Event details
RETURNING TO A FLORENCE TREASURE
Choose Your Uffizi Experience
This Uffizi morning is designed to be flexible. Rather than requiring everyone to follow the same tour, participants may choose the experience that best matches their interests, preferred pace, and budget.
Whichever option you select, we recommend choosing a morning entry time between approximately 8:30 AM and 10:00 AM. Most participants will then gather at the Uffizi Gallery Café beginning at noon for a light lunch and conversation before leaving for their afternoon Small Gruppo activities.
Option 1 — Guided Tour
Choose a professionally guided tour of the Uffizi's highlights, usually lasting about 1½ hours. Many guided tours include reserved admission and allow some additional time to explore independently afterward.
Estimated cost: Approximately €85, depending on the tour selected.
Browse guided Uffizi tours on Viator
Option 2 — Self-Guided Visit
Purchase a timed-entry ticket directly from the official Uffizi website and explore the galleries independently at your own pace.
Estimated cost: Approximately €29–€30.
View official Uffizi ticket options
Option 3 — Uffizi and Vasari Corridor
Combine time in the Uffizi Gallery with a scheduled visit through the Vasari Corridor. Your Uffizi admission begins before the assigned corridor entry time, allowing you to visit the galleries before making your way to the corridor entrance.
The Vasari Corridor visit ends at the Pitti Palace. Because this option finishes on the opposite side of the Arno, participants choosing it will probably need to arrange lunch independently rather than returning to the Uffizi Café.
Estimated cost: Approximately €47.
View Uffizi and Vasari Corridor ticket options
View detailed ticket information below
Returning to a Place That Inspired Us
Few museums are as closely connected with our memories of Florence as the Uffizi Gallery. During our year abroad, many of us walked these galleries as students, discovering artists and works that had previously existed only in textbooks, lectures, and slides.
Returning nearly fifty years later offers an opportunity to experience those works again—not simply as students, but with the perspective that comes from a lifetime of travel and experience.
Rather than trying to see everything, this visit is about slowing down, rediscovering familiar works, and sharing the experience with classmates who remember that remarkable year as vividly as you do.
Rediscovering Familiar Masterpieces
Whether you are returning to the Uffizi for the first time since the 1970s or have visited many times over the years, the experience is never quite the same. Familiar paintings often reveal new details, and works that once seemed distant or intimidating may now invite a more personal appreciation.
As you explore the galleries, you will encounter many of the artists whose works became part of our Florence education, including Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, and Caravaggio.
Some visitors may linger before a favorite painting, while others may prefer a guided introduction or an independent walk through the collection. The flexible format allows each participant to experience the museum in the way that feels most meaningful.
Lunch at the Uffizi Gallery Café
Participants completing their visit at the Uffizi are invited to gather beginning at 12:00 PM at the Uffizi Gallery Café, also known as Caffetteria Bartolini.
The café sits above the Loggia dei Lanzi and overlooks Piazza della Signoria. If the weather is pleasant, we may be able to enjoy the outdoor terrace; indoor seating is also available.
The plan is for a light and informal lunch—perhaps pasta, a sandwich, baked goods, or a glass of wine—before leaving at approximately 1:00 PM for the afternoon Small Gruppo activities. Since the Gala Farewell Dinner takes place that evening, this is intended to be a relaxed midday gathering rather than a large meal.
Please note: The café is reached as part of the museum exit route. Once you leave the galleries for the café, you cannot return to the museum using the same ticket.
Why Visit the Uffizi Together?
One of the pleasures of returning to Florence is discovering how our perspectives have changed over the years. Paintings we admired as students often take on new meaning after decades of travel, careers, families, and life experiences.
Although everyone may choose a different way to visit the museum, gathering afterward gives us a chance to compare experiences, revisit old memories, and continue conversations that began during our year in Florence.
Transportation
The Uffizi Gallery is located in Florence's historic center beside Piazza della Signoria and close to the Arno River. Most attendees staying in central Florence will be able to reach the museum on foot.
Because each participant will select an individual ticket or tour, arrival instructions will depend on the option chosen. Be sure to follow the meeting and check-in directions provided with your reservation.
Proposed Schedule
8:30–10:00 AM — Recommended window for beginning your Uffizi visit
Morning — Guided tour, self-guided visit, or Uffizi and Vasari Corridor experience
12:00 PM — Light lunch gathering at the Uffizi Gallery Café for participants finishing at the Uffizi
Approximately 1:00 PM — Leave for afternoon Small Gruppo activities
Estimated Cost
- Guided tour: Approximately €85
- Self-guided timed admission: Approximately €29–€30
- Uffizi and Vasari Corridor: Approximately €47
- Lunch: Paid individually
Prices may change and should be confirmed on the booking website before purchasing.
Who Will Enjoy This Experience?
- Classmates who remember visiting the Uffizi as students
- Guests who would enjoy one of Florence's most important museums
- Visitors who prefer the structure of a professional guide
- Independent travelers who enjoy exploring at their own pace
- Anyone interested in adding the Vasari Corridor to their visit
Detailed Ticket and Timing Information
Tickets are purchased individually. Before making a reservation, decide which of the three options best suits your interests and schedule.
Guided Tour Details
Viator lists a variety of guided Uffizi tours with different start times, group sizes, durations, and cancellation policies. Review the individual tour description carefully before purchasing.
When choosing a tour, look for a morning departure that allows enough time to complete the visit and reach the Uffizi Gallery Café by noon. A tour beginning around 9:00 AM should generally work well.
Browse guided Uffizi tours on Viator
Self-Guided Ticket Details
For an independent visit, purchase a timed-entry ticket through the official Uffizi Galleries website. A reservation between approximately 8:30 AM and 10:00 AM should provide adequate time to explore before the noon café gathering.
Official Uffizi tickets may have different cancellation or change conditions than commercial guided tours. Review the terms carefully before completing your purchase.
Vasari Corridor Ticket Details
The combined Uffizi and Vasari Corridor ticket includes admission to the Uffizi before a scheduled corridor entry time. Allow enough time to enter the museum, visit the galleries, and reach the Vasari Corridor meeting point inside the Uffizi.
The corridor walk ends at the Pitti Palace. Participants selecting this option should plan lunch independently and allow enough time to reach the meeting location for their afternoon activity.
View Uffizi and Vasari Corridor ticket options
Considering Several Florence Museums?
The Uffizi Galleries also offers a five-day PassePartout combined ticket. It may provide good value for visitors planning to see several participating museums and gardens during their stay in Florence.
Learn more about the five-day PassePartout ticket
Additional Information
Ticket availability, prices, tour schedules, and entry conditions may change. Participants are responsible for purchasing their own admission and confirming the details of the ticket or tour they select.
Registration for the reunion activity will let us know who plans to participate and who may join the noon lunch gathering, but it will not purchase or reserve admission to the Uffizi.