Santa Croce Florence tickets: prices, hours and famous tombs

Santa Croce Florence tickets open the city’s civic pantheon: official fare €10, hours 9:30–17:30 on weekdays, and in the nave the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli plus Brunelleschi’s Pazzi Chapel. If you want prices, hours and how to see the tombs without getting lost between cloisters and sacristy, start here.

Santa Croce tickets: official prices and tours

Online the ticket has a time band with 15-minute tolerance and no refund. Guided tours (Tiqets/GYG) cost more but explain tombs, Giotto and Pazzi in 60–90 minutes: useful on a first visit.

Hours, closures and free openings

• Monday–Saturday: 9:30–17:30, last entry 17:00, basilica closes 17:20
• Sundays and days of precept (6 Jan, 1 Nov, 8 Dec): only 14:00–17:30
• full closure: 25 December only
• free openings (afternoon 14:00–17:30, last 16:30): 1 Jan, 2nd Sunday of February, Easter, 13 June, 15 August, 14 September, European Heritage Days, 4 October, 2nd Sunday of November, Sunday before Christmas, 26 December

4 October (800th anniversary of St Francis’s Transitus): Mass 11:00; free tourist opening 14:00–17:30.

Tombs: Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli (and Dante)

Along the right and left nave monuments and tombs follow one another:

• Michelangelo — Vasari monument (1564–76): the piece everyone looks for first.
• Galileo — burial of 1737, after decades of controversy.
• Machiavelli — monument of 1787.
• Rossini, Alfieri (Canova), Foscolo, Bruni, Marsuppini.
• Dante cenotaph (Stefano Ricci, 1830): memorial; Dante is buried in Ravenna.

This is not a “checklist cemetery”: leave 15–20 minutes just to read the monuments, then move to Giotto and the Pazzi.

What else the ticket includes

1. Bardi Chapel — Giotto’s Stories of St Francis: restoration finished, cycle fully visible again.
2. Pazzi Chapel — Brunelleschi: geometry and quiet after the crowded nave.
3. Sacristy — Cimabue Crucifix.
4. Refectory / Opera Museum — Vasari’s Last Supper.
5. Cloisters — link between basilica and museum; barrier-removal works: after basilica and sacristy you may exit and re-enter the cloister via an outdoor path (follow on-site notices).

Official recommended duration ~50 minutes; with museum and cloisters allow 75–90.

Worship vs tourist ticket

Free entry for prayer and Masses (Niccolini Chapel): weekday 18:00; holidays 11:00 (front left door) and 18:00 (from Largo Bargellini). Do not use the worship entrance for a tourist loop of the tombs.

Practical rules

Dress code: shoulders and legs covered; free kimonos at the ticket office. No flash/tripod, food, animals (guide dogs only). Audioguide: ID deposit. Reciprocal discounts with Casa Buonarroti, Museo Horne, Museo Galileo.

Getting there

Piazza Santa Croce is east of the Duomo (about 10–12 minutes on foot). Ticketing in Largo Bargellini, north side. From Santa Maria Novella allow 20–25 minutes on foot or a city bus.

Firenze Card and residents

Firenze Card accepted (collect at ticketing with ID). City of Florence residents free. Under 11 free. Disabled + companion: priority access without booking.

Guided tours: when they pay off

Without a guide many visitors photograph Michelangelo and leave. A 60–90 minute tour links tombs, Giotto and Pazzi: it makes sense on a first visit or with a family. Official “Tour on demand” visits (max 25) and after-hours (8:30 or 19:00) are by quote only to booking@santacroceopera.it.

Half-day itinerary

Morning Santa Croce → lunch on the square or Oltrarno → afternoon Bargello (sculpture) or Casa Buonarroti (reciprocal discount with Santa Croce ticket). Avoid Sunday morning: visitors only from the afternoon.

Nearby

• Bargello — a few minutes toward Via del Proconsolo.
• Palazzo Vecchio and Signoria.
• Uffizi — along the Arno.
• Other museums — Horne, Galileo, Synagogue.

Mental map of the tombs

Enter from Largo Bargellini, orient in the nave and find Michelangelo first (Vasari monument): he is the magnet. Then Galileo and Machiavelli. Only after that widen to Rossini, Alfieri, Foscolo. Dante’s cenotaph explains why so many look for “the tomb” and do not find it: the poet is in Ravenna. This sequence stops you circling with a phone map.

Giotto and the Bardi Chapel without hurry

After the tombs, the Bardi with the Stories of St Francis is the second reason for the ticket. Restoration is finished: the cycle is readable again. If you come from Assisi or Padua, here you compare a “Florentine” Giotto in a Franciscan setting. Ten minutes standing still beat fifty blurred photos.

Pazzi Chapel: architectural reset

Brunelleschi reduces the noise here. After a nave full of monuments, the Pazzi is geometry and silence. Useful with children too: open space, fewer stimuli. Link it mentally to the Duomo dome: same designer, different building problem.

