Bargello National Museum

Museo Nazionale del Bargello

Donatello's David up close, without the queue

Hours

Tue–Sun 8:15–18:50, closed Mondays (last entry 40 minutes before closing). Closed 25 Dec and 1 Jan

Tickets

€12 (EU citizens aged 18–25 €2, under 18 free). Combined with the Accademia €26 (48 hours)

Address

Via del Proconsolo 4, a five-minute walk from the Duomo

Step into the courtyard of this fortress-like palace and every wall is crowded with the coats of arms of old city magistrates. Upstairs, Donatello's bronze David stands in his hat like a cocky teenager, and on the ground floor you find Michelangelo's early Bacchus and his Brutus bust. Compared with the lines at the Uffizi or the Accademia, it often feels astonishingly empty. An hour and a half is enough, and for anyone who likes sculpture it can be the best-spent time in Florence.