4 night Florence itinerary help?

I’ve climbed both and the Duomo view is much nicer, not in the same ballpark.

I would definitely not skip the Uffizi.

I would maybe skip the Medici Riccardi Palace and the daytime Piazza Michelangelo visit and try to make room for the San Marco Museum, Museo degli Innocenti and Basilica di Santa Trinita.

Getting tickets for Orsanmichele in 2022 was impossible.

Keep the Uffizi, the Benozzo Gozzoli chapel (but skip the rest of the palazzo), and San Marco. Skip the Pitti and Boboli (huge places!), and (although I'm sad to say it, but your time is limited) the Museo degli Innocenti. Pretty sure you can see both the daytime Piazzale Michelangelo view and the evening one if you see it before and after visiting San Miniato which is just up the hillside. I like your plan and think it's doable. It may well be hotter in Florence in September than you imagine, if heat is a factor for you.

An option for the Piazzale Michelangelo dilemma - seeing it at day and night- is to go near sunset. Early enough to see in the light and late enough for the dark. It’ll be crowded but then you’ll get both and won’t have to go to the same spot twice.

Do you plan to do the Duomo Museum? The baptistery (in and out)? I see “complex” but want to confirm.

I might take one more look and eliminate a few things. Also, I don’t see enough gelato stops. :). Make sure one of your meals is bistecca alla Fiorentina if you’re meat eaters.

Looks busy but possible.

I would not skip Uffizi, unless you take exception to world class art and edifices (with a spectacular view of the dome from the roof). :).
Been there 4 times and it always delivers.

Thanks :)

I think I should have been clearer--my 2 visits to Piazza Michelangelo are not two separate visits really. I would stop and take a look on the way up to the monastery and stop on the way back down after the 5:30 pm Mass at the monastery. I thought it might be interesting to see daytime and nighttime views of the city.

I still think I'm going to skip the Uffizi. I think it's huge and I don't really have the time to see it properly and I'll see plenty of art in Rome also. Actually, I love to visit churches and plan on lots of those in both Florence and Rome.

Marco, what makes you suggest skipping the Medici Riccardi Palace and visiting the San Marco museum --other than it's your namesake:)

Born a Travelin’ Man, yes, I want to visit the entire complex of the Duomo.

Other advice?

If facing the Duomo, the Duomo Museum is behind it. They are not physically connected but it is worth the Duomo Museum to see the art and to get a commanding view of the dome. (Church, baptistery, dome hike, tower hike, museum). Enough to keep someone very busy. I’d skip the tower and see the dome from the museum.

Eat some cantuccini.

Uffizi is big but it is better than some other places you’re visiting. :) My two cents. I’d put it among the highest reasons to go to Firenze. We all have different preferences. The Uffizi art is prime Renaissance art. Just one more plug for it. :)

Obviously, the decision about the Uffizi is up to you, and is based on your interests (and those you're traveling with!)

What about the places on your list made you choose them? There were places that I hadn't heard of, like Palazzo Davanzati, which sounds very interesting. I really like seeing places that have been renovated / restored to how people lived in a certain time period. Do you prefer that kind of thing, and art in situ , as opposed to museums? Do you prefer a certain art style, and Renaissance is not it? I suggest that if you haven't already done so, do a quick internet scroll through the highlights of the Uffizi, to make sure you don't care about seeing them (for example, I'm not a huge Botticelli fan, but Birth of Venus is pretty darn spectacular - to me).

For my decisions, for example, I love paintings and sculpture, primarily Renaissance and Baroque. So for me, when in Florence, the Uffizi is a must. And so is the Pitti Palace, because they have some Raphaels and a piece by Artemisia Gentileschi (one of the few female artists, and I love her work; note there's a piece by her in the Uffizi, as well). That's even though the organization of the paintings in the Pitti is a huge mess, and honestly I wouldn't recommend going there to many people unless they wanted to see certain artists' works.

So if the Uffizi's art doesn't appeal to you as much as the places already on your list, then skip it.

Lexma mentioned how good it is to see art in situ - that’s a large part of the appeal of the Museo San Marco. Back when it was a monastery, Fra Angelico lived and painted there, including painting some astonishing frescos in many of the monastic cells.

Marco, what makes you suggest skipping the Medici Riccardi Palace and visiting the San Marco museum --other than it's your namesake:)

The Medici Palace has the chapel of the magi and also has a nice Madonna and Child by one of the Lipis. San Marco has lots of Fra Angelico frescoes including some of his bests and a great Last Supper by Ghirlandaio. The Medici Palace is good, but with four days it doesn’t make the cut.

Sounds great! I think you may be allocating too much time for the Duomo, unless you’re planning to visit the museum underneath.

