You will meet with your guide at your central located hotel or just outside the Uffizi Gallery in Piazza della Signoria and by-passing the queues go directly inside.  You can choose either a 9:30am or 2pm visit.  Built by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 it has magnificent ceilings, wonderful architectural detail and highly decorated corridors and galleries.As you proceed through the collections in the various galleries your guide will regale you with stories about the lives of the various Renaissance artists and explain how the politics and fashions of the day shaped the masterpieces on display.  You will also learn something of the patrons and benefactors who commissioned these priceless works of art. Displayed in the Uffizi are artworks by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, Giotto and Caravaggio to name a few.  All of the great Renaissance artists have their work on display.  Of particular interest is Botticelli’s Birth of Venue and Da Vinci’s Annunciation but you will also see splendid sculptures and paintings that demonstrate the importance of the city of Florence during the Renaissance period.  If there is anything you wish to know then ask your guide!   Depending upon your tour start time guide will leave you at either 12:00pm or 4:30pm.  You will however then be free to explore this magnificent gallery until closing time at 6.50 pm.