Michelangelo Might

Accademia gallery, Medici chapels and Santa Croce church

Duration: 3 hours, or 4 hours extension tour.

This walking tour of Florence concentrates on the man who painted religious members in hell, defied popes, fought for republican freedom, wrote poetry and prose as well as living and breathing his art. The tour is dedicated to the man who gave birth to the myth of the artist as genius.
We start in the Piazza della Signoria, where his masterpiece, the David sculpture, was placed in 1504. We enter into the mind of the Florentines during the time of Michelangelo & understand the significance that David, from the Old Testament, held for the citizens of the city of the cupollone – the great dome, & also learn why they were so amazed when the sculptural masterpiece was unveiled. Afterwards, we see the work that inspired the David & understand the technical side of things by seeing how marble is actually carved. We are prepared now to view the masterpiece ‘in the flesh’ at the Accademia Gallery, where we will also see his famous unfinished slaves. We then walk to the palace where Michelangelo lived with his first patrons, the Medici – the rulers of Florence. We finish the Michelangelo tour de force with a visit to the Medici chapels, the tombs which he carved for the Medicis inside the New Sacristy of the San Lorenzo Church, which he also designed for the family.
Option: making the private tour into four hours and finishing at the Santa Croce church where the tomb of Michelangelo is located, along with many other famous Italians.

Meeting point:

to be determined upon booking the tour

All tours that we organise are private. We do not organise group tours.

The cost of the 3 hour tour

€420 for parties of 1-5 people (excluding admission fees)
€480 for parties of 6-9 people (excluding admission fees)
€540 for parties of 10 people or more (excluding admission fees)

The cost of the 4 hour tour  (with the inclusion of the inside of the Santa Croce)

€560 for parties of 1-5 people (excluding admission fees)
€640 for parties of 6-9 people (excluding admission fees)
€720 for parties of 10 people or more (excluding admission fees)

 

Accademia Gallery Admission Fees

Full price ticket at the Accademia Gallery costs €20 (ticket €16 + reservation fee €4).

Admission Fees are not included in the hourly rate and are paid on the day at the ticket office with guide. The state museums (Accademia Gallery & Bargello museum) and the Santa Croce church accept credit cards. 

Children from 6-17 years inclusive have free admission but reservation fee must be paid, €4.

Children under 6 years old are free and no reservation is necessary.

European Union students 18-26 years old are eligible for the reduced ticket, a student card is necessary for proof of enrollment in an institution.

Original passport (or digital copy) must be shown as proof of age for free/reduced tickets to the ticket office staff upon ticket purchase. Payment for the tickets can be made by credit card or cash.

*Admission fees are subject to change.

IMPORTANT: Ticket reservations – Accademia gallery

Some museums require ticket reservations in advance so as to avoid waiting in the long unreserved queue. The ticket reservations will be made prior to the tour date by Freya’s Florence.

However, in the busy season queues accrue in the reservation area of the Accademia gallery due to the large crowds and the over ticket bookings.

In order to avoid these queues in the reservation area, we strongly recommend entering the Accademia gallery before 9am (the gallery opens at 8:15am) or after 4:00pm (the gallery closes at 6:30pm).

Headsets

Groups of 4 or more people will require headsets, necessary for most of the museums and recommended for city walks due to surrounding noise.

Freya’s Florence will book these in advance and they will be distributed at the beginning of the tour and used for the entire duration of the tour. For parties up to 15 people the total cost for a half day hire is 30€ or for a full day tour the cost is 40€.

For parties greater than 15pax the cost of the individual headset hire for the half-day rental is 30€ + 2€ per person.

Payment

Prepayment is required for guided tour costs. This is done as a security measure so that large sums of cash are not carried or exchanged on the day of the tour. We use a secure payment system provided by SumUP, you do not need to have a SumUP account to use it, you can sign in as a guest and use a credit card. SumUP charges a 2.5% handling/service fee which will be added to your invoice.

Length of tour

The Michelangelo Might tour can be extended to be a full day (6 hours) or it can be an itinerary spreading over multiple days. He was an integral part of the renaissance and a product of his era so we can also plan a fascinating program incorporating other museums and churches in the city to gain a real insight to the period and society of the renaissance and epoch of Michelangelo. He lived in the most fascinating period of Florentine history.

Cancellation Policy

Cancellations or date changes made less than 1 week prior to the tour start time require full payment. Cancellations or date changes made within 2 weeks of your tour date will require half payment. Tours proceed in inclement weather. Museum reservation fees and pre-purchased tickets are non-refundable. SumUP handling/service fees are non-refundable.

Opening times

There will be some times when some of the included sites are closed. If the tour is booked at a time when the Accademia gallery, the Medici chapels or the Santa Croce church are closed, we will substitute the closed site with the Bargello National sculpture museum and / or the Palazzo Vecchio (town hall), as they are also sites important to the history of Michelangelo.

The Accademia gallery is closed on Monday. It is not possible to make a reservation to avoid the long lines on the first Sunday of the month.

The Santa Croce church is closed on Sunday morning (opens at 2pm).

The Medici chapels are open until 1.30pm unless there is an exhibition and then until 4pm (often the case in the summer months), and alternate Sunday and Monday each week for the closed day.

Dress Code

Shoulders need to be covered and clothing to the knee (shorts or skirt) when entering churches.