Medici Chapel Florence tickets: prices, hours and New Sacristy

Medici Chapel Florence tickets open the state museum behind San Lorenzo: official fare €11, hours 8:15–18:50 Tuesday to Sunday, heart in Michelangelo’s New Sacristy. Anyone searching medici chapel florence, florence italy medici chapel or firenze medici chapel finds here prices, GAMB hours, combos and the strict Secret Room rules at €32.

Medici Chapel Florence tickets: prices, Secret Room and online

Managing institute: GAMB (Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze and Musei del Bargello). Official channel B-Ticket; Opera Laboratori call centre +39 055 294883.

Under 18 free. Museum booking: “Tickets” pages show €3, museum / Accademia / 72 h combo sheets show €4 — the exact amount appears at checkout. Do not invent a single figure.

Online: from about €17.75 (reserved entry) to €19 on the Tiqets flagship. Third-party guided tours climb to roughly €50–€80. The queue here is usually short: you pay convenience and a slot, not Accademia-level skip-the-line pressure.

State-museum free days: first Sunday of the month, 25 April, 2 June, 4 November; 8 March free for women. On those dates no booking and priorities suspended. Other concessions: disabled + companion, EU guides, art-faculty teachers/students, ICOM, accredited journalists — with ID.

GAMB hours and out-of-pattern openings

Standard: Tue–Sun 8:15–18:50, last entry 40 minutes before. Monday closed, except special openings published by GAMB (examples already announced: August evenings; Tuscany Day in late November with other group venues). Check bargellomusei.it before a “hopeful” Monday.

Groups: max 20 + 1 without mandatory booking; school groups max 25 + 1 with booking (2 morning groups, 2 afternoon).

What to see in 45–60 minutes

Three spaces, one ticket:

1. Crypt — burials and the start of the Medici funerary route.
2. Chapel of the Princes — grand-ducal mausoleum in marbles and hard stones; dome also visible from outside.
3. New Sacristy — Michelangelo’s design and sculpture: tombs of Lorenzo Duke of Urbino and Giuliano Duke of Nemours; allegories Dawn, Dusk, Day, Night.

Do not confuse with the basilica: San Lorenzo and the Laurentian Library have separate entrances and tickets. Museum entry is at Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini 6.

Michelangelo’s Secret Room

Price €32 full (= €20 room + €9 museum + €3 booking) and €7 reduced (= €2 + €2 + €3). Mandatory booking. Max 4 people per time band, stay 15 minutes. Access via a narrow staircase of 12 steps: not accessible with mobility limits; banned under 10 and unaccompanied minors; not advised for heart conditions, claustrophobia or late pregnancy. It only makes sense if you have already seen the Sacristy and want the charcoals: it is not a casual “extra” to add at the last minute.

Free thematic tours

Included in the ticket, in Italian, no booking, groups form at the entrance, max 10, duration 60 minutes: Friday and Sunday 11:00 and 12:00; Tuesday and Thursday 16:00 and 17:00. Suspended on free days. If you hit the schedule, budget about ninety minutes total.

GAMB rules (same as Accademia and Bargello)

• No bags/backpacks/helmets over 40×30×18 cm; no selfie sticks, non-folding umbrellas, trekking poles, drones, weapons.
• Water only in small closed containers; no eating or drinking in the rooms.
• Personal photos without flash or tripod.
• No swimwear or bare torso.
• Cloakroom: lockers with a €1 coin returned.
• No on-site parking. Suitcase → luggage storage first.

GAMB ticket conditions: generally no refunds or date/time changes, except forced closure for exceptional events (official regulation text). Named tickets.

Combos, Firenze Card and itinerary

Sum: Accademia €20 + Bargello €12 + Chapels €11 = €43; 72 h combo €38 also covers Davanzati and Orsanmichele. Casa Martelli stays out of the maths while closed for works. The 48 h Accademia+Bargello combo at €26 does not include the Chapels: if your focus is Michelangelo at San Lorenzo, it is not enough.

Firenze Card (€85): includes the Chapels; useful only with many other museums in 72 h. For GAMB sculpture alone the combo beats the card. Marketplace combos: combos page and the block above.