If you can fit it in, I’d highly recommend the Palazzo Vecchio. The secret passages tour was fascinating!

Museo San Marco is one of the few opportunities to see art in its original location. It is also a nice restful quiet break. I've been to Florence 4 times and have gone there every time except my first trip, when I was only in Florence on an afternoon when it was closed.

Lexma and lnbsig both mentioned something that had never dawned on me--which do I prefer-- "art in situ , as opposed to museums". I know very little of art, I just like to see it and learn a bit of something. I love to see the ornateness of Renaissance and the beautiful artistry in churches. I'm a Biologist by training, so I have an innate sense of wonder about things.

But, thinking about the question which do I prefer-- I would say art in situ. I think it gives me a perspective and places the art, furniture, clothing, etc. in a proper setting. It kind of gives me the full picture of something instead of it just hanging on a wall. I do like to go to an art museum, but just to look, I don't really understand or know the background of the time or artist or methods of painting.

In a similar vein--I'm going to an opera the first night in Florence. I've never been to an opera and may or may not like it, but I'll at least have the experience of it one time :)

I wonder if the Galileo museum would be a good match for me?

Does any of this help in suggesting a Florence itinerary or just muddy the waters??

If you are a biologist, I’d even more strongly recommend the Palazzo Vecchio secret passages tour! You’ll see the secret study rooms that housed all of Francesco de Medici’s curiosities, as he was very interested in science and nature. I won’t spoil it for you, but there’s a fascinating connection to the art in the room as well.

You book the tour directly through the museum, and it’s very reasonably priced.

Joby, speaking as a former high school science teacher with a degree in Biology(but I also taught Physics), I think you will definitely want to go to the Galileo Museum IF (EDITED) it's what used to be the Science Museum.

I appreciate the suggestions! Taking the suggestions into consideration I've come up with another (modified) itinerary. I'll throw it out with time guesstimates :)

Opinions?

Day 1 Saturday

Train from Stresa 8 am-12 pm
~1:30 Galileo museum (Daily 09.30 - 6:00)
~3:00 Basilica di Santo Spirito- (10.00 to 1.00 and 3.00 to 6.00)
~4:30 San Giorgio alla Costa church
~6:00 Dinner
8:30 pm Opera

Day 2 Sunday

~8:30-12 Santa Maria del Fiore Duomo complex
(Church closed on Sunday)
~12:00 Palazzo Davanzati–(8.15 am to 1.50 pm) (closed 9/16)
Lunch
~3:00 Piazzale Michelangelo day views
~3:30 Cemetery San Miniato
~5:30 Mass and chant San Miniato
Piazzale Michelangelo evening views
Dinner

Day 3 Monday

~8:15 Bargello art museum (8:15–1:30)
~10:00 Orsanmichele church & museum - (10 AM–5 PM)
Lunch
~1:00 Santa Maria Novella (Basilica+Museum+Cloisters+pharmacy) 9-5.30 pm
~5:00 Chiesa di San Salvatore in Ognissanti- (9.00 am - 1.00 pm & 3.00 pm - 8.00 pm)

Dinner

Day 4 Tuesday

~8:00 Basilica of Santissima Annunziata (M 7:30 AM–12:30 PM, 4–6:30 PM)
~9:00 San Marco museum (Mon 8.15 a.m. to 1.50 p.m.)
~11:00 English Cemetery, Florence (Mondays 9 am-12 pm)
~2:00 Leather school (M-F 10:00 - 6:00 pm )
~4:00 Santa Croce (guided tour 2:30 & 4:00)

Dinner

~8:00 pm Uffizi museum (open late on Tuesdays)

In Florence, I recommend Restaurant Zeb as a good choice. Not inexpensive, but the food was excellent. Some find the front-of-house (owner guy) a little intimidating. We found his manner to be a little gruff, but that's OK. I'd let him pick the wine if you drink - I know only a little about Italian wine. It was 1 of the 3 great dinners we had in Italy. It's very near the climb to Piazza Michelangelo.

I don't know why we missed the 6 PM mass in the Duomo.

You should also check out the free Rick Steves audio guides to some of the places you’ll be visiting! My non-art boyfriend really enjoyed them and said it helped a lot with understanding what he was looking at. Plus, he does a really good job with large places like the Uffizzi guiding you to the highlights.

I love the way the OP listed the opening times in his itinerary. Why haven't I been doing that?

cala, Hahahaha, it's part of my OCD planning :)

I so appreciate all of the helpful comments from everyone. I love to plan and I love to plan teeny tiny detailed itineraries :) Overkill to most, but it's how I roll!

So many have said not to skip the Uffizi, I thought putting it in the 8 pm slot might be a good solution since my evenings will not be filled partying :)

Overall, do you think it looks like a pretty good itinerary now?

