The Medici Chapels entrance is at Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini 6, on the back side of Florence’s Basilica of San Lorenzo. Do not join the visitor line at the basilica in Piazza San Lorenzo. The church and the chapels share the same historic complex, but they have separate doors, tickets, opening hours and management. For Michelangelo’s New Sacristy and the Chapel of the Princes, walk around San Lorenzo to the rear and look for signs reading Cappelle Medicee or Museo delle Cappelle Medicee.
Where exactly is the door?
The official museum address is:
Museo delle Cappelle Medicee
Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini, 6
50123 Firenze
Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini is immediately behind the San Lorenzo complex, on the side dominated by the enormous dome of the Chapel of the Princes. The museum is part of the church architecturally, but you cannot normally reach it by walking through the basilica.
If you are standing in Piazza San Lorenzo facing the basilica’s rough, unfinished stone-and-brick façade, go around the building on your left. Follow the side of the church along the Canto dei Nelli and continue toward the rear. The walk is only a few minutes. Once you reach Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini, look for number 6 and the museum signage.
The huge dome behind San Lorenzo is a useful visual check. If you are walking toward the dome rather than toward the Duomo, you are heading in the right direction.
Do not confuse the chapels with the Basilica of San Lorenzo
This is the mistake that wastes the most time here. San Lorenzo is effectively several visitor attractions occupying one historic complex.
- Basilica of San Lorenzo: entered from the Piazza San Lorenzo side. Its ticket includes the basilica, Brunelleschi’s Old Sacristy, cloisters and other spaces listed by the church.
- Cappelle Medicee: entered from Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini. This is the state museum containing the Chapel of the Princes and Michelangelo’s New Sacristy.
- Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana: another separately managed part of the complex with its own admission arrangements.
A basilica ticket does not admit you to Michelangelo’s New Sacristy. The Basilica of San Lorenzo itself explicitly states that the chapels require a different ticket. You can check the church’s current arrangements on the official San Lorenzo visitor information page.
The names Sagrestia Vecchia and Sagrestia Nuova are another source of confusion. The Sagrestia Vecchia, or Old Sacristy, is part of the basilica visit. The Sagrestia Nuova, or New Sacristy, is Michelangelo’s space with the celebrated Medici tomb sculptures and forms part of the state museum visit.
What to do if you are already at the wrong San Lorenzo door
Do not buy a basilica ticket simply because you have reached its ticket desk unless you actually want to visit the church too. Ask for “Cappelle Medicee?” and staff can point you around the building.
From Piazza San Lorenzo, the correction is small. Walk around the left side of the basilica toward Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini. There is no need to cross the historic centre or retrace your route toward the Duomo.
If Michelangelo’s tomb sculptures are your priority, the words you want to see are Cappelle Medicee, not merely Basilica di San Lorenzo.
Tickets and opening hours in 2026
Following changes introduced in 2026, the museum currently opens Tuesday through Sunday from 08:15 to 18:50 and is normally closed on Monday. Last admission is 40 minutes before closing.
The standard full-price ticket is currently €11. Advance reservations are optional for an ordinary visit, with a reservation fee added when applicable. Because prices, special openings and free-entry arrangements can change, check the official Cappelle Medicee page before relying on an old Florence itinerary or third-party ticket site. Official ticket options are also listed through the Musei del Bargello ticket page.
The first Sunday of each month is currently part of Italy’s Domenica al Museo free-entry programme. In 2026 the museum also lists free admission on 25 April, 2 June and 4 November. Reservations are suspended on free-entry days, so the arrival procedure can be different from a normal prepaid visit.
Coming from Firenze Santa Maria Novella station
The chapels are close enough to Florence’s main railway station that walking normally makes more sense than finding a bus. Expect roughly a ten-minute walk, depending on your station exit and how crowded the San Lorenzo market streets are.
