Florence Itinerary with Teens

If you go to Venice, it might be fun for you to take the boat to see the Murano Glass Blowing Factory. Sure, it is a little Touristy, but you can buy a small souvenir. I was there on the 4th of July; it was warm but not terribly hot. Here's your chance to wear cute cotton outfits. Bring light weight sweaters or little jackets for coverups. Wear comfortable shoes.

hey hey Catherine
here's a few things you can talk with your daughters if they interested. just a few attractions/activities they may like without doing all the stuff most people/tourists do which makes it so crowded.
daughter liking sculpture and history:
educated-traveler.com/ wine windows of florence
this windows/doors were being rehabbed when we were there. all family members will enjoy.
eatingeurope.com/ florence
other daughter enjoying food, they have a special discount for florence and tour. look at top of page, 30% off by april 1st.
tasteatlas.com/ bomboloni
check the patisseries (bakeries) for goody/yummy pastries
paintandwineflorence.it
enjoy couple hours to paint a picture as souvenir to take home, water or juice is served
florencetown.com
boat (gondola) tour down the arno river
mercatocentrale.com/ florence
click artisans. we enjoyed just roaming around, had a drink and saw what the shops had. bought a souvenir
we were on a "mission" had lots of gelato, looked inside shop, bought what looked good, took picture of cone and name of shop
so many fun things to see and do beside museums, crowds, long lines, walk down an "alley way from main center for mom & pop restaurants, sit at cafe with a board of salami, chhese, bead, drinks and people watch, fun thing to see happy travels
aloha

Kathleen’s suggestion is a good one, unfortunately it’s for the wrong city! She is thinking Venice not Florence! The idea of a food tour is good, especially as your ideas are heavy on the history/architecture side of things - great for the 18 year old, maybe not so much for the younger one.

Since your daughter loves sculptures, while walking around spend some time with the sculptures at the Loggia della Signoria and Orsanmichele. The ones at Orsanmichele are duplicates but still nice. On Sunday, I would visit one of the museums, maybe the Duomo Museum, and on Wednesday add San Marco. Also, while walking around, go into Santa Trinita and San Salvatore in Ognissanti, both are beautiful and quick to see.

Thank you all for the helpful suggestions!

My daughters have expressed interest in going to Murano while we are in Venice, thanks Kathleen.

It looks like there is lots of yummy food at the Mercato Centrale and lots to see and do besides museums.

Marco, thanks for church suggestions. I will add them to the list. San Marco gets a lot of positive reviews. I'm not sure if this would interest my teens? We can always pop in if we have time while in that area. We can try to tackle one of the museums on Sunday to give us more flexibility to do other things the other days.

Is a late afternoon Accademia reservation advisable, or is it best (for crowds) in the morning?

The one museum I would visit as early as possible is the Uffizi.

At the Accademia, many people skip over everything else and focus only on David. Your daughter might enjoy Michelangelo’s Prisoners (unfinished statues), I wouldn’t skip them.

Personally, I wouldn’t want to do the Accademia and the Uffizi back to back on the same day. I highly recommend an evening entry to the Uffizi on a Tuesday night, the one night they stay open late. There was hardly anyone there when we went on a Tuesday night last summer. Not sure if they offer tours for those evening slots. We just went through on our own.