Guided Tours

Palazzo Vecchio Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

Name: Palazzo Vecchio Skip-the-Line Guided Tour
Start: 2025-10-31T10:00:00
End: 2025-10-31T11:30:00
Location: Florence

Palazzo Vecchio Hall of the Five Hundred with frescoes and statues, Florence, Italy.

Palazzo Vecchio exterior with clock tower under clear blue sky in Florence, Italy.

Courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio with ornate columns and a central fountain in Florence, Italy.

Visitors admiring artwork in Palazzo Vecchio museum, Florence, Italy.

Duration

1 hr 15 min - 2 hr

Open today

09:00am - 07:00pm

Free cancellation

Free cancellation up to 48 hours before the start of your experience

Book now, pay later

Book now without paying anything. Cancel for free if your plans change.

Guided tour

4.3/5

(2,184)

Erik

Jul 2025

Verified booking

5/5

We had a lovely time visiting the palazzo Vecchiano. Our guide Laura did an amazing job. She was very knowledgable, told about the general history as well as some great anecdotes, and at a very agreable pace. Thank you for the amazing experience.

Helen

May 2025

Verified booking

5/5

The tour itself was fabulous. Christina was knowledgable, very informative and engaging, and she had many great insights about the Medici family. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing the secret, hidden away places in the Palazzo Vecchio and would recommend it for anyone coming to Florence. However, the instructions on our confirmation email were misleading. I was instructed to stand just inside the door of the Palazzo and wait for the guide (pic of email attached). But I really needed to go to the pre-bookings ticket office first, then wait for the guide at the lion in the courtyard. Because of this, we missed our scheduled tour - fortunately, there was availability on the next one so we didn't miss out. The women at the ticket office were very helpful.

Alexis

May 2025

Verified booking

5/5

Note: Great tour, poor meeting instructions from Headout. The tour was really special! If you enjoy seeing secret rooms, learning about the people who lived in these buildings, and learning more about the craftsmanship, then this is the tour for you! By far my favorite visit in Florence. After the tour, we were then able to visit the rest of Palazzo Vecchio, so overall a great experince. HOWEVER, please do not follow the instructions on the Headout app or email. GO TO THE TICKET OFFICE to get your tickets, THEN they will tell you where to meet your guide. The app told us to wait where we were, and we almost missed our tour.

Gain fast-track entry by skipping ticket queues and explore the museum with a licensed guide in a group of up to 20 guests.

Your local expert reveals Savonarola’s rise in the Hall of Five Hundred and the Florentine liberty symbol at Donatello’s Judith.

Upgrade to a small group tour of up to 14 guests and make your visit more personalized and less crowded.

You can also opt for a secret passage guided tour through Duke Gualtieri’s hidden stairway, discovering secret cabinets and artifacts.

Guided tour of Palazzo Vecchio with skip-the-line entry

An expert English or Italian speaking guide (as per option selected)

A group of up to 20 guests

Small group tour of up to 14 guests only available in English, Italian, French and German (as per option selected)

English guided tour of the secret passages (as per option selected)

You can cancel these tickets up to 48 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.

4.3
2,184 reviews
How do we collect reviews?
These ratings include verified reviews from both Headout guests and our trusted partners who operate this experience locally. All reviews come from real travelers who've taken this experience.
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Guests from United States, Romania, France and over 10 countries have loved this experience
What our guests say
Favier
Oct 2025
Verified booking
4/5
Very original visit with places we wouldn't have thought to see
Milan
Oct 2025
Verified booking
5/5
Great experience and detail provided. Highly recommend her.
Cora
Oct 2025
Verified booking
5/5
Our guide was very good, she was a great storyteller
Tuyet
Sep 2025
Verified booking
4/5
Lotsa information, easy to follow. However, would have been nice to see more hidden passages (e.g. Armenia)
Nada
Sep 2025
Verified booking
5/5
We had the tiur guide to ourselves and she was very good.

Skip the lines and explore palace-turned-museum on a guided tour of Palazzo Vecchio, led by a licensed expert.

Getting started

Meet your guide near the main entrance of Palazzo Vecchio at Piazza della Signoria for a quick check-in. After going through security you will begin your journey.

What to expect at Palazzo Vecchio

Originally built in the 14th century, Palazzo Vecchio served as Florence’s city hall and later as a Medici residence, housing halls, chambers, and chapels.

Features

Skip-the-line entry: Bypass hour-long queues to the museum.

Guided insight: Your guide will point out allegorical ceiling panels and artworks that reflect the Medici’s political messaging and taste for refinement.

Hall of the Five Hundred: Stand in the grand council chamber as your guide unpacks the stories behind Giorgio Vasari’s monumental frescoes.

Medici apartments: Explore the private quarters of Duke Cosimo I and Eleanor of Toledo.

Museum collections: With expert narration, explore Roman ruins, Renaissance sculptures, fresco cycles, and the Hall of Maps with its 16th-century cartographic panels.

Upgrades

Small group: You can opt for a group of up to 14 guests and get a less crowded and more personalized experience.

Secret passage: Step behind bookcases and through hidden doors to walk in the footsteps of rulers and advisors. Your guide will explain how these passageways were designed for covert meetings and quick escapes.

Palazzo Vecchio

Monday	09:00am - 07:00pm	last entry 06:00pm
Tuesday	09:00am - 07:00pm	last entry 06:00pm
Wednesday	09:00am - 07:00pm	last entry 06:00pm
Thursday	09:00am - 02:00pm	last entry 01:00pm
Friday	09:00am - 07:00pm	last entry 06:00pm
Saturday	09:00am - 07:00pm	last entry 06:00pm
Sunday	09:00am - 07:00pm	last entry 06:00pm

What to bring

Bring a valid photo ID matching the name on your booking for entry verification.

What’s not allowed

Large bags, suitcases, and oversized luggage are not permitted inside the museums.

Food and drinks are not allowed inside exhibition spaces.

Pets are not permitted, except for registered service animals.

Flash photography, tripods, and filming equipment are prohibited in exhibition areas.

Smoking and the use of e-cigarettes are strictly forbidden within museum premises.

Accessibility

The museum is partially accessible. While the ground floor is accessible via a ramp, the upper floors pose challenges as they have no elevators.

Additional information

Please note that you will need to pass through the mandatory security checks at the museum's entrance.

Your voucher will be emailed to you instantly.

Please display the voucher on your mobile phone with a valid photo ID at the meeting point.

Please arrive at the meeting point 15 minutes before the scheduled time of your tour to avoid any delays.

Meeting point

Please check your final voucher for the meeting point details and specific instructions.