Florence

The Accademia is not predictable. I've been three times and walked past it others; we walked right in early one morning and again mid-morning a year or so later, mid-afternoon a year after that, but late morning the line was huge. You can certainly give it a try. If it were me I'd skip the Pitti. It is enormous, very tiring, and very full of second-rate art with a few beautiful gems here and there. (My husband said "If you buy everything I guess you have to get some good stuff.") I know some people love it, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. Easier to get to is the Duomo Museum, right behind the Duomo, which has a Michelangelo Pieta, the original Gates of Paradise from the Baptistry, several Donatello sculptures, and much else. It is spacious, airy, and never crowded.
Have a wonderful trip!

thanks for the advice...hope that we will be able to do Florence as often and as smoothly as you seem to .......I'm sure if I just relax and go with the flow, the entire adventure will be great.

We are in Florence now. Yesterday the line at the Accademia was a couple blocks long at 4pm in the pouring rain! Reminder: the Duoma is open after 13:30 on Sundays. Have a great trip.

Thanks ...sorry you were rained on...but I bet it was still a great experience.
Good reminder about the Duomo

I dislike posting negative reviews given everyone's different interests etc. but for someone with your limited time I agree that the Pitti Palace is pretty much full of second hand art and it's very poorly displayed at that. Of course there are some splendid exceptions but it's a rough row to hoe getting to them. When in Florence we joke that if we wanted to really punish one of our sons we'd make them tour the porcelain collection at the Pitti until their little brains oozed out their eyeballs. And the place is HUGE.

thanks that is very helpful.....we will probably never be able to do this again, so it is important to get it a right as possible Someone today said they had a hard time at the train stations, finding their platform within the 5 minute window....is that common? Is there a trick to managing the trains? or did she just have an off day?

I wouldnt take the chance. You want to spend as little of your time in lines as possible. As others have said, its unpredictable there. I recently went and the line to get a ticket was incredibly long. The alternative to booking in advance is the Firenze Card. Most of the posts Ive read on this site say its not worth it. I got overwhelmed with the planning of my trip and when it came to Florence, I just bought the card. Yeah its not cheap, but my time and piece of mind was worth more than 72 euros. I went to all the sites it provided, and used the city wi-fi for google maps. Have a great trip

Great advice....when it comes to traveling...it is always best to be prepared

Dee: here are two videos about taking trains, including making changes. The first is from Rick and is shot in the Netherlands and Germany, but the principles are the same in Italy: http://tinyurl.com/ac82c92 This one is made by an Italian, and pertains specifically to Italy: http://tinyurl.com/mvjjbyh If you have a mobility impairment, you may well need more than 5 minutes to change trains. And it's not the case that bigger stations need to be harder, because different stations have different layouts. Many require you to go down stairs, through a passage, and up stairs again. There is often no escalator or elevator. But for "terminus" stations, like Milano Centrale and Roma Termini (probably the biggest and busiest in the country), the change is on one level, with no stairs required. Firenze Santa Maria Novella and Venezia Santa Lucia are also terminus stations. If you post where your changes are, others can help with the specifics.

I would also skip the pitti palace given the time you have available. I have never done this, but there is a bookstore across the street from the Accademia where David is and they sell tickets there too. I'm sure you are paying a premium for them, but it's worth a try if you arrive and the official line up is very long. As I said, I haven't purchased tickets from them so can't vouch for reliability. They have been there selling tickets for several years however.

wow!!!thanks the bookstore info is the best yet

The bookstore across the street is a museum gift shop, with a walk-up window to buy the ticket. I got one last July for a couple of extra euro, the entrance time was 15 minutes from the time I bought the ticket, so the wait time was minimal.

I had a tour guide in Florence and he laughed at anyone who wanted to see the David without a reservation. The line was insanely long when we walked passed The Accademia. My recommendation would be to see the Santa Croce. Have a wonderful trip and make sure to try the lasagna!