Getting tickets to Pitti Palace is easier than you can imagine. This post highlights all the options available, so that you can pick the one that best suits your interests and travel budget.
The Pitti Palace is a residence full of Renaissance history. Cosimo I de Medici chose and purchased the Pitti residence in 1550 as the new Grand Ducal residence. It then became the new symbol of the Medici’s power over Tuscany, enlarging Brunelleschi’s original design.
It also housed two other dynasties in the 18th and 19th centuries, but it still holds the name of its first owner, Luca Pitti the Florentine banker.
The palace today is divided into four museums: the Treasury of the Grand Dukes (including the Silver Museum, and which at the time of writing are undergoing renovations), the impressive Palatine Gallery and the Apartments, the Gallery of Modern Art and the Museum of Costume and Fashion. This is an extremely pleasant museum to visit: you will marvel at both the grand building, and the magnificent art collection within its walls.
If you are unsure how to go about planning your visit, continue reading: in this post, I explain how to get Pitti Palace tickets. At the end of the post, I will also share lots of practical information to help you make the most of your visit.
Don’t forget to read my posts The Best Museums In Florence and The Best Things To Do In Florence.
How To Get Tickets To Pitti Palace
There are several ways you can use to get your Pitti Palace tickets. You can opt for a ticket from the official website, third-party sites, through tours, at the door or more. While you are not required to buy tickets in advance, if you are traveling to Florence during peak season (March to October included), purchasing your tickets before actually visiting the museum is highly advisable. If you do not have pre-purchased tickets, you run the risk of not being able to enter on the day you wish to visit.
Finally, let’s see all the options available to get tickets to Pitti Palace.
Get your tickets to Pitti Palace via the official website
This is the official website to buy Pitti Palace tickets. Buying tickets on the official museum site lets you know exactly where your money is going. This option is highly recommended.
A single ticket for all floors and collections costs €10. A cumulative Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens ticket costs €14. A reduced price admission fee (€2) is available for citizens of the European Union over the age of 18 up to and including their 25 birthday, provided they show a valid identity document.
Free entry is granted for minors under 18 years old. People with disabilities can also enter for free, as well as the person accompanying them. There are other categories of users who are eligible for free access, such as tour guides or teachers accompanying their students.
All tickets bought online have an additional €3 booking fee – so the prices would be as follows:
€13 for adults
€5 for reduced tickets
€3 for free visits
If you wish to have an all-inclusive ticket which grants you access to multiple museums and galleries in Florence over the course of several days, you can get the Passepartout ticket. You can buy it from the official website and it gives you access to the Uffizi Gallery, Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens for five days at a discount price! Passepartout tickets cost €38 during peak season, and €18 in low season.
Make sure to also read my post How To Get Tickets To Boboli Gardens.
You can also get an audioguide at the ticket office. This is available in Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, Japanese. One costs €8, whereas two cost €13. Audioguides can be picked up until 4:00 pm and must be returned by 6:00 pm. At the moment, the audioguide service has been suspended until further notice.
Visitors to Pitti Palace who get their ticket before 8:59 am and enter the premises within the first time slots (8:30 to 9:25 am) enjoy a 50% discount on the price of admission – tickets would then cost €5 instead of €10.
To get your ticket via the official website, follow the simple instructions. Upon payment, you will get an order confirmation via email which will include a transaction code, and shortly after another email showing the kind of ticket you bought. On the day of your visit, go to the Museum Ticket Office with your confirmation email, and you’ll be handed your ticket to show at the gate.
Just make sure to be at the museum at least 15 minutes before your entry time. You may not be allowed to enter if you arrive later than this.
Get your tickets to Pitti Palace on a third-party booking site
Countless online websites offer skip-the-line mobile tickets, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience. Of course, in terms of price, most are a few euros more expensive than tickets sold on the official website, due to an agency booking fee – however, the advantages are many.
First of all, third party booking sites have significantly better on-site experience, so getting your tickets is much easier. Secondly, you will be able to count on 24/7 customer service in a language of your choice. You will have an app that will store all your vouchers and even send you reminders about your visits and meeting points (especially important if you are buying a guided tour).
