Ticket prices and who pays what
The Opera di Santa Croce's visit page sets these prices:
| Visitor | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult | €10 |
| Ages 12–17, university students, teachers with an Edumuseicard | €6 |
| Children 0–11 | Free |
| Under-18s with their parents (family ticket) | Free; parents pay €10 each |
| Florence residents, Firenze Card holders | Free |
| Visitors with disabilities and their carers | Free, priority entry, no booking |
Booking online adds €1 per ticket, except for school and family tickets. Concessions and free entry need ID, and free tickets are collected at the ticket office.
Worked example: two parents with children of 14 and 16. Booked as individuals, the family pays €10 + €10 + €6 + €6 = €32, plus €4 in online fees. As a family ticket, the teenagers go free and there is no online fee: €20. If you travel with your own children under 18, always choose the family ticket.
The Firenze Card is accepted here, so if you already hold one, Santa Croce costs nothing extra; our Firenze Card guide shows when the card is worth buying.
Opening hours, Sundays and the free days
| Day | Opening | Last admission |
|---|---|---|
| Monday–Saturday | 9:30–17:30 (basilica cleared from 17:20) | 17:00 |
| Sundays and 6 January, 1 November, 8 December | 14:00–17:30 | 17:00 |
| Free open days | 14:00–17:30 | 16:30 |
| 25 December | Closed | — |
On Sunday mornings the complex is not open for sightseeing. The Comune's tourism office lists the same Sunday and holiday hours, 14:00–17:30, in its schedule updated 1 June 2026.
The basilica is free on about a dozen days a year, among them the second Sunday of November and the Sunday before Christmas, which in 2026 fall on 8 November and 20 December. The Opera's free-day notice sets limits that matter:
- Only the basilica is open. The cloisters, refectory, Pazzi Chapel, Cerchi Chapel and Sacristy are closed.
- Entry is in 45-minute slots until capacity is reached.
- Free tickets cannot be booked online; you queue at the ticket office.
What you see inside
The Opera's overview of the complex lists the places that make up the complex: the basilica, the sacristy with the Medici chapel, the Pazzi Chapel, the cloisters, the Opera Museum, the crypt and a memorial chapel. Its highlights are:
- Tombs and memorials of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Alfieri, Rossini and Foscolo.
- Fresco cycles by Giotto and his pupils, including the Bardi Chapel, whose Saint Francis cycle has been restored.
- Brunelleschi's Pazzi Chapel and sculptures by Donatello.
- Works by Cimabue, among them the Crucifix in the Sacristy.
The Opera estimates a full visit at about 50 minutes. Audio guides cost €4 if booked online and €6 on site, in Italian, English, French, Spanish and German, and you leave an original ID as a deposit. The Opera also runs a 70-minute guided tour in Italian and English, covering the tombs of Galileo and Michelangelo, the Giotto frescoes, the cloisters and the Pazzi Chapel; you add it when buying your ticket. Its price was not shown on the pages we read.
Dress code and visitor rules
The Opera's rules for visitors ask everyone to cover shoulders and legs. Disposable cover-ups are free, and in summer you can ask for a single-use kimono at the ticket office, so you can cover up on arrival rather than go back to change.
- Photos are allowed for private use, without flash or tripod, and never during services.
- No eating or drinking anywhere on the site.
- Your ticket is valid once, for the time slot you chose. Arrive more than 15 minutes late and staff decide whether to fit you into a later slot.
The entrance and ticket office are on the north side of the basilica, in Largo Bargellini (Piazza Santa Croce 16). A ramp there and a raised platform at the cloister exit give step-free access to the basilica and cloister. The transept chapels, the Novitiate Corridor and the Sacristy are not wheelchair accessible.
From Santa Croce, the Bargello is a short walk north-west, and Palazzo Vecchio a little further west.