From the station area, head toward the San Lorenzo and Mercato Centrale district rather than first walking all the way to the Duomo. Once the large dome of the Chapel of the Princes comes into view, use Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini as your destination rather than Piazza San Lorenzo.
If you are arriving in Florence by train and need help identifying exits, luggage facilities or the correct central station, see our Firenze Santa Maria Novella station guide.
Do not arrive with a large suitcase
The museum is not a practical substitute for left-luggage storage. Current rules allow small bags and small backpacks, but large bags, suitcases and large backpacks are not admitted.
A limited number of lockers are available. They operate with a €1 coin that is returned when the locker is reopened, but the small number of lockers means you should not build your plan around finding space for travel luggage.
If you have checked out of a hotel or are visiting Florence between trains, leave your suitcase at your accommodation or a proper luggage-storage facility before walking to San Lorenzo. Turning up with a rolling case and a timed museum plan is an avoidable way to discover that Renaissance architecture did not anticipate airline baggage allowances.
Umbrellas must be placed in the protective bags provided and carried during the visit rather than left as large cloakroom items.
What happens after you enter?
The visit begins at the lower level around the Medici crypt before continuing upward into the principal monumental spaces. The two highlights are the immense Cappella dei Principi and Michelangelo’s Sagrestia Nuova.
If you want more detail on what is inside and how the different spaces fit together, read our guide to the Medici Chapels in Florence.
Allowing about an hour is reasonable for a normal visit, with longer useful if you enjoy sculpture, Medici history or decorative stonework. If you are fitting the museum between San Lorenzo, the Central Market and another Florence reservation, you can organize the rest of your Italy route around the fixed admission times rather than zigzagging across the historic centre.
You may leave from a different place than you entered
One detail older guidebooks can miss is the museum’s new exit route, opened in 2023. Visitors now finish by passing through the Lorraine Crypt and the underground area containing the bookshop and modern visitor facilities.
A stone staircase then brings you back outside on the side facing Canto dei Nelli, close to San Lorenzo. In other words, do not become concerned if the route does not return you to the same ticket doorway in Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini.
This is useful when arranging a meeting point. If one person waits beside the admission door while another completes the museum, they may not emerge exactly where expected. For groups, choose a clear landmark outside San Lorenzo rather than simply saying, “Meet at the door.”
Wheelchairs and reduced mobility
The main museum route has accessibility equipment. The pavement is connected to street level, the ground floor can be reached by ramp, an elevator serves the Chapel of the Princes, and a platform lift provides access toward Michelangelo’s New Sacristy. Ask staff at arrival if you need the accessible route rather than following stairs automatically.
The important exception is Michelangelo’s Secret Room. This small underground room is not part of the ordinary unrestricted museum circuit. It requires a specific reservation, visits are tightly limited, and access involves a narrow staircase of 12 steps. It is therefore not accessible to visitors who cannot manage those stairs.
The Secret Room needs a different plan
A normal museum ticket should not be confused with admission to the Stanza segreta di Michelangelo. The Secret Room is a special, separately controlled visit with mandatory reservation, very small groups and a short time slot. The museum currently lists its ticket at €32.
If your main reason for coming is the Secret Room, treat the reservation time as fixed and arrive at the correct museum door early enough to deal with ticket checks and bag storage. Medium and large bags, backpacks, umbrellas and other unsuitable objects must be deposited before descending to the room.
The three things to remember at San Lorenzo
- For Michelangelo’s New Sacristy and the Chapel of the Princes, go to Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini 6.
- Do not assume a Basilica of San Lorenzo ticket covers the state museum. It does not.
- After the visit, follow the signed museum route rather than trying to return to the ticket door. The current exit brings you out near Canto dei Nelli.
If you find yourself staring at San Lorenzo’s famous unfinished façade with a ticket for the chapels in your hand, nothing has gone seriously wrong. You are simply on the wrong side of the building. Walk around the left side toward the large Medici dome, find Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini, and use the museum door at number 6.