Florence: 2.25 Day Itinerary

Plausible.

seems fine, but my brain would be full of museum-y things before I got to the Pitti Palace....and I like museums!

Also....don't forget lunch that day.....you will be going nonstop for most of the day.....

Hi Emily,

Last June we had 2.5 days, 3 nights in Florence, but our visit fell on a weekend and we chose to do the Dome on Sunday which is not available until the afternoon. I don’t know your exact days, but check on the Dome schedule and book in advance.

Your itinerary looks doable, if really busy. My only comment on the Uffizi is that you can visit it in less than 4 hours. The RS Audio Europe tour is an excellent guide and to get the highlights of the museum and a nice coffee break is about 2.5-3 hours.

One of our favorite parts of visiting Florence was the food and people watching especially in the evening. Florence is a beautiful city and I hope you enjoy your visit.

If I read your previous itinerary correctly, Emily, you're arriving by train after a stay Rome, correct? It's only a 90-minute journey so you shouldn't be too tired for the Accademia on Day 1. It would be different if you were coming off an international flight (and I wouldn't recommend it).

It'll be two very busy days but you can always scrap the last thing on both days 2 and 3 if you poop out before that point. Go easy on the Pitti? That one WILL wear you down if you let it: it sort of becomes room after room and room about halfway through, or did for us, anyway, and I'm an art geek! Unless it's raining, I REALLY want to see you end that day at Piazzale Michelangelo with a peek at San Miniato whilst you're up there. Take a cab or a bus if your feet won't go another step. :O)

Now, you do know to get advance tickets to the Uffizi/Pitti, Accademia and Duomo complex (you'll need to make your advance dome reservation)? It's not as if you really need advance tickets for the Pitti but you may as well buy the Uffizi/Pitti combo ticket when you buy your timed-entry to the Uffizi.

Ah geeeeez (as they say up dere in the Twin Cities, y' know)---

LIstening to our Kathy will more than likely have you faceplanting in the Arno before the first day is out. :)

Accaddemia with a time reservation is a good value/time tradeoff. Uffizi same way but be advised that although you could spend 6 hours easily, spend 2 and get a good map of what to see, be efficient. (Hint--don't miss Michelangelo's Tondo Doni). Duomo's 414 steps are arduous & claustrophobic, but we did it on our first trip, even if it did--along with copious amounts of vino rosso--dislodge a kidney stone. Argh. Museum is fabulous.

Other kinda hidden things to see, on your own time & in no certain order: Mercato Centrale (Nerbone--beef sandwich), Sassetti Chapel in Chiesa Santa Trinita, Piazza Santo Spirito in the Oltrarno (if the flea market's on), Massimo Leather on Borgo La Noce--he's a trip!, Ciro & Sons--great food on via Giglio, Profuma-Farmaceutical Santa Maria Novella--possibly Italy's oldest pharmacy, fascinating.

But besides the above nuggets...and I'd rather do this in Rome but in Florence it's pretty good too--take time to sit at an outdoor cafe on a little piazza and watch the world. It's a bit more concentrated in Florence than in Rome, but it's a great and fun pastime.

Enjoy your planning!

Thanks for all the help - this is exactly the feedback we were hoping for.

Yes we will be arriving from Rome after having seen the Scavi Tour in the morning. After seeing this I'll go ahead and purchase/reserve the ticket times I was eyeing: Duomo Complex (+Dome climb time first thing in the morning) from their website, the Accademia (B-Ticket Website) and the 3-Day group ticket for the Uffizi/Pitti Palace/Boboli Gardens (B-Ticket)... I'm a little confused about that last one but I'm sure I'll figure it out. The rest of the museums we'll get tickets the day of.

Given that we organized some guided tours in Rome, my thought was to follow the RS audio guide more in Florence so that we can go at our own pace for sure. When it comes to the Pitti Palace grounds, we're more excited to roam around in the gardens and will sprinkle in the rooms as we sit fit.

Thanks!

Also I forgot to ask: is the pairing of the museums I made the best way to go?

• Duomo Complex + Bargello
• Uffizi + Pitti/Boboli

Or should we plan to do

• Duomo Complex + Pitti/Boboli
• Uffizi + Bargello?

I'm probably over thinking this and I'll remember to stay flexible when we're there... I just like to have a plan :)

LIstening to our Kathy will more than likely have you faceplanting in
the Arno before the first day is out. :)

Uff da. What I put up with from you.
(wink)

Your plan is totally doable and how you want to pair them works just fine. Pitti Palace is the only one that’s a bit of a walk. I’m assuming your Duomo sights include the Doumo Museum.

Just my two cents here though: I see a lot of folks with limited time being ultra focused on the major museums. That’s fair, it’s tough to pick and choose. But Florence has quite a few small treasures that are easy to see and just as worthwhile as say the Galileo Museum or Bargello. People walk right past Orsanmichele everyday. Keep these on your radar.

Also, not all the great art in Florence is in the museums! Santa Maria Novella is an art museum in of itself, Bracacci chapel is a must for art historians, etc. Food for thought. Or just save them for next trip!

A lot depends on reservations at Uffizi. I'd combine that with the Duomo.