Florence for 3 days

Walk to the Piazza del Duomo your first night. Suddenly the Cathedral appears and it is AMAZING at night. Amazing during the day, but the contrast at night is fabulous! Florence is a wonderful city to walk around and explore, but you're never very far from everything, so little chance of getting lost. So many things to see and do in Florence other than museums, you will definitely fill your time so don't even consider day trips. One of my favorite cities!!

To me, Florence & Rome are two completely different animals. In Rome, relics are everywhere, some from 2000 years ago, but it's spread out--take a bus or Metro. In Florence, it's like being transported to a certain extent into a 15th century neighborhood--maybe that's because I've been watching the Netflix 2016 series 'Medici', which is fabulous so far. Very concentrated, much easier to navigate on foot. Of course, the flipside is that it's routinely full of tourists, sometimes to the point of distraction.

You want to see the Uffizi, Accademia, Mercato Centrale, Ponte Vecchio, and Massimo Leather on Borgo la Noce. Ciro & Sons for dinner, Nerbone in Mercato Centrale for a beef sandwich at lunch.

On one of your earlier threads someone asked why you chose Florence, given a lack of interest in museums? You said:

"I've heard some many goods things about the city from friends that
have there. We 2 days trip, we are left with 2 full days to explore
the city and visit the iconic sights."

Can you tell us (or can you ask them) what your friends specifically told you they enjoyed about it? The "iconic sights" of that city, IMHO, are largely the museums and churches. As birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, art and architecture are usually top of the majority of visitors' "do not miss" lists.

Have you purchased a guidebook? As we don't know what your interests are, it's the best place to start! Spend some time with it and make a list of some things which appeal. Those might be good viewing points, such Piazalle Michelangelo, gardens such as the Boboli or Bardini, or a few self-guided "landmark" walkabouts which are included in many guidebooks.

There are enough museums and churches in Florence to occupy you for weeks on end, and I completely get that you might be "museumed-out" by the time you get to Florence, but I think there are certain museums in Florence you might regret not visiting? Maybe that's just me? I do have the (very unpopular) opinion that the Uffizi is completely skippable, but I can't imagine a trip to Florence without seeing David. My ideal three days in Florence would look something like this (assuming you have three full days):

Day 1 - Duomo bell tower climb (get there early before crowds and also before it gets too hot) and other Duomo sights (baptistery and cathedral). Then a long lunch with plenty of wine, followed by gelato. My favorite time to visit the Accademia (Michelangelo's David) is right before closing when crowds thin out.

Day 2 - early morning walk over the Ponte Vecchio then to the Duomo (completely different atmosphere when it's not crawling with selfie-stick tourists) then to Santa Crocce (amazing in-situ art and home of Scuola del Cuoio leather school - they hand make beautiful leather pieces that make for great souvenirs). Or take the "Renaissance Walk" in Rick's guidebook. Lunch at the Mercato Centrale & buy picnic supplies for dinner. Gelato. Medici Chapels in the afternoon (statues by Michelangelo). For dinner, walk or take the bus up to the Piazzale Michelangelo (with a visit to San Miniato Church), have a picnic dinner (don't forget the wine), and watch the sun set.

Day 3 - Bargello Museum (sculpture in a former prison). Lunch, wine, and gelato. Afternoon in the Palazzo Vecchio (you can climb the tower if that appeals to you). Dinner across the river in the Oltrano district and then a moonlit stroll back over the Ponte Vecchio and to the Duomo.

It's hard to make great recommendations without knowing your specific interests, but that's what I would do :)

When we planned our trip to Italy for 2017, I almost left Florence off because we are not into art and that's what I had mainly heard about. Some friends who love Florence (and told us they also weren't into art), convinced me to at least take a look and we stayed 4 nights, with a day trip to Siena. We didn't visit the Uffizi and don't regret it.

If you haven't done so, I'd recommend looking at Rick Steves' videos on Florence to see if there are places mentioned you might not have considered.

Some of what we did: Walks of Italy tour that took us to see David, Duomo museum/Baptistery/climb Duomo. We really enjoyed Palazzo Vecchio and did the 'Secret Passages' tour that was a lot of fun. Also climbed to the top and had a great view of the Duomo and Bell Tower. Went up for the views to Piazzale Michelangelo, but also went a little higher to visit San Miniato-a nice smaller church, great views, and less crowded. Also we walked around every evening - the Duomo area was magical, the marble almost glowing in the light. And enjoyed musicians a couple nights on Piazza della Republicca, something not planned but memories we fondly remember. Really wanted to see the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens, but just didn't have enough time. Enjoy!

I've done, I think, all the major museums and churches in Florence over the past 15 years. Each is special in it's own way and I wouldn't begin to compare. That said!!!! They re-opened the Duomo Museum 2 years ago. My jaw dropped when I walked in - they have created a truly wonderful space. I went back last year in between trains. And will do the same this year, but adding time for lunch at the Central Market. ENJOY!

Don't forget Santa Croce.
https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrEeSQ244JcqloAK_kPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTByMjB0aG5zBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--?p=santa+croce+firenze&fr=yhs-iry-fullyhosted_011&hspart=iry&hsimp=yhs-fullyhosted_011

It is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, the poet Foscolo, the philosopher Gentile and the composer Rossini, thus it is known also as the Temple of the Italian Glories (Tempio dell'Itale Glorie).

I highly recomment climbing the duomo over the bell tower. If you can not secure tickets to the duomo, the bell tower is worth the climb. The duomo gives a more memorable experience. Your reward for all those steps is as much time as you want outside on the duomo taking in the 360 degree view with no visual obstructions (glass, fencing). Less crowded if you go early. A large area to walk around. In some settings that 'exposure' would have me clued to the wall, but not there.

Also, the Duomo Museum was recently renovated and worth a visit. There is access to an outside terrace that puts you within a stone' throw of the duomo itself. Oly amenties are the view and a few benches...and the warm sun if you are lucky.

If you walk to the top of the Boboli Garden on the other side of the river, you will be rewarded with beautiful views of the city.

I never made it to the market!

One huge recommendation I have is on your first afternoon/night in Florence (and Rome) is to do a walking tour to acquaint yourself to the city or else you will be a little lost like we were. We chose free walking tour with La Bussola and WOW it far exceeded my expectations (we were too late to book paid tours and this one you just showed up to the meet up point listed on tripadvisor). The guide was a true local and told us everything we needed to see in the city during our stay based on what we liked most. We also had an amazing lunch after based on her recommendation. Piazzale Michaelangelo is definitely a must see as well as it offers the absolute best views of Florence. The best dinner we had was at La Giostra (I would recommend a reservation as they barely squeezed us in when we didn't have one). It was one of the cutest and coziest restaurants I've ever been to and the food was insanely good.
You are going to have an amazing and unforgettable time!!!

IMO Florence is much prettier than Rome. Some places are best visited just by being there, not rummaging through the "must sees". I could have skipped all the museums and art (sorry David) and just enjoyed the beautiful walkable city, the markets, the restaurants, the view from San Miniato, etc. Enjoy it for the contemporary life it provides. It just felt more comfortable and interesting as a place to live than Rome.