Vasari Corridor

The Vasari Corridor is one of Florence's most extraordinary and unusual experiences — a 750-meter elevated passageway that runs from the Palazzo Vecchio through the Uffizi, over the top of the Ponte Vecchio, and across the Arno to the Palazzo Pitti. Duke Cosimo I de' Medici commissioned Giorgio Vasari to build it in 1565, and the whole thing was completed in just five months, timed for the wedding of Cosimo's son Francesco to Johanna of Austria. The purpose was pure Medici practicality: the duke wanted to walk between his offices and his residence without mixing with the public. After eight years of closure for renovation, the corridor reopened in December 2024 and the experience is quite different from what it was before. The famous collection of artists' self-portraits that lined the walls for centuries has been moved into the main Uffizi galleries. In their place, Roman-era sculptures now occupy the passageway. Honestly, the art is secondary to the experience of the space itself — walking through this narrow, light-filled corridor with its unique windows looking down onto Ponte Vecchio and across the river is something you simply cannot get anywhere else. The practical reality: you need an Uffizi ticket with the corridor supplement (€47 online), a reserved time slot, and you must enter the Uffizi two hours before your corridor slot. The walk itself takes roughly 40-60 minutes and is one-way only, depositing you near Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens. Friday evening openings (July-December) let you visit just the corridor without the Uffizi, which is a more focused and atmospheric experience.