It looks pretty good. One thing though is that you took out the Brancacci Chapel. If you like art museums, this is kind of a must see, It’s very influential. There’s a time limit of maybe 15 or 20 minutes so it wouldn’t take long to see. Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo would go to the chapel to study Masaccio’s paintings. It’s a few blocks from Santo Spirito so you can go that day or you could go the day you go to San Miniato. Go to the chapel first and then take the bus to San Miniato.

Well, I've rearranged a bit more thinking about the suggestions and double checking opening/closing times and days ( I missed one on the last itinerary try). I'm hoping to get a final itinerary so that I can pre-purchase tickets where I can. This is what I've come up with now. Does it look half way sane and doable? Times are just approximations for planning purposes :)

Day 1 Saturday

Train from Stresa 8 am-12 pm
2:00 Brancacci Chapel (Mon/Fri/Sat: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sunday: 1 p.m-5 pm) (30 min) ($14)
3:00 Basilica di Santo Spirito- (10.00 to 1.00 and 3.00 to 6.00) (1 hr) $2.00
4:15 Santa Felicita (Working days: 9-12 AM; 3-6 PM) (30 min)
5:00 San Giorgio alla Costa church (Mon-Sun 9:00 AM - 6:30 PM) (30 min)
Oltrarno
6:30 Dinner
8:30 pm La Traviata Opera

Day 2 Sunday

8:30 Bargello art museum (8:15–1:30 closed TU) (1.5 hr) $8.50
10:15 Palazzo Davanzati–(TU-SU 8.15 am to 1.50 pm) (closed Mon 9/16) (1 hr) $2.00
12:00 Galileo museum (Daily 09.30 - 6:00) (1 hr) $14
Rose Garden just below Piazzale Michelangelo
3:30 Cemetery San Miniato
5:30 Mass and chant San Miniato
Piazzale Michelangelo evening views
Dinner

Day 3 Monday

9:00 English Cemetery, Florence (Mondays 9 am-12 pm) (1 hr)
10:30 Basilica of Santissima Annunziata (M 7:30 AM–12:30 PM, 4–6:30 PM) (1 hr)
11:45 San Marco museum (Mon-Sat 8.15 a.m. to 1.50 p.m.) (1.5 hr) $8.50
1:30 Duomo Cathedral (30 Min) $32
2:15 Duomo Santa Reparata (30 Min)
2:45 Duomo Museum (1 Hr)
4:00 Orsanmichele church & museum - (10 AM–5 PM) (1 hr) $9.00
(Museum–Mon 10 AM–5 PM & Sat 10 AM–12:30 PM (M & SA open only))
5:15 Chiesa di San Salvatore in Ognissanti- (9.00-1.00 and 3.00-8.00) (1 hr)
6:45 pm Duomo Dome (1 Hr)
Dinner

Day 4 Tuesday

8:15 Bell Tower (Daily: 8:15 am - 6:45 pm) (45 min)
9:30 Baptistry (Daily: 8:30 am - 7:30 pm) (30 min)
10:15 Santa Maria Novella (9-5.30 pm) (3 hr) $8.00
2:00 Leather school (M-F 10:00 - 6:00 pm ) (1 hr)
3:15 Santa Croce (1.5 hr) $14 w/audio guide
6:00 Dinner
7:30 pm Uffizi museum (2 hr) $27

Day 5 Wednesday

Train to Rome 9 am-10:35 am

4:15 Santa Felicita (Working days: 9-12 AM; 3-6 PM) (30 min)

In Santa Felicita, the most important works, two frescoes by Pontormo, are in the chapel on the right as you walk in and you have to put coins in to light it up or you won’t be able to see anything, I remember because I walked around and around and couldn’t find them.

Thanks, Marco, for the info. I had been cautioned earlier by a poster to carry some coins to "feed the light boxes" :) It's on my "list" of things:)

A few thoughts. The Galileo museum will appeal to your inner scientist. While there are a lot of instruments dedicated to astronomy and cartography, there is also a room full of obstetrical models used for training. You can also combine art, architecture, and medicine with a visit to the Michelangelo-designed Laurentian Library. No line, small admission fee, and only takes about an hour. They close early, so make it one of your morning stops near the Duomo area. I thought the $32 for the Duomo and museums was too steep compared to the cost for entering other museums. You can enter the Duomo for free - the line was short and you will see all the art in situ. If you are interested in attending mass, by all means go to one in the Duomo, but I found a Latin mass at Chiesa dei Michele e Gaetano. Went there twice but my dependence on the internet and my failure to understand Italian led to me missing it. The church is centrally located and the mass times are on the door - you just need to know the days of the week in Italian.

frekotw , Thanks for the information :)

I "think" I have my final itinerary for Florence done now?