Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti and Boboli gardens private tour
Highlights
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This is a 4 hours tour designed for those who love the history of Florence and the Medici dinasty. It includes two of the most popular museums of Florence: Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti where the Medici family lived for long time and the astonishing Boboli gardens. Meet your official guide at the lobby of your centrally located hotel and start the tour from there. The first museum that you'll visit is Palazzo Vecchio: it has been the center of Florence's civic power for more than seven centuries and houses the town hall. The striking building was built in the early 1300s, it dominates Piazza della Signoria and was decorated by the ruling Medici family in the 16th century when they lived there. You’ll see decorated ceilings, frescoes by Vasari and statues by Donatello and Michelangelo. See the mysterious symbols and artworks that inspired Dan Brown’s novel ‘Inferno’ (and the film of the same name), such as an inscription ‘Cerca e Trova’ (‘Seek and you shall find’) written atop a fresco by Giorgio Vasari. Learn about the building’s transformation from a medieval town hall into the private residence of Duke Cosimo I before the famous ruling family relocated to the city’s Palazzo Pitti. After Palazzo Vecchio, walk with your guide in direction of Palazzo Pitti, admire Ponte Vecchio and hear the history of the long Vasari Corridor, the walkway designed to offer secrecy and protection to the Florentine rulers. Next, reach the Oltrarno district, the place where many locals live and where you finally see the imposing Palazzo Pitti, last residence of the Medici family and one of the most insightful visits you can enjoy in Florence. This amazing museum has something for everyone: it was the Medici family Residence combined with gardens and a spectacularly beautiful art gallery, lavish rooms and views. Pitti Palace now houses several museums and a fine collection of paintings. During the tour you'll visit Boboli gardens, the prototype of the Italian Formal Garden, no wonder it was recently added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Boboli is decorated with fountains, statues creating a real open-air museum with stunning view of Florence. Then you have the opportunity to see the Palatine Gallery wich isn't an Academic museum, the layout preserves the character of a private picture gallery, the paintings are arranged to fit the space and the room’s decorations, revealing the tastes of the great collectors who lived in the palace. The paintings, which are sumptuously framed, cover the walls of the rooms in the style of traditional baroque galleries, following neither chronological order nor schools of painting. This peculiar arrangement brings the time of the Medici’s to life, like an incredible trompe-l’oeil fresco, transporting us in another time. The tour ends inside Palazzo Pitti, where you can stay until closing time visiting the other museums on your own.
Summary
Tour info
Why take this tour?
Learn about the Medici family on a visit to the two palaces where they once lived: Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti with Boboli gardens. The private tour is about 4 hours and includes all the entrance fees. Meet your guide at the lobby of your hotel and from there start your visit of Florence discovering the Medici's dinasty and their palaces.
What’s included?
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Guaranteed to skip the long lines -
Professional guide -
Hotel pickup (only for centrally located Hotels) -
Guaranteed to skip the lines -
Food and drinks
Things to know
Before you book
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Duration: 4h
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Mobile tickets accepted
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Instant confirmation
Cancellation Policy
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For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
About operator:
My name is Giulia I’m an Art Historian and I work as a full time Professional Tour Guide of Florence (Italy). I’am qualified to guide in all of the major sites including the Duomo, Uffizi Gallery, Accademia Gallery, Boboli gardens… and it will be my great joy showing you everything that Florence has to offer; from large groups to individuals I can organise any combination of tours. I am experienced with really tiny groups, as well as really large ones, with families, with juniors and seniors. Working as a tour guide in Florence is the best opportunity for expressing my love for Florence to those who want to get to know my home town through the eyes of a local. I will be proud to introduce you to the deepest and most significant secrets of this city in such a way that no book can do. My guided tours of Florence and the surrounding area are targeted for people that look for an intimate and memorable experience without standing in lines, feeling a tourist or wasting time. Florence is like a large living open air museum spanning 2000 years of history, I like to bring the past to life but also show you aspects of Florence as it is today. The jewel of Renaissance Italy, Florence is a city of timeless beauty and myriad artistic treasures. Walking tours of Florence are beautiful, but I’ve a passion for the city bike tours! This is me, a pure Florentine girl with a passion for my hometown and the desire to share it with my travellers, because for me you are not a simple tourist who passively sees what he has to, I want to help you live an unforgettable experience in Florence, so you will go back home knowing that you will always have a friend in Florence. If you are planning a tour in Italy please do feel free to write me for additional information about itineraries in Tuscany, tours and fees.
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