The Uffizi with Kids: A Family Tour in Florence

How do you explore one of the largest art galleries in the world – with children? The Uffizi gallery in Florence is one of the city’s top attractions housing masterpieces from the Italian Renaissance. But how do you navigate the Uffizi with two young children in tow (aged 3 and 6)? Step up LivItaly Tours and its family-friendly Uffizi tour. Read on to find out about visiting the Uffizi with kids and whether a guided tour of the Uffizi is a good idea.

LivItaly Uffizi Tour

Our family tour with LivItaly involved a treasure hunt of the gallery. Having just done one for my eldest daughter’s party, she was completely sold on doing another. It helped build intrigue and excitement for the art gallery visit which may have otherwise garnered groans (from my husband as well as the kids)!

We met our tour guide, Rafaela, in the beautiful Piazza della Signoria. The square is a breathtaking space with the Neptune fountain, town hall and a replica of David. Rafaela was immediately warm and welcoming. I had many questions about the piazza  – which she answered informatively. I also quizzed her on whether it was worth seeing the original David (an affirmative yes).

Buying Tickets for the Uffizi

Our entrance fee was included in the price of the tour. It meant we got to stand in the shorter, pre-paid queue. If you are buying tickets on the day, the queue can be very long. It is best to avoid (especially with impatient children) and get tickets in advance or book a guided tour. If you buy through the website, you get a specific time slot to visit so you need to be organised. Once inside the gallery, you go through security bag checks. As we entered, Raffaela warned us that there are pick-pockets in the gallery posing as tourists. We didn’t have any problems but be vigilant.

Uffizi Tour with kids

Once past security, we went straight up to the second floor of the gallery and the girls got given their treasure hunt booklet. My eldest wrote her name on it and we found somewhere to sit and have a look at the questions.

The treasure hunt was very helpful in giving us focal points to keep us on track and get in-depth information. Our first question was about the Medici family and gave background to the gallery. The Medici were the rulers of Florence in the 15th century. The Uffizi complex were the offices which linked to their residence, The Pritti Palace. They owned and commissioned many of the art work in the gallery.

Going to the Uffizi during August meant it was extremely busy so having a guide take us to the key pieces was invaluable. Raffaela studied history of art and is a painter herself so she had an extra layer of knowledge to provide us.

We started by seeing some of the first self portraits to be painted. Raffaela also pointed out the varying representations of Mary and Jesus as the Catholic’s church looked to extend its influence across Europe – with a blonde Mary in Filippo Lippi’s work.

As I looked at his painting, Madonna and Child with Two Angels, I was struck by the angel at the bottom. He had a sincerity and playfulness not often seen in Renaissance paintings. He also look directly out of the canvas into the audience’s eyes. Rafaela informed us that it was based on Lippi’s son hence the lifelike quality. It is little snippets of knowledge like this that made a guided tour worth every penny.

My eldest (aged 6) was really engaged throughout the tour and, at times, when I was attending to my youngest, listened to Raffaela and related information back to me.

Bottecelli’s Venus

As part of the treasure hunt questions, my daughter had to look closely at Sandro Bottecelli’s Allegory of Spring (Primavera) and locate the symbol of Florence (an iris).

A couple of the treasure hunt questions focused on Botticelli’s masterpiece, the Birth of Venus. My eldest enjoyed finding the painting and answering the fun questions. Then gave me some background. Hear what she learnt in the video below.

The painting was commissioned by a member of the Medici family in the 1480s. The representation of Mythology in art was growing and Botticelli was jumping on the trend. Based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses, it shows Venus the Goddess of love and beauty being born. It was the first painting of a naked woman and Raffaela encouraged us to compare it with Botticelli’s previous work, Primavera (a clothed Venus).

My eldest listened attentively as she explained (in language suitable for children) how Zephyrus – God of the West Wind – was blowing Venus to shore alongside the nymph Chloris. She’s is standing on a shell as she was born out of sea foam. One of Venus’ handmaidens is waiting for her, on land, to clothe Venus.