Another reason to use third party booking sites is that they may have more availability than the official website – this is especially true in case you are buying last minute tickets, and it is due to the fact that these companies buy tickets in bulk and count on cancellations. Finally, as suggested above the cancellation policies are way more flexible and you can get a full refund as long as you cancel 24 hours before your visit.
There are many third party booking sites you can use to buy tickets and tours. My favorite are GetYourGuide, Tiqets, Walks of Italy and Viator.
To get your Pitti Palace tickets on GetYourGuide, click here.
To get your tickets on Tiqets, click here.
Join a guided tour of Pitti Palace
Joining a guided tour is a great idea if you want to have a more in depth experience and add significance to your visit. Various companies offer guided tours of Pitti Palace – just make sure to read what’s included (and that there are no hidden fees); how long the tour lasts; and check out the reviews before booking. Most tours include the Pitti Palace, as well as the Boboli Gardens and the Palatina Gallery.
The price of guided tours vary a lot depending on how long the tour lasts, and on whether the tour is a regular one, a small group tour or a private tour.
The following are the best options for guided tours:
Pitti Palace, Boboli Gardens and Palatina Gallery Tour – an excellent tour that also goes to Boboli Gardens and the Palatine Gallery. It lasts three full hours.
Florence: Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens Private Tour – a great option if you’d rather have a private tour.
Florence: Pitti Palace and Palatina Gallery Guided Tour – the most budget friendly option, it’s a greatly reviewed tour.
Groups of more than 6 people, including the guide, are required to wear earphones and a microphone system, and to keep the voices low. The number of people in a guided tour cannot exceed 16 people.
Get the Firenzecard
Another option you can try to get access to Pitti Palace is the Firenzecard. This Florence tourist card is an official museum pass which grants you access to many attractions in Florence, and that includes Pitti Palace.
The card costs €85 and from the moment you start using it, you can access any museum within 72 hours. If you plan on visiting many museums while in Florence, this is definitely a good option to save a bit. The main nuisance is that you’ll have to book each individual attraction separately on their official website, so it can be time consuming.
You can buy the card on the official Firenzecard website or at the ticket kiosks scattered around Florence. If you book online, you can upload the card on your smartphone or print the voucher you receive via email.
You can get your Firenzecard here.
Get combined tickets to Pitti Palace and another attraction
If you don’t want to get the Firenzecard, but want to visit other museums besides Pitti Palace, you can consider getting Pitti Palace tickets combined with tickets to another attraction. Most of the time, getting a combined ticket will also land you a good discount.
Available options for combined tickets include: Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti, Boboli Gardens and Accademia Gallery Tickets; Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Pitti and Palatine Gallery; Palazzo Pitti, Boboli and Bardini Gardens; Palazzo Pitti, Palatine Gallery and Brunelleschi’s Dome; Palazzo Pitti, Palatine Gallery and Galileo Museum; Palazzo Pitti, Palatine Gallery and Leonardo Interactive Museum; Palazzo Pitti, Palatine Gallery and Palazzo Vecchio; and Palazzo Pitti, Palatine Gallery and Bargello Museum.
To get your Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti, Boboli and Accademia Gallery Tickets click here.
To get your tickets to the Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Pitti and Palatine Gallery, click here.
To get your Pitti Palace, Boboli and Bardini Gardens tickets, click here.
To get your Palazzo Pitti, Palatine Gallery and Brunelleschi’s Dome tickets click here.
To get your Palazzo Pitti, Palatine Gallery and Palazzo Vecchio tickets click here.
To get your Palazzo Pitti, Palatine Gallery and Bargello Museum tickets click here.
To get your Palazzo Pitti, Palatine Gallery and Galileo Museum tickets, click here.
To get your Palazzo Pitti, Palatine Gallery and Leonardo Interactive Museum click here.
Make sure to also read my detailed posts How To Get Tickets To The Uffizi Gallery and How To Get Galleria Dell’Accademia Tickets as they will be helpful when planning your visit.
Get your tickets to Pitti Palace in person
Finally, you can also buy your tickets in person while in Florence, however, there may be a line at the counter, which may vary a lot depending on the day and time you go – so all in all you are better off buying tickets online at one of the websites discussed above.
You may also find that there aren’t any available tickets for the next time slots, meaning your wait time will be even longer to enter. The only upside to this approach is that the presale booking fee will not be included in the final price upfront, but it doesn’t seem worth the time and effort of queuing aimlessly. Also keep in mind that the ticket office closes one hour before the museum.
