Christmas and New Year openings at the Uffizi Galleries in Florence

Special holiday openings are planned across Florence’s main state museums, with full closure only on 25 and 29 December. The schedule includes free-entry days in early January and limited openings on New Year’s Day.

The Gallerie degli Uffizi have announced their opening calendar for the Christmas and New Year holidays, covering the Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens.

On Friday 26 December (St Stephen’s Day), all three sites will be open to visitors with their regular hours.
The museums will instead be fully closed on Thursday 25 December (Christmas Day) and Monday 29 December.

New Year and early January schedule

On Thursday 1 January, the only site open will be the Boboli Gardens, with a special opening from 10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., and last admission at 3.30 p.m.. The Uffizi Gallery and Palazzo Pitti will remain closed that day.

On Sunday 4 January 2026, the first Sunday of the month, entrance will be free at the Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens, in line with Italy’s nationwide free museum initiative.

On Monday 5 January (the eve of Epiphany), only the Uffizi Gallery will be open, following its ordinary schedule. However, the temporary exhibition Cera una volta will not be accessible that day.

On Tuesday 6 January (Epiphany), all three sites – Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens – will reopen with standard hours.

A major temporary exhibition on wax art

The holiday period coincides with Cera una volta. I Medici e le arti della ceroplastica, the first exhibition at the Uffizi Galleries dedicated entirely to ceroplastics, the art of modelling in wax.

The show brings together around 90 works, including sculptures, paintings, cameos and hardstone objects, many on loan from other museums. Several pieces are returning to Florence for the first time in centuries, after having been sold in the late 18th century under Grand Duke Peter Leopold of Tuscany.

The exhibition traces Florentine wax production between the 16th and 17th centuries, from Medici-era court collections to late Baroque masterpieces, and includes works by Gaetano Giulio Zumbo, one of the most striking figures in the field. It is open to the public until 12 April 2026.

Visitors planning a holiday visit are advised to check updated timetables and admission rules on the museums’ official channels, as seasonal changes and crowd-management measures may apply.

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