Vasari Corridor: Friday Evening Opening

Halfway across Ponte Vecchio the corridor opens into a row of windows looking upriver to Ponte Santa Trinita, and you are standing above the goldsmiths' shops. Vasari built this raised passage for Cosimo I de' Medici in 1565, in five months, linking the Uffizi to Palazzo Pitti.

The self-portraits that once hung here were removed before the December 2024 reopening. Over the bridge they have been replaced by more than 50 Roman busts, Augustus and Cicero among them. The route bends around the Torre de' Mannelli, crosses the front of Santa Felicita and ends by the Buontalenti Grotto in Boboli, so you leave on Piazza Pitti.

On Fridays until 20 November, groups of 25 set off every 20 minutes from 7pm, last slot 9:50pm, for about 35 minutes. It's €20 on the day or €24 in advance, booking is compulsory, backpacks aren't allowed and there's no cloakroom. The Medici built it to cross the river without mixing with the crowd, still sound planning on Ponte Vecchio on Friday night.