Can you do Florence in a day?

Only if all you want is to be able to say "I was in Florence".

Sure, it's "possible" to do it in a day, though it might be a big overload if you really take in all the art closely. That said, I was in Florence for about 3 and a half full days and barely barely scratched the surface, so I think it's really too bad you're only interested in those two places when there's a wonderful city there too.

I "did" Florence in a day. A small group of us cut out of one quiet day on the Rick Steves 7-day Rome tour and took the train up to Florence, getting there at 8:30am. We went to the Santa Maria Novella church, walked along the river towards the Ponte Vecchio (didn't actually make it there though), saw the Duomo church and Bapistry, did the Uffizi and the Accademia, had dinner and jumped back on the train at 7pm.

So it is certainly doable, the question is do you really want to do it? I fell in love with the beauty of Florence and would loved to just wander the streets. We felt quite rushed trying to get from place to place and back in time for our train. Certain things we would have liked to do got cut from our plan (including a gelato stop, horrors!)

Like you, I really had no interest in Florence beyond the Uffizi and the Accademia, but after one too-short day there, I am taking Rick's 7-day Florence tour next year!

i was in firenze 3 days..in may.having expierenced what i did, and knowing what i now know: if someone would offer me a free trip to florence for one day? i'd pass.
one most memorable thing was getting up EARLY, 6:30, 7 am.and wandering ..it was GREAT NO tourists, seeing the locals doing their thing setting up, etc.

sorry i forgot: i did the uffizi; made the reservation, etc...it STILL took 45 min to get in, and i hated it...WAAAAYYYY too many ppl..impossible to really take in all the art;it actually made me make a promise: "if there is a line, forget it"...[again this was in may, 11 am as i recall..maybe different another month, or time of day.

Yes, you can do the two museums in one day. The two are about a 15 minute walk apart. The Uffizi will take about 2.5 hours plus the time to get in. Most of the art in the Uffizi is different variations of "Madonna con il Bambino" (Madaonna and the Christ child). In between the two museums is one that I would recommend that my wife and I feel better than the Ufizzi. It's the Duomo museum that is across the street behind the il Duomo. It's smaller but has more diverse art including the original "Gates to Paradise" panels from the doors to the Baptistery.

One of the best things I have ever done while traveling was going up to Piazza Michelangelo at dusk and taking pictures of the City as the sun went down.

Yes you can...it all depends on your goals. If you want to leave Florence having "seen it" - one day is pushing it. An entire day can be spent in Uffizi, if you're passionate about art, but the Accademia is small - I thought anyway (especially compared to Uffizi and certainly in comparison to the Louvre). Spent 1 day (2 nights) in Florence - hit Uffizi early, visited the different "squares" hit Accademia after lunch, toured Santa Maria Novella, went through leather district, finished day by watching the sunset over the Arno River.

I agree with Eric. My favorite experience in Florence was going up to Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset. Absolutely gorgeous vistas of the city.

We did the Uffizi and Accademia during our trip. I think the Accademia was kind of a waste to me (but it depends how into art you are). The highlight was David and there was not much else. The Uffizi was nice, and I found the audio guide helpful in focusing our attention on specific works instead of us wondering aimlessly. We did these in 2 days, but they are doable in 1 day.

Also consider ascending the Campanile for great views of the city and the Duomo.