Da Vinci at the Uffizi

The Uffizi has a large climate-controlled room dedicated to the technical master, Leonardo da Vinci. The artist was apparently rather bad at completing jobs – as demonstrated in  Adoration of the Magi. Not that it matters. It is a masterpiece none the less. Raffaela explained his methods to my eldest and the triangular shape da Vinci used in this work, drawing a picture to illustrate.

Raffaela also pointed out his work Annunciation – when Archangel Gabriel visits to tell the Virgin Mary that she will conceive the son of God. Raffaela explained that if you look directly at the painting in the middle, Mary’s arm looks long and out of proportion. It was meant to be looked at from the right hand side so da Vinci painted with this perspective in mind. Sure enough, looking at it from the right-hand side, it looks normal. It’s information like this that we would never have seen on our own.

The Varsai Corridor

Another highlight of our tour was the discovery of the Varsai corridor. It is the secret passage used by the Medici family which connected the Uffizi and Pritti Palace via the Ponte Vecchi bridge. There’s a great view of the bridge from the gallery and she pointed out how it connected. It meant the family and their associates could pass freely without having to go onto the street and be amongst the common people.

We also peeked through the crack in the door to see the staircase leading to the corridor (with more painting hung on the walls. What child doesn’t like the prospect of a secret passage known only to a few?

Treasure!

Our LivItaly treasure hunt tour lasted almost two hours – which was just perfect for us. My three-year-old daughter had lost a bit of focus but my eldest was engaged the whole time. By the end, she  had carefully filled out all the questions. The youngest had scribbled rather wonderfully all over hers!

Before we said farewell, it was time for treasure! Raffeala produced two wrapped gifts for the girls which they opened with excitement. She had thoughtfully bought them notebooks with a design relating to Florence and a pencil. My youngest, who’d been a little grumpy, suddenly livened back up, delighted with her gift. A wonderful end to an insightful tour.

Verdict

Getting a private tour guide for visiting the Uffizi gallery with kids was the best decision! We got a focused tour with a knowledgable guide. As it was a private tour we could take things at our own pace and didn’t miss information. Group tours can be more challenging with young children.

The Uffizi gallery is overwhelming and I think we’d have been wandering aimlessly around if we’d done it independently. This way, the pieces we saw were explained very well and when my youngest decided to have a small meltdown, my older daughter and husband still benefited from the visit.

My youngest (aged 3) was engaged for some of it but her focus dipped as she got tired (we’d had a long journey the previous day). The tour is aimed at children aged 5+. My six year old got a lot out of it and my youngest was very happy with the prize at the end!

Highly recommend the Uffizi Treasure Hunt Family Tour and Raffaela who has lived in Florence for many years and has a huge interest in art. Her enthusiasm was evident and it was useful to pick her brain about some of the other sights to see in Florence too. Check out the LivItaly Treasure Hunt Family Tour if you are

Visiting The Uffizi gallery with kids

• Families are very much welcomed at the Uffizi gallery.
• Under 18s get free entry
• Pushchairs/strollers are allowed in the gallery. We took ours
• There’s a dedicated room for breastfeeding
• Toilets are located on the ground floor as you go in  – or on the first floor. There are family toilets available so look out for them. The queues for the others can be long.
• Do pre-book tickets or a tour. Visitors to the gallery can top 15,000 during peak season
• Avoid Tuesday if possible, as the gallery is closed on Mondays, it can be busier.

LivItaly Tours

LivItaly is a family-run tour company which provides specialist tours in Florence and other cities in Italy. There is also a LivSpain. They have a good network of tour guides who are experts in their field and have a genuine interest in the history of the city and their given topic.

As well as the Uffizi Family Treasure Hunt Tour, LivItaly’s other Florence tours which are good for kids include a gelato making class, a private tour with a drawing class and you can get other private walking tours as well.

To find out more information and book your tour, go to the LivItaly Tours website

*We were given a complimentary tour of the gallery in return for an honest review.