Uffizi Avis 

The Uffizi Gallery itself is fantastic. Unfortunately, my experience with some members of the staff was a nightmare.

I spent around three hours inside the museum, taking an extensive planed tour. After that, I spent approximately another 40 minutes in the museum shop, where we received excellent advice from the staff for the best works and purchased several books on history and art for hundred of euros.

When I later walked near the exit, I was still clearly inside the building and had never actually left the museum (6 meters far from me), something that could easily be verified by the security cameras.

A male staff member suddenly shouted at me and ordered me to leave. At first, I did not even understand what the problem was. He then insisted that I was trying to “enter” the museum. I showed him my valid ticket with my name, but he apparently could not believe that I had been inside for that long.

This is the Uffizi, one of the most important art museums in the world, not a fast-food restaurant. People quite reasonably spend hours looking at these extraordinary works of art.

I also showed him the receipt for the books we had just purchased in the museum shop, ( because of the date and hour), I even had the books with me and asked him to check the security camera directly behind him or simply speak to the shop staff, who could have confirmed that I had been there only minutes earlier. None of this seemed to matter. The woman working near the entrance showed no interest in clarifying the situation either.

What was most disturbing was not a simple misunderstanding, which can happen anywhere, but the aggressive and disrespectful way in which it was handled. The staff member behaved more like security at a low-end bar than an employee representing one of the world's great cultural institutions.

Because of this incident, I ended up separated from my family, which were waiting on the area where you give back the electronic device for the tour and only met them again outside later that day.

The collection is extraordinary and absolutely worth seeing. The way I was treated at the end of the visit, however, was completely inappropriate for an institution of this importance.

È vergognoso che dentro uno dei musei più famosi d'Italia a un ragazzino di 13 anni in gita scolastica gli viene rubato un borsello con alcuni soldi e carta d'identità: luogo super sorvegliato e sicuro? Non penso proprio....

On womans day 8 march the staff said we could get a refund for "her" ticket.
They made us go to the ticket office, giving us an email to ask for the refund. This made us waste additional 20 minutes, which is a big deal as they are very strict with timing, and we had a timed slot for vasari corridor.

Surely enough, the following day after asking refund via email, the support service monkey is being difficult on purpose and refuses to grant the promised refund, even is was their own staff who insisted they will.

Truly appalling. Highly disorganized place in general.

Ieri abbiamo visitato le Gallerie, avevamo il biglietto pre acquistato e sull'organizzazione degli ingressi c'è ampio spazio di miglioramento. Le opere esposte sono sensazionali... nulla da dire! Il nuovo impianto di allestimento delle sale è fatto bene, anche se lascerei maggiore spazio tra l'opera e i visitatori. Il percorso delle stanze del primo piano è un labirinto e si rischia di saltare qualche sala.
Ultima nota per noi però decisiva riguarda l'illuminazione dei dipinti, decisamente da riprogettare.

Very disappointing. Some fabulous artworks on display in a quite small but really great building - but the total overcrowding means that it’s impossible to actually see what is on display. What is the point in buying timed tickets if the place is letting hundreds of other ad-hoc arrivals in at the same time. Numbers need to be limited.

Ones experience is ruined by some tourists who simply push in to photograph the “label” of a piece and then push their way back out again. Wait til they read them and find out that there is little written of any real information content. Why are the labels at “ankle level” and not where they can be read by all at a distance?
Other visitors simply extend their arms with their phone/camera in their grasp so all one can actually see is a forest of arms. It’s time to ban photography completely.

The whole mele is further complicated by “tour groups” - that bane of all tourist venues. They simply get in the way everywhere. In the Ufizzi they cause huge delays and frustration.
In Florence these tour groups should be banned as the beautiful streets simply cannot handle large groups of sheep, never mind the buildings.
Finally, the museum shop is way too expensive and the toilets are utterly disgusting. All in all an experience one would not wish to repeat. We visited in Early October and the place was hot and humid and smelly - in summer the Ufizzi would be like one of Dante’s circles of hell.
A superb venue, but one to be avoided until some commonsense management is put in place.

We bought early morning tickets on line. After queuing for half an hour, we were told that staff were having a union meeting and Uffizi would not open until 10.30. Come back, along with crowds, later in day. No refund possible. Very rude. Did not work for us so 46€ down the drain. Florence off our list

Well presented, glossy website.

Its a shame that the tickets require you to attend the uffizi at a very specific time. The passpartoue ticket is probably the best ticket if you intend to go to the boboli gardens and pitti palace.

Tickets are relatively expensive.

You dont need to print the tickets, just save it on your phone

There are three sides to this story. It did not start particularly well. The website could do with being revised. ANR spent a long time on it and then found that it had accidentally booked for the next day. So the moral is - go to the end and enter the date before booking the visit. The date entry choiuce should be at the front. The refund policy was restrictive - we didn't get back the approx £65. I wondered whether anyone else has had this problem. Review score 2/10 at this point. Then things got better. The staff in assistance were very helpful and we managed to acquire a wheelchair despite my failure to comply with Italian document regulations. Score now 3/5.
When we found our way in - it was jaw dropping. If you are one for the art - pictures, colours, intense imagery - it is unbelievably good. Score would have been 6/5 but for the issue in re the ticketing/website/refund. It is absolutely definitely worth visiting. Not sure that young teenagers who don't have a speciifc interest in art would be great company but I'd go again if I had the time. Brilliant doesn't do it justice.