The Uffizi Galleries have published their opening calendar for the Christmas and New Year holiday period. The schedule applies to the Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens, Florence’s main state museums. Full closures are planned on only two days over the festive period.
All three sites will open with regular hours on Friday 26 December, St Stephen’s Day. The museums will instead remain fully closed on Thursday 25 December, Christmas Day, and on Monday 29 December. Visitors are advised to plan around these dates.
A reduced schedule will apply on New Year’s Day. On Thursday 1 January, only the Boboli Gardens will open, with a special timetable from 10am to 4.30pm. Last admission will be at 3.30pm, while the Uffizi Gallery and Palazzo Pitti will stay closed.
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Free entry will be available on Sunday 4 January 2026, the first Sunday of the month. The initiative covers all three sites and forms part of Italy’s nationwide free museum programme. High visitor numbers are expected on that day.
On Monday 5 January, the eve of Epiphany, only the Uffizi Gallery will open and will follow its standard hours. The temporary exhibition Cera una volta will not be accessible. Normal opening will resume on Tuesday 6 January, when all three sites reopen for Epiphany.
The holiday period coincides with a major exhibition on Florentine wax art. Cera una volta. I Medici e le arti della ceroplastica is the first Uffizi exhibition dedicated entirely to ceroplastics. The show features around 90 works and traces wax production from the Medici era to the late Baroque. It will run until 12 April 2026.
Visitors are encouraged to check official museum channels for updated timetables and admission rules. Seasonal crowd-management measures may apply.