Tickets can be bought at one of these locations:
Ticket office at the Uffizi (this is only a pre-sale service);
Ticket office at Pitti Palace;
Ticket office at the National Archaeological Museum of Florence in Piazza della Santissima Annunziata 9b;
Ticket office at the Orsanmichele Museum in Via de’ Calzaiuoli;
Ticket offices in all the State museums in Florence, like the National Museum of Bargello located in Via del Proconsolo 4.
Other Useful Information
Official price of tickets to Pitti Palace
Tickets to Pitti Palace are €10 per adult, plus a €3 online booking fee. A combined ticket to Pitti Palace and Boboli Garden is €14, plus a €3 online booking fee. European Union citizens who have a disability and visitors under the age of 18 can enter for free, but are required to pay the €3 online booking fee. Citizens of the European Union between the ages of 18 and 25 enjoy a discounted rate and must pay €2 plus the €3 online booking fee.
Visitors to Pitti Palace who buy their ticket before 8:59 am and enter within the first time slots (8:30 to 9:25 am), are entitled to a 50% discount on the price of admission. The cost of the ticket will be €5 instead of €10.
Audioguides are available from the ticket office in Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, Japanese. One audioguide costs €8, whereas two cost €13. You can pick one up until 4:00 pm and must return it by 6:00 pm. At the moment, the audioguide service has been suspended until further notice.
Modifications to the reservation and refunds
Tickets to Pitti Palace bought on the official website can’t be modified or cancelled once you have paid, and you won’t be given a refund. If you wish for more flexible cancellation or modification policies, get your tickets on a third party booking site, which usually allows modifications or cancellations up to 24 hours before your visit.
Free visits
Upon showing proof of ID, free visits are available to anyone who is under 18 years old (children under 12 years of age must be accompanied by an adult). Free visits are also available for disabled visitors and a person accompanying them. The €3 online booking fee applies also to free visits.
Palazzo Pitti opening hours
Pitti Palace is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 8:15 am to 6:30 pm. It is closed on Mondays, on January 1st and on December 25th.
In general, if you intend to get tickets in person, you are better off checking the timings on the official website for the day you wish to visit since they are subject to change.
Pitti Palace is never too crowded, but if you want to make sure you avoid the larger groups, you should try to visit Florence altogether in the low season (October, November, January after the festivities, February and March).
It’s better to go early in the morning or in the late afternoon to avoid the larger groups, and on a weekday. Visitor numbers grow throughout the day, so getting there first thing in the morning is the best approach.
Security checks when visiting Pitti Palace
Upon entering Pitti Palace, you’ll have to go through an airport-style security process. To make the process smoother and quicker, don’t carry prohibited items such as knives, umbrellas and other metal objects. A cloakroom is available to deposit any bulky items while you visit the palace.
Is photography allowed?
Yes! You can definitely take photos inside Pitti Palace, as long as it is without flash. Tripods can’t be used either.
Toilets and other facilities
Equipped bathrooms are located in the internal courtyard of the building, on the right side of the cafeteria. You’ll also find a cloakroom where you can leave large bags, backpacks and umbrellas – it’s located in the basement, on the right side of the court.
Families visiting with young kids will find a room for breastfeeding in the basement, close to the court. There also is a bookstore, located on the first floor in the courtyard; and a cafeteria close to the court and open until 7:00 pm from September to May and until 8:00 pm from June to August.
Accessibility
Visitors with reduced mobility and on wheelchair will find an entrance from Pitti Square with a 20% slope. There are accessible elevators to access the various floors.
Further Readings
If you are traveling to Florence, these other posts will be useful:
- How To Get From Rome To Florence
- How To Get Florence Duomo Tickets
- How To Get Tickets To Palazzo Vecchio
- The Perfect 3 Days In Florence Itinerary
- How To Make The Most Of One Day In Florence
- How To Make The Most Of Florence At Night
- 13 Best Day Trips From Florence
- A Wonderful Florence To Pisa Day Trip
- A Perfect Day Trip From Rome To Florence
- The Perfect Day Trip From Florence To Cinque Terre
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Super helpful post. Thank you!
Great!