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Florence - Dec 20-26; Need help with itinerary

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HI - we will be in Florence starting Dec 20 (arriving on train from Rome) and flying out on Dec 27. Our airline changed our flight at the last moment so we were not expecting to spend Dec 26 in Florence.

Given that our last 3 days probably have limited options on sightseeing due to Christmas Eve, Christmas and St Stephens Day, can we get some advice on how to spend our time (Dec 21- 26) in Florence. I do already have dinner reservations for C-Eve at 7:30 but not yet on Christmas Day. I think we would like one side trip - at this point we were thinking Siena but are open to other suggestions

Thank you

Posted by
4 posts

We've been to Florence several times and Siena is always on our list of day trips. Go for the day enjoy the Cathedral and lunch. You won't be disappointed. You can also do a wine tour out of Florence into Tuscany which is also very nice. We spent xmas in Florence several years and back and went to eve mass in the Duomo. Very crowded but nice.

Posted by
23 posts

Thank you - I just looked at the Christmas Eve mass at the Duomo - I assume you mean Midnight mass? Can you give me an idea of how long the mass lasted and how early you had to get there? Also is it in Italian or Latin?

I saw that there are several churches that do a Christmas Eve mass in English - do you think that is advisable or is the charm of being in the Duomo better?

Posted by
5769 posts

Regarding attending Christmas services, I will share our related experiences attending Easter Mass in the Cathedral in Salzburg:
The service was in German, but it was fantastic: the choir, the orchestra, and the incredible art that surrounded us. Some of the music had originally been written to be performed in that Cathedral. We actually stood for the two-hour service [we could have left at any time.] Had we arrived 15 minutes early, we would have had a seats- poor planning on our part. We are not religious, but shared in the energy and beauty of the services.
Obviously, only you can predict if your teens would feel the same.
Safe travels!

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