk over the Ponte Vecchio. We hold your place in line and book it in your name.

Join the priority waitlist
  • 1565 Built by Giorgio Vasari for the Medici
  • ~750 m+ Elevated passage over the Ponte Vecchio (up to ~1 km cited)
  • Dec 2024 Reopened after 8 years closed
  • 25 max Per timed group — capacity-limited

Vasari Corridor + Uffizi — reserve your place

The Vasari Corridor is sold only as a combined ticket with the Uffizi Galleries, in tiny timed groups that sell out the moment they open. Join the priority waitlist with no payment now — we watch the official calendar and email you a secure payment link the instant a slot opens for your date, then book it in your name.

  • Book in your languageYour currency, final price.
  • We hold your placeWe watch the scarce calendar so you don't have to.
  • Booked in your nameNamed, ID-checked ticket — fulfilled correctly.
  • 24/7 human supportReal people, instant answers — any hour, any time zone.

5-minute audio guide

Your Vasari Corridor 5-minute guide

Hand-written, narrated by a heritage host, sent free with every booking. Five minutes that frame what you'll walk through: the 1565 Medici commission, the secret-passage politics, the self-portraits that left, and the ancient busts and inscriptions that now line the route over the Ponte Vecchio.

Included with your booking — your full guide arrives with your ticket.Get your guide
  • Why Cosimo I had Vasari build a private passage in just five months in 1565
  • How the Corridor crosses the top of the Ponte Vecchio
  • Why the famous self-portrait collection is no longer on the walls
  • What replaced it: ancient inscriptions, Greco-Roman busts, and Vasari's frescoes

Included free with every booking. No app, no download — plays in any browser.

About Vasari Corridor

The Vasari Corridor — the Corridoio Vasariano — is an elevated, enclosed passage that threads from the Uffizi Galleries, along the Arno, over the top of the Ponte Vecchio and through to the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens on the far bank; the Uffizi describe it as about 750 metres long, though it is often cited as up to around a kilometre. It was designed by the painter and architect Giorgio Vasari and built at extraordinary speed in 1565 on the commission of Duke Cosimo I de' Medici, to mark the marriage of his son Francesco to Joanna of Austria. Its purpose was political as much as ceremonial: it let the Medici move privately and safely between the seat of government and their residence without ever setting foot in the public street.

For most of its modern life the Corridor was famous for the collection of artists' self-portraits that Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici began hanging here in the 17th century — a collection that eventually grew to hundreds of works. Those self-portraits are no longer part of the route: they have been moved to dedicated rooms inside the main gallery. The reopened Corridor is instead presented as a walk through the structure itself, lined with almost three hundred ancient Greek and Latin marble inscriptions, around fifty Greco-Roman portrait busts of emperors and empresses, and 16th-century frescoes created under Vasari's own direction, with memorial spaces recalling the 1944 destruction of Florence's bridges and the 1993 Via dei Georgofili bombing that damaged this very passage.

The Corridor closed in 2016 and reopened to the public on 21 December 2024 after an eight-year restoration. It is reached only as part of a combined Uffizi + Vasari Corridor ticket, visited Tuesday to Sunday in tiny timed groups — a maximum of 25 people at a time, walking one direction from the Uffizi towards Boboli — and reservation is mandatory. Because the daily capacity is so small and the novelty so high, slots are released on a short horizon and disappear quickly.

The Corridor passes over the Ponte Vecchio, the medieval shop-lined bridge that is one of the most recognisable landmarks of Florence. The whole stage sits inside the Historic Centre of Florence, inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1982 — the Corridor and the bridge are celebrated features within that listing rather than separately inscribed monuments. Tickets are nominative: each one is issued in a named visitor's name and is personal and non-transferable, with the name checked against a physical ID at the entrance. That is exactly why we collect each traveller's name up front and book in-name — so the ticket is valid for the person who walks through the door.

Practical information

Opening hours
Vasari Corridor timed groups run Tuesday to Sunday; the first group of the day enters at 10:15 and the last group at 16:35. Closed Mondays. The combined ticket also admits you to the Uffizi Galleries, which keep their own broader hours (typically Tuesday–Sunday from 08:15). Hours and the timed-group schedule are set by the Uffizi Galleries and adjust seasonally and on holidays — we confirm the exact slot when we book.
Entrance
The Vasari Corridor is entered from inside the Uffizi Galleries, from room D19 on the first floor. The walk is one-directional, from the Uffizi over the Ponte Vecchio towards the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens side. Your combined ticket lets you enter the Uffizi first and reach the Corridor entrance in time for your group.
Address
Galleria degli Uffizi, Piazzale degli Uffizi 6, 50122 Florence, Italy. The Corridor begins inside the Uffizi and runs to the Pitti/Boboli side of the Arno.
Getting there
The Uffizi sits beside Piazza della Signoria in the heart of Florence's pedestrian centre. From Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station it is about a 15-minute walk through the old town. The historic centre is a Limited Traffic Zone (ZTL), so most visitors arrive on foot; cameras automatically fine unauthorised vehicles.
Accessibility
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. Contact the Uffizi Galleries in advance for specific accessibility support; we can pass on any access needs when we book.
Bag policy
Large bags and backpacks must be left in the Uffizi cloakroom before entry. Standard museum security screening applies at the Uffizi entrance.
Photography
Personal photography without flash or tripods is generally permitted along the Corridor. The round windows over the Arno and the view down onto the Ponte Vecchio are the signature shots.

