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5 Nights in Florence/Tuscany/Umbria

Posted by (Delft, Netherlands) on

I have five nights and days to split in "middle" Italy. I will be coming from CT and going to Rome. I want to spend most of it out of Florence but feel guilty about not spending more than a day and half there.

Is it crazy to spend an afternoon, night, and day in Florence and then leave for San Gimignano for two nights and Orvieto for two nights? The only sites I am really interested in are the Uffizi, the Accademia, Bargello, walking the Ponte Vecchio and going past the baptistery doors. Do you think I can accomplish this with reservations for the top two museums and then move on to the smaller towns?

Thanks

Posted by
1299 posts

I wouldn't feel guilty about not having more time in Florence. Trips are full of choices and leaving something for next time is a given. FLorence is a city and I, for one, like to take cities in small doses with lots of rural charm thrown in. That sounds like what you are trying to do. You have obviously researched and can make this work. Just lay out your time in Florence and hold to a schedule while you are there. Use the reservatiion system and have an idea of what your "must sees' in the Uffizi are and make sure you get to them. My sister had one day in Flornece. She saw both the Acadamia, the Uffizi, visited 2 open markets, the Ponte Vecchio, another church, Plaza Michealangelo, and even Pitti Palace. They arrived in Florence at 7:00 am and left about 7:00pm. And they loved it!! Could they have spent more time in Florence. Of course. But then they would have had to give up something else on their trip and they were not willing to do that. My husband and I had a similar experience in Rome in 2003, and we have only good memories. While I can't recommend traveling a whole trip and rushing every day like this, if one day is all you have, then make it a good one.

Posted by
113 posts

I agree that you can see the highlights of Florence in a day, if that's your preference, and I know you'll enjoy your time in the hill towns. In Florence, have your hotel book both musuems for you in advance. And for the rest of the highlights, do Rick Steves' "Renaissance Walk" that you'll find in his guidebooks. If you have an MP3 player, download the free Renaissance Walk audio tour from this website, and print the free map. We really enjoyed using them in Florence.

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