Stibbert Museum — Attraction in Florence

this is officially one of my favorite museums of all time after visiting today. it was so incredible and engaging even without a tour. (at one point we did ask a staff member a question about something and she happily answered and was so kind). every room we went into we were overwhelmed with things to look at.

i’m a professional horseman so i was really looking forward to all of the armor and accessories. it was just so incredible. i was so excited. when we got to the ‘grand’ room with the predominant collection of horses w their riders all clad in armor, i thought that was the finale, yet there was at least 30 more minutes (spent about an hour walking through at a fair pace) of AMAZING rooms to walk through. ornate ceilings, wall trim, tiling, cabinets filled with trinkets, tiled floors, amazing light fixtures.

my sister is a history teacher and a lover of antique interiors, and often visits home and garden tours in maryland, and this museum was like that on steroids. she absolutely loved it.

this is a million percent worth it. we’re here for just a few days with our tour group, and this was one of the things we chose to see in our free time. it was a nice break from the continuity of the religious art in the city center.

cherry on top was the lovely receptionist who helped call the cab for us to get back to our hotel!!!!❤️

should we have had more time i would’ve loved to have gone through the gardens. we came on a wednesday afternoon without tickets and got in easily and had a...

The worst experience during my month in Italy. You must join a tour to enter, which I was told is only available in Italian. The group was 15-20 people, which meant you had to constantly squeeze and fight for space in every room, with people coughing, kids screaming, people talking over the tour guide, etc. Annoying. Some displays have QR codes for English-language audio information, but the museum WiFi internet was not available anywhere besides the cafe, and phone reception didn’t work well inside the building to use mobile phone data. There are no signs in English. All of this meant I had no idea about the details of what I was looking at. We were hustled from room to room, with little time to understand or enjoy my visit. I had travelled a long way to visit and left feeling extremely disappointed.

I also visited the cafe on the way out and was served an inedible, rock hard (frozen) tiramisu, and an “americano” poured from a big glass pot. Neither tasted of anything so I left even more disappointed. I told the front desk person about the WiFi issue and they shrugged and said “here you can have a map”... 😕

I have visited museums all over Europe and even worked in one. Whoever is in charge of Stibbert Museum does not know what they’re doing. Please do yourself a favor and visit...

What an excellent and exciting discovery. While it is not very close to the historical center, a taxi will bring you there for less than 20 euros. The entrance fee is smaller than many museums, 8 euros.

Mr. Stibbert had a fortune and a passion : collecting arms and armors from everywhere. They have some really impressive stuff there. Everything is still displayed as Mr. Stibbert wanted it and contrary to dull old museums, the presentation is quite modern and dynamic.

All visits must be accompanied with a guide, to prevent small and not so small hands touching everything (very little glass to protect the artifacts). The guide is included in the price.

You can also, with prior reservation, book a tour with one of the curators. Much more expensive (add 150 euros on top of your tickets, aka for four people, total price was 182 euros) but you get an incredible visit with all the details and some "backstage" access. If you like arms and armors like me, this is what you want to do!

The museum is also welcoming kids, which could be a great option if your small ones are tired of seeing white statues of naked people. And they have a dragon! Made by Mr Stibbert with the head of a rhino, the body of a crocodile and the tail from...