Audioguide vs tour vs alone

• Alone + official plan: fine if you have already read two pages of context.
• Audioguide €4/€6: good compromise in 60 minutes.
• Tour 60–90 minutes: better on a first visit or with family.
• Official on-demand / after-hours tours: email quote only.

Families, residents and Firenze Card

Family: parents at €10, under 18 free — clear formula. City of Florence residents: free with ID. Firenze Card: collect at ticketing. Under 11: free even without a card. Disabled + companion: priority without booking.

Works and accessibility

Barrier-removal routes: after basilica and sacristy you can exit and re-enter the cloister from outside. Follow the day’s signage; do not invent shortcuts. Free kimonos if you arrive in a tank top: use them, they avoid entry arguments.

2-hour and half-day itineraries

2 hours: full Santa Croce (tombs + Bardi + Pazzi + sacristy). Half day: Santa Croce + lunch on the square + Bargello or Casa Buonarroti (reciprocal discount). Worship only: if you want Mass only, use the liturgical entrance; do not mix it with the tourist ticket.

Comparing online products

The Tiqets tour (~€44.90) and GYG experiences (€33–€48) include entry + guide. They help if you do not want to manage audioguide and map. Official €10 ticket + €4 audioguide stays cheaper for two self-sufficient adults.

Free-opening calendar

Mark on your travel calendar: 1 January, Easter, 15 August, 4 October and the other free afternoon dates listed by the Opera. Last entry on free days at 16:30. Arrive early: free does not mean empty.

Typical visitor mistakes

Entering from the façade on the square without a ticket; photographing tombs with flash; confusing Dante buried/cenotaph; arriving Sunday morning; ignoring the dress code; skipping the Pazzi because “it is outside”.

Micro-guide to secondary monuments

Beyond the Michelangelo–Galileo–Machiavelli trio, Canova’s Alfieri and Foscolo tell the patriotic nineteenth century; Rossini reminds you Santa Croce is not only “sacred art” but national memory. Bruni and Marsuppini close the humanistic circle. You do not need to memorise dates: you need to understand the basilica works as a civic pantheon, not a simple neighbourhood church.

Sacristy and Cimabue

The Cimabue Crucifix in the sacristy is another magnet for art-history visitors. Controlled light, less nave crowd. Link it mentally to the Uffizi (Cimabue/Giotto) without redoing that queue: here the piece is included in the €10 ticket.

Vasari’s Refectory

In the Opera Museum: Vasari’s Last Supper. Often overlooked. If you have 15 minutes, finish there after the cloisters. Avoid leaving immediately after Michelangelo: you lose half the ticket’s value.

Worship, tourists and respect

Liturgical and tourist hours coexist. If a service is on, lower your voice and do not cross worship corridors. Kimonos and dress code are not bureaucracy: they prevent refused entry. Animals: guide dogs only.

Comparisons with other paid basilicas

Santa Maria Novella costs less (€7.50) and has Ghirlandaio; Santa Croce costs €10 and has the tombs. If you can do only one and care about tombs, choose Croce. If you arrive from the station with little time, SMN. Both beat the Uffizi queue.

Online booking: pros and cons

+€1, time band, no refund. Useful in high season and with groups. Walk-ups: often buy at the desk without drama. Family and schools: dedicated rules without the €1 fee.

Typical day with children

Tomb hunt (quiz: who finds Galileo) → Pazzi for open-space movement → gelato exit on the square. Skip the long audioguide if under 10: better 40 targeted minutes.

Santa Croce: prices and hours in three decisions

1. Official ticket €10 (+€1 online if not family/school) if you move alone with plan or audioguide.
2. Tour €33–€49 if it is a first visit and you want Giotto + Pazzi without guessing.
3. Sunday: afternoon only 14:00–17:30 — do not plan a tourist morning.

Tombs and civic memory (without a rushed checklist)

Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli draw the traffic; Alfieri, Foscolo, Rossini and chancellors Bruni/Marsuppini tell the Florentine pantheon. Dante’s cenotaph explains the most frequent mix-up: memorial yes, burial no (Ravenna). Leave a quarter-hour for the monuments alone, then Bardi and Pazzi.

Useful reciprocal discounts

With the same Santa Croce ticket you can activate reductions toward Casa Buonarroti, Museo Horne and Museo Galileo (Opera conventions). If you are in the east zone (Ghibellina / Santa Croce), Casa Buonarroti at €8 (closed Tuesday) is the natural stop after the basilica.

In short

Santa Croce Florence tickets cost €10, close only at Christmas and concentrate tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli with Brunelleschi and Giotto in one ticket. Enter from Largo Bargellini, respect the dress code, and use a tour if you want context. Dates and availability: widget above; travel@alltours.florence.it (alltoursflorence).