Florence Museums Beyond the Uffizi: 8 Quieter Picks
Updated: 1 hour ago
Updated October 2026
The Uffizi and the Accademia deserve their fame, and their lines. But some of my favorite hours in Florence have been spent in museums where I could stand in front of a masterpiece with almost no one around.
Here are eight quieter museums and what to see in each. For the big-name sights and how they fit together, start with my guide to Renaissance Florence.
1. The Bargello
Florence's great sculpture museum, in a medieval palace that was once a prison. Donatello's bronze David, Michelangelo's early Bacchus and the two bronze panels from the 1401 Baptistery doors contest are all here. It is open Tuesday to Sunday.
2. Museo dell'Opera del Duomo
The Duomo museum holds the original Gates of Paradise, Donatello's Mary Magdalene and Michelangelo's late Pietà. It is included in the Duomo passes and often surprisingly calm. I always save it for after the climbs, when it explains everything I just saw.
3. Palazzo Davanzati
A medieval merchant's house, furnished as it was, with painted walls, a well shaft running through the floors and early "bathrooms." It is the best window on daily life in old Florence. Open Tuesday to Sunday.
4. Palazzo Medici Riccardi
The first Medici palace. Climb to the tiny chapel to see Benozzo Gozzoli's Procession of the Magi, glittering with gold and full of Medici portraits. It is closed on Wednesdays.
5. Museo Galileo
On the Arno behind the Uffizi, with Galileo's own instruments and globes. Great for curious kids and adults. Read my guide to the Museo Galileo, including the story of his preserved fingers.
6. Museo Stibbert
An eccentric collector's villa on the hill north of the center, packed with armor from Europe, the Middle East and Japan. A cavalcade of mounted knights fills one hall. It is closed on Thursdays and worth the bus or taxi ride.
7. Palazzo Vecchio
Most visitors only see the courtyard. Go upstairs for the Hall of the Five Hundred and the private Medici apartments, and climb the tower if the weather is good. My guide to Palazzo Vecchio covers it all.
8. Museo Novecento
Twentieth-century Italian art in a former hospital on Piazza Santa Maria Novella, a welcome change after a week of Madonnas. Its permanent collection is being rearranged, so check what is on show before you go.
Museums for families
Museo Galileo, the Stibbert armor and Palazzo Vecchio's family activities are all great with children. See my guide to Florence with kids guide.
Where to stay
The Bargello is a short walk from Santa Croce, and Museo Galileo is not far. See where to stay near Santa Croce.
Four more if you have time
Museo di San Marco. Fra Angelico's frescoes in the friars' cells. See my San Marco guide.
Cappelle Medicee. Michelangelo's New Sacristy and the Medici tombs at San Lorenzo.
Museo Horne. A small Renaissance palazzo filled with paintings and furniture collected by an English art historian.
Museo Bardini. A collector's palazzo near San Niccolò, with sculpture, armor and a famous Pollaiolo painting.
How I plan a quiet museum day
I pair one quiet museum with a walk and a long lunch. Morning at the Bargello, lunch near Santa Croce, then Palazzo Davanzati in the afternoon. Or Palazzo Medici Riccardi at opening, Mercato Centrale for lunch and the Museo Novecento before aperitivo on Piazza Santa Maria Novella. I almost never find crowds, and I come home with the feeling of having discovered the city rather than queued for it.
Check the opening days
Smaller museums have unusual hours. Some close on certain days of the week or on alternate weekends, and a few open only in the morning. I check the official sites the day before. The Bargello, for example, is closed on Tuesdays and on some Sundays and Mondays of the month, so it is worth confirming. My practical tips cover general museum days.
Churches as museums
Some of Florence's greatest art sits in its churches. Santa Maria Novella has Masaccio's Trinity and Ghirlandaio's frescoes. Santa Croce holds Giotto's chapels and the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo. The Brancacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine has the Masaccio frescoes that taught a whole generation of painters. Santo Spirito, designed by Brunelleschi, has a wooden crucifix attributed to a young Michelangelo. Most churches open to visitors outside service times. Visit modestly dressed, with shoulders and knees covered, and be quiet during services.
Why go small
Small museums let you see the art as it was meant to be seen: close up, with time and quiet. You can stand in front of Donatello's David at the Bargello for ten minutes and see the light change on the bronze. You can sit in Gozzoli's tiny chapel and imagine the Medici at prayer. They are what I remember most, and what I tell friends about first. These are the moments that stay with me longest, long after the big museums blur together.
Casa Buonarroti
Michelangelo bought the property on Via Ghibellina, near Santa Croce, and his descendants turned it into a museum to his memory. Today it holds two of his earliest works, the Madonna of the Stairs and the Battle of the Centaurs, carved when he was a teenager in the household of Lorenzo the Magnificent. There are also drawings, models and a wooden model for the facade of San Lorenzo that was never built. The rooms, decorated in the 17th century by his great nephew, are a tribute to the artist. It is rarely crowded.
Museo Marino Marini
In the former church of San Pancrazio, near Via de' Tornabuoni, this museum is devoted to the 20th century sculptor Marino Marini, known for his horses and riders. The building also holds the Rucellai Chapel with Leon Battista Alberti's Tempietto of the Holy Sepulchre, a little marble jewel. Seeing modern sculpture in a Renaissance church is one of the most unusual experiences in Florence.
Museo degli Innocenti
The Ospedale degli Innocenti, designed by Brunelleschi in 1419, was one of the first foundling hospitals in Europe and is still home to children's services today. The museum tells the story of the children left here over the centuries, with tokens mothers left so they could find them again, and holds paintings by Ghirlandaio and Botticelli. The rooftop café has a beautiful view of the dome.
The Horne Museum
Herbert Percy Horne, an English art historian, collected Renaissance art, furniture and objects and left his palazzo near Santa Croce to the city in 1916. The Museo Horne recreates the interior of a Renaissance home, with works by Giotto, Filippo Lippi and others.
La Specola
The University of Florence's natural history museum, La Specola, is one of the oldest public science museums in Europe, opened in 1775. It is famous for its 18th century anatomical wax models, astonishingly detailed and a little unsettling.
How I choose small museums
I pick small museums by theme and location, combining one with a nearby big sight. Casa Buonarroti with Santa Croce, the Innocenti with the Accademia, the Marino Marini with a walk down Via de' Tornabuoni. They give me a break from the crowds and often my favorite memories.
Museo Bardini
Antiques dealer Stefano Bardini left his palazzo and collection to the city in 1922. Its rooms are painted a deep blue he loved, a perfect backdrop for sculpture, armor and Donatello's work.
FAQ
Are these museums on the Firenzecard?
Most of the major civic and state museums are. Check the official Firenzecard list for each one.
Which is best on a Monday?
Many state museums close on Mondays. Palazzo Vecchio is open daily, and Palazzo Medici Riccardi is open on Mondays too.
Which would you pick if I only have time for one?
The Bargello. It is the Accademia's equal for sculpture, without the queue.
Which Florence museums are least crowded?
Palazzo Davanzati, Museo Horne, Museo Bardini and the Stibbert are usually quiet. The Bargello is calm compared with the Uffizi.
Are small Florence museums worth it on a short trip?
Yes. One quiet museum like the Bargello or Palazzo Davanzati gives you a break from the crowds and some of the city's best art.
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Plan my stay
Want a stay planned around the museums, quiet ones included? Plan my Florence stay
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