Santa Croce Florence tickets: prices, hours and famous tombs

Santa Croce Florence tickets open the city’s pantheon of great Italians: the official fare is €10, weekday hours are 9:30–17:30, and the nave holds the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli, with Brunelleschi’s Pazzi Chapel next door. Here are the prices, the hours and how to see the tombs without getting lost between cloisters and sacristy.

Santa Croce tickets: official prices and tours

Online tickets have a time window with 15 minutes’ tolerance and are non-refundable. Booking ahead helps in high season and for groups; otherwise walk-ups can usually buy at the desk without trouble. Guided tours on Tiqets (about €44.90) and GetYourGuide (€33–€48) cost more but explain the tombs, Giotto and the Pazzi Chapel in 60–90 minutes — worthwhile on a first visit or with family. For two independent adults, the €10 ticket plus a €4 audioguide remains cheaper.

Hours, closures and free openings

• Monday–Saturday: 9:30–17:30, last entry 17:00, basilica closes 17:20
• Sundays and holy days of obligation (6 Jan, 1 Nov, 8 Dec): 14:00–17:30 only — do not plan a Sunday-morning visit
• Full closure: 25 December only
• Free openings (afternoon 14:00–17:30, last entry 16:30): 1 Jan, 2nd Sunday of February, Easter, 13 June, 15 August, 14 September, European Heritage Days, 4 October, 2nd Sunday of November, the Sunday before Christmas, 26 December

On 4 October, the feast of St Francis, there is a Mass at 11:00 and a free tourist opening 14:00–17:30. Arrive early on free days: free does not mean empty.

Tombs: Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli (and Dante)

Monuments and tombs line both sides of the nave:

• Michelangelo — monument by Vasari (1564–76), the one everyone looks for first.
• Galileo — buried here in 1737, after decades of controversy.
• Machiavelli — monument of 1787.
• Rossini, Alfieri (by Canova), Foscolo, and the humanist chancellors Bruni and Marsuppini.
• Dante’s cenotaph (Stefano Ricci, 1830): a memorial only — Dante is buried in Ravenna, which explains why so many visitors look for “his tomb” and cannot find it.

A simple route: enter from Largo Bargellini, find Michelangelo first, then Galileo and Machiavelli, and only then widen out to Rossini, Alfieri and Foscolo. Canova’s Alfieri monument and Foscolo speak of 19th-century patriotism; together they show that Santa Croce works as a national pantheon, not just a neighbourhood church. Give the monuments 15–20 minutes before moving on to Giotto and the Pazzi Chapel.

What else the ticket includes

1. Bardi Chapel — Giotto’s Stories of St Francis. The restoration is complete and the cycle is fully visible again; if you have seen Giotto in Assisi or Padua, compare it here. Ten minutes of looking beats fifty blurry photos.
2. Pazzi Chapel — Brunelleschi’s geometry and calm after the crowded nave; same architect as the Duomo dome, a very different problem. Good with children too: open space and fewer distractions.
3. Sacristy — Cimabue’s Crucifix, in controlled light and away from the nave crowds.
4. Refectory / Opera Museum — Vasari’s Last Supper, often overlooked. Leaving straight after Michelangelo wastes half the ticket.
5. Cloisters — the link between basilica and museum. Because of accessibility works, after the basilica and sacristy you may need to exit and re-enter the cloister via an outdoor path; follow the signs on the day.

The official recommended visit is about 50 minutes; with the museum and cloisters allow 75–90.

Worship vs tourist ticket

Entry for prayer and Mass (Niccolini Chapel) is free: weekdays at 18:00; holidays at 11:00 (front left door) and 18:00 (from Largo Bargellini). The worship entrance is not a way to tour the tombs. When a service is on, lower your voice and keep out of the areas reserved for worshippers.

Practical rules

Shoulders and legs must be covered; free wraps are available at the ticket office, so use one rather than argue at the door. No flash, tripods or food; only guide dogs are allowed. The audioguide requires an ID deposit.

Getting there

Piazza Santa Croce is east of the Duomo, about 10–12 minutes on foot. The ticket office is on Largo Bargellini, on the north side. From Santa Maria Novella allow 20–25 minutes on foot, or take a city bus.

Families, residents and Firenze Card

Families pay €10 per parent, with under-18s free. Under-11s are free in any case. City of Florence residents enter free with ID. The Firenze Card is accepted (show it with ID at the ticket office). Disabled visitors plus a companion have priority access without booking.

Guided tours, audioguide or on your own?

• On your own with the official map: fine if you have read up beforehand.
• Audioguide (€4 online / €6 on site): a good compromise for a 60-minute visit.
• 60–90 minute tour: best on a first visit or with family; many unguided visitors photograph Michelangelo and leave.
• Official tours: “Tour on demand” visits (max 25 people) and after-hours visits (8:30 or 19:00) are by quote only, via booking@santacroceopera.it.

With children under 10, skip the long audioguide: turn it into a hunt (“who can find Galileo?”), let them move around in the Pazzi Chapel, and finish with a gelato on the square. Forty focused minutes are plenty.

Itineraries

2 hours: all of Santa Croce (tombs, Bardi Chapel, Pazzi Chapel, sacristy, refectory). Half day: Santa Croce in the morning → lunch on the square or in the Oltrarno → the Bargello for sculpture, or Casa Buonarroti (€8, closed Tuesday).

Your Santa Croce ticket gives reciprocal discounts at Casa Buonarroti, Museo Horne and the Museo Galileo.

Santa Croce or Santa Maria Novella?

Santa Maria Novella costs less (€7.50) and has Ghirlandaio; Santa Croce costs €10 and has the tombs. If you can only do one and the tombs matter to you, choose Santa Croce. If you arrive at the station with little time, choose Santa Maria Novella. Both are far easier than the Uffizi queue.

Common mistakes

• Trying to enter from the façade on the square instead of Largo Bargellini.
• Photographing the tombs with flash.
• Looking for Dante’s grave (it is in Ravenna).
• Planning a Sunday-morning visit.
• Ignoring the dress code.
• Skipping the Pazzi Chapel because it is “outside”.

Nearby

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

In short

Santa Croce Florence tickets cost €10, the basilica closes only at Christmas, and one ticket covers the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli along with Brunelleschi and Giotto. Enter from Largo Bargellini, respect the dress code, and take a tour if you want context. Check dates and availability in the widget above. We are an independent guide: if you book through our Tiqets or GetYourGuide links we may earn a commission; the price you pay does not change.