Getting our bearings in Florence?

I think you will be fine just roaming with a map. Central Florence is very compact and easily negotiated.

Echoing the previous responder: Florence is easy to navigate, and you can spot the Duomo tower quickly and use it as a marker. We needed only the map in the Rick book.

I think the RS guidebook has a self-guided walking tour.

And another echo of all of the above! Florence is compact and easy to explore on one's own. Streets don't run in a straight line ('cause it's a very old city) and street names can change along the same stretch so a map is a must. Still, there are no sketchy areas in the center to avoid so if you get a little turned around, just enjoy the adventure!

Street names are usually on plaques or stones attached to or set into the corners of buildings at cross streets so look for them there.

Oh, and look for Madonnelle on many of the corners as well! They're one of my favorite things because they're all different: from very fancy to humble, cobbled-together affairs. Madonnelle (little Madonnas) are elevated, street-corner shrines with a long and interesting history, although sadly some of the oldest are gone now. Long ago, the candles that the faithful left provided the only illumination on dark streets at night. Anyway, street-corner shrines go way back to Roman times, and were gradually taken over by the Marians when Christianity was legalized. Not all of them contain Madonnas but she is by far the most common carved or painted image.

Thanks all....
I have downloaded Rick's Renaissance walking tour, and I just stumbled across a few others online.
I have a good map, along with Rick's, so I think we will be fine. Just made reservations for the Accademia at 0900,and the Uffizi the next day at 1530. We aren't going until September, but I am trying to get a few things lined up each week to avoid the last minute rushing. There is so much to see to fill in the remaining days in Florence...we will make a list of hope-to-sees, and just see where we end up. I was collecting names of restaurants, but in reality, we will probably just stop and eat where our eyes and noses lead us.....pretty sure Florence will be near the top of our list again for our next trip!! 😆

Yes, we used Rick Steves' free downloadable walking tour and thought that was just fine. You can start and stop it as you please in case you pass a gelato stand you want to try or something like that, and it walks you past the main sights of the city and explains them to you. Though I'm sure that the paid tours may go even more in depth and may be even more entertaining, we found the free audiotour to be fine for our needs.

Another interesting Florentine feature are "Signori Otto di Balia" marble plaques. They were the city police for several centuries, and they posted a lot of those plaques; the standard ones prohibiting to play football, to play cards, to litter, be noisy and exercising prostitution within a distance from churches, under a set punishment (usually a few lashes, but sometimes some more interesting, as prostitutes having their belongings thrown out of windows) - "et arbitrio del magistrato" - this meaning the judge would be free to add extra punishment. There is one of these plaques on a shop on the right side of Ognissanti church, but once you begin noticing them, they are really everywhere.

Go for a cheap, short walking tour. You will learn so much within a couple of hours, more than you could possibly see/learn in a couple of days with guidebook in hand. Yes, Florence is easy to navigate: even without a map (free from every hotel/b&b) you can easily feel once you have left the old town and started to enter the residential areas.

I think the tear-out map in the RS pocket Florence book is as good as any. Look at it in advance and once you arrive, get your bearings from the Arno River and go from there. You will refer to the map at almost every turn, and don't be frustrated if you end up taking a circuitous route to get from Point A to Point B. It's almost impossible to really get lost.

jillmc, we will be taking our first Florence trip this September also, and we will be fining our own way. We have been fine in all the other cities on our own, using RS self-guided walks as a starting point. When we have actually used a guided tour, it's been for specific items of interest, e.g. selecting from London's excellent London Walks.