Hidden Gem Museums in Florence

It's almost 50 years since his death in 1960, but Salvatore Ferragamo's shoes are still kicking up their stilettos from Florence to Hollywood. Acclaimed as the "shoemaker to the stars," with A-List clients from Sophia Loren and Audrey Hepburn to Madonna and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Salvatore Ferragamo remains the darling of the well-heeled set. His memory lives on in a fabulous museum founded by his widow Wanda in 1995, and set in the basement of the company's flagship store in the heart of Florence. Crammed with shoes, photographs, patents, sketches, books, magazines, and wooden molds of various famous feet—as well as a pair of Marilyn Monroe stilettos—the shoe museum rotates its collection twice a year around themes. There's a small but stylish gift store with books, posters, and gifts such as scarves, or better still head up to the boutique and take home the real thing.

Open daily, except Tuesday, 10am to 6pm. 

This is one of those check-in-advance "museums" that is frequently closed for months at a time due to its fragility and preservation concerns, but if you strike it lucky you're in for a cultural treat. This unique half-mile-long "corridor" was created in 1564 to provide Cosimo de Medici, Grand Duke of Florence, with a private walkway between his home in Pitti Palace and office at Palazzo Vecchio in town, without having to mix with the common people. The result is Corridoio Vasariano, named after the architect, who designed a suitably elevated walkway which also provided much-needed protection from assassination attempts. The historic corridor was restored and opened to the public in 1973, but can only be visited by appointment or in groups of 10 or more. Apart from magnificent and little-seen views of the city from its round windows, the passage way contains more than 1,000 paintings by some of the world's most famous masters: Rubens, Bernini, Corot, Delacroix, Titian, Rembrant, Van Dyck, Velasquez, Sir Joshua Reynolds and John Singer Sargent, to name a few. If the Corridor is open, this is a must-do.

Open Tuesday to Sunday, tours last a minimum 3 hours.

You can see the magnificent works of art by Michelangelo at the Uffizi Gallery, along with hordes of other people, or you can go right to the source at Casa Buonarroti, the elegant 16th century palazzo where the incomporable artist lived between 1516 and 1525. Bequeathed to the city of Florence by his last surviving descendant, Cosimo, in 1858 and opened to the public in 1959, this is a wonderful place to see the vast collection of art and archaeology amassed over the centuries by the Buonarroti family. Located at Via Ghibellina 70, the museum not only boasts works by Michelangelo but a host of other great artists, all displayed to maximum effect in 22 expositional rooms. Apart from a variety of paintings and sculptures by the great artist, the museum also includes a priceless archive and library of more than 200 of his sketches and autographed drawings. Wander at leisure, but don't miss the small chapel with its elegant dome, frescoes by Jacopo Vignali, and a wood inlay altar designed by Pietro da Cortona.

Open daily except Tuesdays, 9.30am to 2pm. 

This is one of the more unusual museums you will ever visit. Founded in 1775 by the Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo and based on the Medici collections of natural treasures such as fossils, minerals, animals and exotic plants, Museo La Specola is a Natural History Museum like no other. The star attraction of the more than 5,000 exhibits is an extraordinary collection of anatomical waxworks—carved from real-life corpses in the 1770s for the purpose of medical research. While it's not for the faint-hearted, the kids will love it; 34 galleries exhibiting the entire spectrum of natural history. Run by the University of Florence, the museum is located in Via La Pira (near the Pitti Palace); hardly anyone goes here, so you'll likely have the place to yourself.

Open daily except Wednesdays, 9am to 1pm.