About our service

Vasari Corridor Tickets is an independent booking service operated for international visitors. We facilitate the official Uffizi Galleries combined Uffizi + Vasari Corridor ticket. Because the Corridor runs only in tiny timed groups released on a short horizon, our primary service is a no-payment priority waitlist: we watch the official calendar, and the moment a slot opens for your date we email you a secure payment link and book the timed entry in your name. Tickets are nominative and ID-checked at the gate, so we collect each visitor's name when you join. Our concierge service fee is included in the displayed price. All sales are final once a ticket is issued; we refund only where the operator fails to honour a confirmed, paid booking.

Frequently asked

What is the Vasari Corridor?

The Vasari Corridor (Corridoio Vasariano) is an elevated, enclosed passage that runs from the Uffizi Galleries, along the Arno, over the top of the Ponte Vecchio and through to the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens — described by the Uffizi as about 750 metres long, and often cited as up to around a kilometre. It was designed by Giorgio Vasari and built in 1565 for Duke Cosimo I de' Medici, so the Medici family could move privately between the government palace and their residence without entering the public street. It reopened on 21 December 2024 after eight years closed for restoration.

Why is this a waitlist instead of an instant booking?

The Corridor is visited only in tiny timed groups — a maximum of 25 people at a time, one group at a time — and the official calendar releases dates on a short horizon. Those slots sell out quickly because demand far outstrips the small daily capacity, especially since the long-awaited 2024 reopening. Rather than send you to a sold-out calendar, we hold your place: you join the waitlist with no payment, we watch the official calendar 24/7, and the moment a slot opens for your date we email you a secure payment link and book it in your name.

Is this a skip-the-line ticket?

No — and we won't pretend it is. The Vasari Corridor is a reserved, timed-entry experience with a hard cap of 25 people per group, so there is no general queue to skip. What we do is secure you a confirmed timed slot on a calendar that sells out fast, and hold your place in line for it. You arrive for your booked group time and walk straight into your reserved visit.

Do I have to buy the Uffizi too?

The Vasari Corridor is sold only as a combined Uffizi + Vasari Corridor ticket — there is no Corridor-only ticket. The good news is the same ticket admits you to the Uffizi Galleries, so you can explore the Uffizi before heading to the Corridor entrance inside the gallery for your timed group.

Why do you need each visitor's name before booking?

The official ticket is nominative — issued in a named visitor's name, personal and non-transferable, and checked against a physical ID at the entrance. To book a slot the instant it opens, we already need each traveller's name on file, so we don't lose the slot chasing you for details. Each name must exactly match the passport or government ID that person will travel on. We use the names only to book your ticket and delete them after your visit.

What will I actually see inside the Corridor?

The reopened route is a walk through the structure itself. Along the way you pass almost three hundred ancient Greek and Latin marble inscriptions, around fifty Greco-Roman portrait busts of emperors and empresses (Augustus, Antoninus Pius, Commodus, the empresses Sabina and Faustina among them), and 16th-century frescoes created under Vasari's direction. There are memorial spaces for the 1944 destruction of Florence's bridges and the 1993 Via dei Georgofili bombing. The famous self-portrait collection that once hung here has been moved into dedicated rooms inside the main gallery.

Can I see the self-portraits in the Corridor?

Not any more. For decades the Corridor was lined with hundreds of artists' self-portraits begun by Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici in the 17th century. During the restoration those works were relocated to dedicated rooms inside the Uffizi's main galleries. The reopened Corridor instead displays ancient inscriptions, Greco-Roman busts and Vasari-era frescoes, with the bare structure and the views over the Arno as the experience.

How long does the visit take, and which direction does it go?

The Corridor walk is one-directional, from the Uffizi over the Ponte Vecchio towards the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens side. Allow roughly 45–60 minutes for the Corridor itself once your group enters, plus however long you spend in the Uffizi beforehand on the same ticket. Groups run Tuesday to Sunday, with the first at 10:15 and the last at 16:35.

Is the Corridor wheelchair-accessible?

Yes. The reopened Corridor was rebuilt to be fully accessible, with an integrated system of ramps, platforms and lifts, and toilets at the far end. If anyone in your party has specific access needs, tell us when you join the waitlist and we will pass them to the Uffizi Galleries when we book.

When does the Corridor open and close, and is it open Mondays?

Timed groups run Tuesday to Sunday — the first group enters at 10:15 and the last at 16:35 — and the Corridor is closed on Mondays, like the Uffizi. The exact slots available shift seasonally and on public holidays; we confirm your precise group time when we secure the booking.

Is the Vasari Corridor a UNESCO World Heritage Site?

It sits within one. The Corridor and the Ponte Vecchio it crosses are celebrated features of the Historic Centre of Florence, which UNESCO inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1982. The Corridor is a landmark within that listing rather than a separately inscribed monument.

What happens after I join the waitlist?

Nothing is charged when you join. We watch the official Uffizi calendar 24/7 for your date. The moment a slot opens, we email you a secure payment link; once you pay, we book the timed entry in your name and your confirmation arrives by email. If no slot opens before your travel date, we close the reservation and let you know — you are never charged.

What is your refund policy?

Because the ticket is a nominative, timed reservation, all sales are final once a ticket has been issued in your name. You are only ever charged after we have a confirmed slot to book. We refund in full only in the event the operator fails to honour a confirmed, paid booking. We do not promise a refund 'if we can't secure a slot' because we never take payment until a slot is confirmed — if none opens, you simply are not charged.

How do I get to the Uffizi and the Corridor entrance?

The Uffizi is beside Piazza della Signoria in the heart of Florence's pedestrian centre, about a 15-minute walk from Firenze Santa Maria Novella station. Enter the Uffizi with your combined ticket; the Vasari Corridor begins inside the gallery, from room D19 on the first floor. Arrive in good time so you reach the Corridor entrance before your group's start time.