Florence - How long is too long?

We will be spending 4 nights (3 full days) and, looking at the things to see/do, those 3 days will be busy. So it depends on your style, do you want to be very busy or a little bit relaxed.

If you're going for 2 weeks and are thinking about 6 nights in Florence, does that mean you plan to spend 8 nights in the CT? That is a really long time in the CT. I would spend more time in Florence and do some day trips from there if you run out of things to do in town.

Very hard to answer. It truly depends on your travel style. For us, it would not be but for some two days would be too much. You didn't indicate what you prior travel experiences or expectations has been.

You can always leave Florence for a day trip: Siena, the Chianti countryside, Volterra and other hill towns. Don't miss Fiesole, just outside of Florence.
Ditto the CT. It can be a base for amazing side trips. This blog just published 6 segments on the most beautiful towns in Liguria. You can certainly side trip to several from the CT. We spent 5 nights there on our second trip and wish we'd had more time to explore the region.

LOL! I thought I was going to have to go over there and get Laurel after (mis)reading her quote, "You can always leave Florence for a day trip..." I first took that to mean one day in Florence, not 'leave the city of Florence for one day to go on a day trip'!

Twenty years isn't enough time in Florence for me...If you think you've found enough there to hold your interest, then 5 days isn't too much. You want to take your time there, if possible, and slow down. But...there are so many places for day trips, with Siena being the chief one. I strongly believe that Siena deserves about 10 years ;-)

Are you planning on spending an entire week in the CT?

Figure out what all you intend to do and see in Florence, and how long you think these activities will take. Then add an extra day. If you are planning 2 full days for museums, and 2 days for driving thru the countryside to visit hill towns and wineries, then your 5 days will be just about perfect. But "just" Florence for that much time would be too much for me. My first trip to Italy I stayed in Florence for 3 nights, and my upcoming trip this October I plan to stay just 2 nights.

You might reduce your time in CT and Florence a couple of days, then spend those days staying in the Tuscan countryside, renting a car to visit hill towns and wineries. Or even visit Venice for a few days since it is only 2.5 hours by train from Florence, and a very unique and magical place.

Ha, Eileen! I reread my post a little too late and realized it sounded a bit odd.

I have spent 28 years in Florence (and visited for as many from the US) and I haven't seen everything. Of course I wasn't going to visit places every day, but often. Never been to the Stibbert museum as yet. If you are passionate about art and history, you could spend a lifetime and still not get enough. There are so many museums and churches and many other things to keep you busy. Personally, in you shoes, with 5 days there, I would devote two full days to Florence and the rest to day trips to the many Tuscan towns and to the countryside.

I agree with the suggestion to plan a chunk of time in Florence, and if you have time left over, visit some nearby places as daytrips.

I was recently a whole month in Firenze, wish i had stayed six weeks. Wonderful shopping at huge outdoor markets open daily, the world-famous Ponte Vecchio is there, best gelato anywhere, the food of Firenze is famous even in the rest of Italia, Caffe' shops everywhere, Dante's home is there, Michelangelo's house, his artistry, and day trips to Siena, Pisa, Lucca, Cinque Terra, and the Italian Riviera on the Ligurian Sea can all be done from Firenze. I never saw Firenze again anywhere else in Italia. High Fashion on the streets like no where else, and that beautiful Conad Supermercato at Via Pietrapiana 42 is one of a kind, a must see, porta via gourmet food at grocery store price.

I had planned to stay in Florence for 5 days, but due to the threat of train a strike, I added a 6th day. That extra day, with nothing planned, was the best time there. By the end of that week I had become fully comfortable with the city and felt at home. May I suggest that you get up and out at the crack of dawn while the city is still quiet. Walks along the Arno at daybreak are wonderful, and photography does not get any better.

As for CT, I only spent 2 nights - not enough - but a week would seem too long. (The boat trip between cities is highly recommended.)

Thank you all so much....

Definite food for thought in all those replies. Day trips sound great, will look again in more detail...

Lilly

I am not the right one to answer this perhaps because we didn't find 2 mos too long. On our last visit, our 6th, we spent a week. 5 full days is actually a great amount of time. Florence is very dense in art heritage and it takes time to visit the many churches and museums wherein this stuff resides. We didn't even visit the Bargello on our first trip -- just so much to do. With 5 full days, I would take one day to do a day trip to Siena by bus. This is just a wonderful place and you can climb the Torre Mangia, visit the museum, town hall and Cathedral and enjoy the Campo, perhaps for lunch, in one wonderful day. We stumbled on Siena on our first trip to Italy 30 years ago and it is still one of our favorite places -- whenever we are in Tuscany we try to plan at least a visit and perhaps a night there.