Typical itinerary: morning Accademia (David), afternoon Chapels or Bargello. San Lorenzo is a ten-minute walk from the Accademia and close to SMN station: handy on arrival or departure, less handy if you have already crossed half the city with a suitcase.

Michelangelo in the city: where to place him

If your goal is Michelangelo, the Medici Chapels are the funerary and architectural piece; the Accademia is the monumental David; the Bargello holds early works (Bacchus, Pitti Tondo, Brutus). Accademia and Chapels the same day is sustainable; adding Uffizi the same day usually is not. If you buy the GAMB 72 h combo, spread Accademia / Bargello / Chapels / Davanzati across two or three half-days instead of rushing.

The marketplace Accademia + Chapels combo exists as a discounted catalogue product: it makes sense if you do not care about Bargello and the other venues on the official €38 pass. Always compare the sum of official singles + booking fees against the online combo price.

Online vs official

Official: B-Ticket / bargellomusei.it, €11 (+ booking fee if you choose it). Platforms: a few euros more, slot and app. Guided tour: useful if you want Medici/Michelangelo context without studying first; unnecessary if you do only the Sacristy independently. Do not mix “Museo de’ Medici” (another venue, another ticket) with the Medici Chapels.

How to choose between simple entry and a tour

Simple entry (€11 official / about €18–€19 online): if you already know what you want in the New Sacristy and prefer quiet. Guided tour (third-party lists around €50–€80): if it is your first Florence visit and you want Medici families, hard stones and sculpture without reading every caption. Free GAMB thematic tour: if you speak Italian and hit the 11:00/12:00 or 16:00/17:00 slots — zero extra cost, max ten people.

The Secret Room does not replace the Sacristy: it is a short, constrained add-on. Book it only after fixing the museum day; if slots are sold out, the Chapels visit remains complete without it.

Before you enter

ID for reduced/free entry. Check Monday. If you want the Secret Room, book days ahead: places are few. Do not expect to “pass through” San Lorenzo on the same ticket. For accessibility: Sacristy and Princes are visitable within the site’s architectural limits; the Secret Room is not.

Bring a €1 coin for lockers (returned). Leave large backpacks and trolleys at city storage: the GAMB 40×30×18 cm limit is published and checked. Water only in a small closed container. Photos without flash. If you arrive from SMN with luggage, do not duck in “for a minute” with the suitcase: it will not pass.

Suggested duration and pace

Full self-guided visit: 45–60 minutes. With free thematic tour: 90 minutes. With Secret Room: add waiting + 15 minutes inside. Do not schedule the Chapels as a “fifteen-minute stop between trains”: between security, locker and three spaces you need at least three-quarters of an hour.

Best hours: opening (8:15) or late afternoon after 16:00 on days without a crowded thematic tour. Avoid arriving at 18:00: last entry at 18:10 and risk of a compressed visit.

How to get there

Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini sits behind the San Lorenzo complex, opposite the unfinished façade on the main square. From Santa Maria Novella: a few minutes on foot. From Piazza del Duomo: about ten minutes. Follow signs for “Cappelle Medicee”, not the church entrance. Ticket office and controls are those of the GAMB state museum.

Nearby: San Lorenzo market (outdoor), Accademia, Palazzo Medici Riccardi (another circuit, typical booking for the Magi Chapel — do not confuse tickets). For sculpture in the same cultural quarter: Bargello toward Signoria.

Mistakes not to make

• Buying a “San Lorenzo” ticket thinking you will see the Chapels’ Michelangelo.
• Skipping the GAMB combo when Accademia and Bargello are already on the agenda.
• Booking the Secret Room with children under 10.
• Arriving Monday without checking special openings.
• Using the Firenze Card without checking whether you really need it beyond these three museums.

If something on online lists does not match €11 / €32, write before you pay: travel@alltours.florence.it (alltoursflorence campaign) or verify bargellomusei.it.

In short: Medici Chapel Florence tickets

Medici Chapel Florence tickets stay at €11 with real Michelangelo, hours 8:15–18:50, short queues and a GAMB combo that pays off if you add Accademia and Bargello. Secret Room at €32 only if you accept 15 minutes, 4 people and 12 steps. For dates and availability use the widget; questions: travel@alltours.florence.it (alltoursflorence campaign).