Event details
RETURNING TO A FLORENCE TREASURE
Choose Your Uffizi Experience
This optional reunion activity is designed to give everyone the flexibility to enjoy the Uffizi in the way that best suits their interests. Whether you prefer the insight of a professional guide, the freedom to explore at your own pace, or the opportunity to include the Vasari Corridor, Friday morning is yours to enjoy.
Whichever option you select, we recommend choosing a morning entry time between approximately 8:30 AM and 10:00 AM.
After completing your visit, classmates are invited to gather for an informal lunch at 1:00 PM at the nearby Trattoria Bordino. It's a chance to relax, share stories from the morning, and enjoy one more meal together before we begin saying our goodbyes and heading home.
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.
What is the Vasari Corridor?
Built in 1565 for the Medici rulers of Florence, the enclosed Vasari Corridor allowed the ruling family to travel safely between the Palazzo Vecchio, the Uffizi, and the Pitti Palace without walking through the city streets. Crossing above the shops of the Ponte Vecchio, it offers one of Florence's most unique and memorable perspectives on the city.
Estimated cost: Approximately €47.
View Uffizi and Vasari Corridor ticket options
View detailed ticket information below
Planning Your Visit
If you choose the Uffizi + Vasari Corridor ticket through the official Uffizi website, we recommend selecting the 12:00 PM Corridor entry whenever possible. Your museum admission begins two hours before the scheduled Corridor tour, allowing you to enter the Uffizi at approximately 10:00 AM, explore the galleries, and then join the Corridor tour from inside the museum.
If the 12:00 PM entry is unavailable, 11:45 AM or 12:15 PM are also good choices and should still allow you to join classmates for lunch at 1:00 PM at Trattoria Bordino.
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 Trattoria Bordino
Via Stracciatella, 9r
50125 Firenze FI, Italy
After completing your morning at the Uffizi, classmates are invited to gather for an informal lunch at Trattoria Bordino, a traditional Florentine restaurant just a short walk from the Ponte Vecchio and the reunion hotels.
Whether you've explored the galleries independently, joined a guided tour, or included the Vasari Corridor in your morning, lunch is where everyone's paths come together again. It's an opportunity to compare favorite discoveries, continue conversations sparked by the artwork, and enjoy one more relaxed meal with friends before the reunion draws to a close.
There is no formal program or reserved seating plan—simply come when your visit is finished and join the group. Whether you stay for a quick lunch or linger over coffee and conversation, we hope you'll take a little extra time to enjoy one final afternoon together in Florence.
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 experience the Uffizi, gathering afterward for lunch at Trattoria Bordino gives us a chance to compare discoveries, 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 within easy walking distance of the Ponte Vecchio. Most attendees staying in central Florence will be 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. After your visit, simply make your way to Trattoria Bordino to join classmates for lunch.
A map showing both the Uffizi Gallery and Trattoria Bordino appears below.
Proposed Schedule
8:30–10:00 AM — Recommended window for beginning your Uffizi visit
Morning — Explore the Uffizi Gallery at your own pace, join a guided tour, or include the Vasari Corridor experience
1:00 PM — (approximate) — Gather for an informal lunch at Trattoria Bordino
Afternoon —Continue exploring Florence, visit nearby attractions, or begin your journey home
Estimated Cost
- Guided tour: Approximately €85, depending on the tour selected
- Self-guided timed admission: Approximately €29–€30
- Uffizi and Vasari Corridor: Approximately €47
- Lunch at Trattoria Bordino: Paid individually
Prices are approximate and may change. Please confirm current pricing and availability before purchasing your tickets.
Who Will Enjoy This Experience?
- Classmates who remember visiting the Uffizi during our year in Florence
- Guests who would enjoy one of the world's great art museums
- Visitors who appreciate Renaissance and Italian masterpieces
- Those who prefer the insight of a professional guide or the freedom to explore independently
- Anyone interested in including the historic Vasari Corridor in their visit
- Classmates looking to spend one final morning and lunch together before the reunion concludes
Ticket Information
Tickets are purchased individually. Before making a reservation, decide which of the three options best suits your interests, schedule, and budget.
Guided Tour Details
Viator offers a variety of guided Uffizi tours with different start times, group sizes, durations, and cancellation policies. Review the individual tour descriptions carefully before making your reservation
When selecting a tour, we recommend choosing a morning departure between approximately 8:30 AM and 10:00 AM. This should allow plenty of time to complete your visit and join classmates for lunch at Trattoria Bordino.
Browse guided Uffizi tours on Viator
Self-Guided Ticket Details
If you prefer to explore independently, purchase a timed-entry ticket through the official Uffizi Galleries website.
We recommend selecting an entry time between 8:30 AM and 10:00 AM so you'll have plenty of time to enjoy the museum before meeting classmates for lunch at Trattoria Bordino.
Official Uffizi tickets may have different cancellation or change policies than commercial guided tours, so please review the booking conditions before completing your purchase.
Vasari Corridor Ticket Details
If you choose the Uffizi + Vasari Corridor ticket through the official Uffizi website, select a 12:00 PM Vasari Corridor entry whenever possible. Your museum admission begins two hours before your scheduled Corridor walk, allowing you to enter the Uffizi at approximately 10:00 AM, explore the galleries, and then join the Corridor tour from inside the museum.
If the 12:00 PM entry is unavailable, 11:45 AM or 12:15 PM are also good choices. These options should still allow you to join classmates for lunch at 1:00 PM at Trattoria Bordino.
View Uffizi and Vasari Corridor ticket options
Considering Several Florence Museums?
The Uffizi Galleries also offers the PassePartout, a five-day combined ticket that includes admission to the Uffizi, Pitti Palace, Boboli Gardens, and other participating museums. If you plan to spend several days sightseeing in Florence, it may offer excellent value.
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.
Registering for this reunion activity lets us know who plans to participate and who expects to join the group for lunch at Trattoria Bordino. Registration does not include or reserve admission to the Uffizi Gallery.