Florence day trip

Listen to your boys. Florence over Pisa? Yes. David is magnificent. You may want to grab a taxi at the station to buy some time. You can reserve and pay online for the Accademia, highly recommended.

Dave

If those are the only two things you want to do in Firenze, you can do them, but be absolutely certain to have a pre-paid reservation for the Accademia. The Duomo and the museum are both easy walks from the station. Since it's summer, start as early as possible and start at the Duomo and get the climb done before it gets hotter. Your trip to Vernazza will take from 2.5-3.5 hours depending on the trains you select. Be sure your B&B or hotel in Vernazza will allow a check in after 17:00, 18:00, 19:00 as I've run into a couple of them that expect check-in rather early. They are such small places that the owner/operator does not stay around all afternoon and late arrivals need to be stated.

This taste of Firenze will have you wanting more!

Definitely possible. The bus stops right across from the train station. It's less than a 10 minute walk to the Duomo, probably less from the Duomo to the Academia, where David "lives." Just be sure to allow enough time to pick up your luggage at the train station. There is often only one attendant at Left Luggage, and if there's anyone ahead of you . . . . You'll need to have photo ID handy when you check the bags - a U.S. driver's license will work.

Great advice so far. You could climb the stairs at the Duomo, or the stairs at the bell tower (fewer people do the bell tower). Or split your group and wave to each other. Just up the street from the Accademia is the museum of San Marco, it's less tha five minutes' walk and is never crowded, takes about an hour.

We did the bell tower climb - because then you get amazing views of the Duomo! If you are up in the Duomo, you don't really get to admire it. And if I recall, the line was way wayyyyyyyy shorter for the bell tower, maybe 10-20min - we originally were standing in the line for the dome climb as we thought it was the one to get into the church...and were glad when we realized it was the line for the dome, because it looked to be about a 45 min wait. We found the right entrance for the church and popped right in.

And I second (or third?) getting advance tickets for Accademia - hubby and I did this - the line of people waiting to get in looked to be an hour long (and this was late Sept)...we showed up about 15 min before our time, sat on the curb for a few minutes, and off we went.

It's going to be super crowded. Recommendations for reserving a time for the David is absolutely necessary. Everything is walking distance. Get a map asap, and find your way around. I'd suggest you stop at the Mercato Centrale- The Market, for a fun "walk around" and have lunch there. Less expensive than a restaurant, and lots of choices (we actually had German food- bratwurst )

Don't forget to walk across Ponte Vecchio and up to Piazzale Michelangelo for a panoramic view of Florence....

Recommnedations for a map? I have several Rome but not a Florence map. How far of a walk from Piazza Michelangelo to the train station?

Rick has a good Italy map with city maps of Florence, Siena, Venice and Rome on the back. I found them very useful and your itinerary won't take off the map. If you have Rick's Italy book, it's actually included.

Across the street from the train station and about 100 meters farther is a Tourist Information office. You can get a free map there and they can also draw your walking route on it.

It's a very long walk from the train station to Piazzale Michelangelo. I don't recommend this given your limited time. You could take a taxi up there if you are really keen on seeing Florence from that vantage point. There is public bus transportation up there, but you are at the mercy of their schedules and the rather convoluted routes now taken due to the limited traffic zone.

If I were you, I would reserve my tickets in advance for the Accademia as my first stop upon arrival. i would leave an hour between arrival in Florence and the Accademia as you will have to cart your luggage from the bus station to the train station (admittedly close) and then line up at the left luggage office to check your bags. Then you have to walk from there to the Accademia.

After the Accademia I would walk to the Duomo stopping at Mordilatte for gelato (Via dei Servi 10r, very close to the Duomo). I would check out the line up for the duomo climb to the top and decide at that point whether or not to line up or go into the duomo (which might also involve a line up). Don't forget to look at the Baptistry doors - the originals are in the Museo dell Opera del Duomo which is at the back end of the duomo on the north side. I really like this museum - Michelangelo's last work is there and he used his own face as the model for one of the main figures.

After that, I would head to the San Lorenzo market to look at the street market and get something to eat inside the market. If you just want sandwiches there is a good place just outside of the market which is usually quiet and has some seating inside. It's called la Divina Enoteca, Panicale 19/r, 50123 Florence, Italy .

Also there is good gelato close to the market at Antica Gelateria Fiorentina on Via Faenza 2.

Then back to the train station. Allow enough time for a lineup at the checked baggage place.

The reason I would do it this way is because you need to have a reservation at the Accademia to avoid a long wait. And, if you do the Duomo first, you might be stuck at the top when you need to leave to make your Accademia reservations. If you don't take the whole hour to get from the bus to the Accademia, you can just take your time walking to the Accademia and catch some Florentine ambiance on the way. Or grab a coffee and hot chocolate.

Hello. One day will really limit you in Florence. Four days is a long time in Sienna, especially for teens. There is so much to do in Florence, could you do 2 nights in Sienna, 2 in Florence? Both are wonderful and worth some time. Don't miss the Duomos in both towns. The Duomo of Sienna is one of the most unique and beautiful anywhere, and the museum is great -- your teens will love it because of the body parts on display! Be sure to climb to the top of the tower off one side of the duomo.

Jan B

Siena does have a torture museum...

In Siena we plan to go to a hill town for a festival, a day trip to Assisi-a long trip but St Francis was my son's confirmation Saint and he wants to go there, and one day we want to do olive oil tasting, visit a winery and some outdoor time hiking. We decided we going to the Duomo, climb the tower and see David.