florence & tuscany plan

With 2.5 days, if you are not big museum people, you might want to skip the Uffizi as it is a large museum with lots of art work. It will take a half day to walk through. The Accademia is much smaller and can be seen in about an hour if you stick to David and "the prisoners". I would tour the Duomo and get a reservation for the climb to the top. Follow the Rick Steves Renaissance Walk tour (in the guidebook and on the RS Audio Eurpoe app) for a good city overview and stop in a few places along the way. If you want to go out into the countryside, Walkabout Florence has a day trip that includes Siena, lunch/wine at a winery, San Gimignano and Pisa. It's a long day but you have time on the bus to relax between spots. The bus ride between Pisa and Florence is just perfect for a nap! We really enjoyed the day. There are many other similar tours so look around for one that suits you.

We have a similar situation coming up in a few weeks, with 2.5 days to see Florence. We are doing the Uffizi on day 1 (guided 2 hour tour), the Accademia and Duomo on day 2, and on day 3, a day trip to Siena, San Gimignano and Pisa (like the previous reply recommended). I can't recommend anything bc I haven't been yet but I am excited about our plan. For the Accademia and Duomo we do not have a guide, but we did get advance tickets. I think the Uffizi is so big and packed with amazing art, I wanted a guided tour. I have heard the Accademia is more manageable so we will attempt that on our own. There is a tour that does the Duomo and Accademia that I almost booked...oh well. Even if we really only see David and a few other things, I'll be happy. It may be a lot of museum time (we are also doing the Vatican in Rome but probably not the Borghese, though I may change my mind), but it still leaves a decent amount of downtime and I am not sure when I will ever be back so I want to see the big things on this trip. Have fun! I'm sure whatever you do it will be great!

We don't use too many guided tours, but I can't believe they promised you San G, Siena, and Pisa all in ONE (jam-packed summer?) day. I think it will be rushed. But you can hope that, because it's a group, you won't have to walk up to the towns from the parking lots. That can add 15 minutes a town, each way.

Tim, I know it is a long day (13 hours I think), but yes, there are a few tours out there that cover all 3. They have pretty good reviews, with most of the negatives being 'a lot of walking' and 'a long day', which, well, duh of course it's a long day! So it can be done. It won't be relaxing but it's our last day in Italy so I can sleep all the next day on the plane. Honestly, I could skip Pisa, but my kids want to see it, so I will oblige :)

Florence is all about history and antiquities. If you aren't into historical artifacts and art, then a day trip may be in order. There are many really good day trips but I would suggest a vineyards/wineries tour if that's your kind of thing. Walk About - Florence offers a really good one.

If you aren't very knowledgeable of artwork but want to see the masterpieces in Florence (which is why most tourists go there), I would recommend an escorted tours of the Accademia and Uffizi - the tour guide will be able to describe the significance of what you are seeing. Just my humble opinion. (By the way, I feel this also applies to all of Italy's great museums and cultural sites.)

I will admit, I thought visiting the Accademia and Uffizi in the same day was a little exhausting. Both are very stimulating. However, if you had to choose between splitting them into different days or taking a Chianti wine-tasting tour, I would opt for the tour and see both galleries in a single day.

Since you are going in June, the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens may be a worthy option to consider as well.

If you aren't big museum people, I'd go with the Acadamia and skip the Uffizi on this trip. It's a great museum, but I waited until my second trip to Florence to see it.

Tuscany - Hmmm. Siena is cool. Lots to see. Castellina in Chianti has a great Etruscan tomb there and fantastic restaurants.

I think most of us have been roped in by someone else's idea of a "must see". If you are not big on museums then by all means give the Uffizi a miss. Renaissance art is not my particular cup of tea and is not one of the main reasons why I love to visit Italy. Art is as subjective as it gets. I'd much rather spend time in the company of Lowell Herrero's friends than the surly Duke and Duchess of Urbino, or study Warren Kimble's big black rabbit as opposed to the grim faces of the Medicis. Having said that, we did visit the Uffizi and the Accademia during our trip. I was very impressed by the statue of David, it is staged perfectly as you turn a corner and catch a glimpse of it for the first time from down a hallway.
We walk a lot on our holidays. You have the old town to discover, numerous gardens, palaces, and monasteries across the river to the south, some with viewpoints over the city, an American cemetery in the hills a bit further south. I always trumpet for Fiesole, up the hill to the north on the number 7 (?) bus, a lovely view over the city. Try catch a meal at La Reggia, especially in the evening: you'll likely need to book in advance.
If wine tours are too expensive, you can take public transport to the pleasant wine villages of Greve and Panzano, the former has an interesting piazza, the latter home to Dario Cecchini's restaurant. You may be lucky and stumble upon a market day in either village.

The advice above is excellent. Skip the Uffizi this time and spend the afternoon up at Boboli Gardens and San Miniato for a picnic lunch, and Piazzale Michelangelo for sunset views. Maybe take the bus up to Fiesole for sunset and dinner.

The next day you can take a train to Lucca or Siena.

You guys are awesome. I booked a vespa wine tour for our 1st full day and the Accademia on our second day. I am going to look for dinner reservations at La Reggia for our last dinner in Florence

the only thing I don't see is how make a reservation to go to the top of Duomo. can someone provide a link or info on how to do this?

Vespa tour sounds awesome! I used the Duomo site to book my tickets for the museum and dome climb.

https://www.museumflorence.com/

thanks for link. Also, we have reservations for 19:00 at La Reggia, do we need to dress up for this restaurant or can we wear shorts? Also, I suppose a good general questions is do we have to dress up for any of the restaurants in Rome, Florence, Venice, Nice or Barcelona?

Unless it's changed since I went, no strict dress code at La Reggia. I never take swanky clothes when I go on holiday but I'm fortunate in that I look good in anything.

LOL....nice

do we have to dress up for any of the restaurants in Rome, Florence,
Venice, Nice or Barcelona?

That depends on the restaurant, Cindy. You don't if they're casual (although while we've worn clean, tidy jeans, we've never worn shorts) but if they're, well, a fancier place (with prices to match), you'll want to spiff it up a bit. As we leave dress clothes at home when we go on vacation, we don't go to those places! :O)