Discover some true Florentine treasures: there are outstanding museums in the old town center that few tourist guides even mention. Many are interesting not only for the objects on display but also for the architecture, the furniture, and the guiding philosophy behind the museum.
Info & Booking
Part of the program "The Other Tuscany", to explore explore the "invisible" Tuscany that few tourists, and many native Italians, see.
The program:
10:00 am - Meeting in Piazza Duomo, in front of Astor Caffè.
10:15 am - Walking along the square to the Anthropology and Ethnology Museum in Via del Proconsolo
10:30 am - Guided visit of the museum
11:30 am - Walking towards the Science Museum with its superb planetarium
11:40 am - Guided visit of the museum
12:45 pm - Walking towards Restaurant Gastone
1:00 pm - Lunch with Tuscan specialties and wines After the lunch, the group will be escorted in the Ponte Vecchio area ("Old Bridge"), where the Museo della Specola (Zoological History) is located.
2:30 pm - Guided visit of the La Specola
3:30 pm - Return back to the meeting point and end of the excursion
Cancellation policy: 100% refund for cancellations at least 15 days before the tour; 50% refund from 14 to 2 days before the tour; no refund for further cancellations and no shows.
The Oldest and Hidden Museums of Florence
Discover some true Florentine treasures: there are outstanding museums in the old town center that few tourist guides even mention. Many are interesting not only for the objects on display but also for the architecture, the furniture, and the guiding philosophy behind the museum.
Day Tour Program:
10:00am: Meeting in Piazza Duomo, in front of Astor Caffè, or at your hotel in Florence.
10:15am: Walking along the square to the Anthropology and Ethnology Museum in Via del Proconsolo
10:30am: Guided visit of the Anthropology and Ethnology Museum, the oldest museum of its kind in Italy (1869). Founded by the father of Italian anthropology, Paolo Mantegazza, the museum is housed in the sixteenth century Palazzo Non Finito (“unfinished”). It offers an extraordinary overview of the natural history of the human race and the development of civilization. The oldest items on display here belonged to the Medici, and some were formerly in the Guardaroba Mediceo, Cosimo I de\' Medici\'s private collection.
11:30am: Walking towards the Science Museum with its superb planetarium
11:40am: Guided visit of the Science Museum (Museo Galileo) The Museo Galileo is home to the only surviving instruments designed and built by Galileo himself. The most important are two original telescopes and the objective lens of the telescope with which Galileo discovered Jupiter’s moons. More generally, the Museum is the repository for the priceless scientific collections of the two dynasties that once ruled Florence: the Medici and the House of Lorraine.
12:45pm: Walking towards the Ristorante & Vineria Gastone.
1:00pm: Lunch at Ristorante & Vineria Gastone – enjoy your well-deserved break in this much praised locale with Tuscan specialties and wines. After the lunch, your group will be escorted to the Ponte Vecchio area, where the Museo della Specola (Museum of Zoology and Natural History) is located.
2:30pm: Guided visit of Museo della Specola (Museum of Zoology and Natural History). The oldest scientific museum of Europe is deeply tied to the history of Florence, as parts of its collection once belonged to the Medici Family. The museum is famous for its anatomical wax models from the 18th century. La Specola was founded in 1771 by Grand Duke Peter Leopold to display the large collection of natural treasures and curiosities acquired by several generations of Medici. Until the first years of the 19th century, La Specola was the only scientific museum or Wunderkammer (cabinet of wonders) created for the public at large.
3:30pm: Return back to the meeting point, or to your hotel, and end of the excursion.
Cancellation Policy
- 100% refund for cancellations at least 15 days before the tour
- 50% refund from 14 to 2 days before the tour
- No refund for further cancellations and no-shows