Half day in Florence - top things to do?

Must see David at the Accademia! The Duomo, climb to top to see entire town, Ponte Vecchio, the big piazza near the Uffuzi with all the amazing statuary and fountains (sorry the name escapes, but it is a main one in town. That could fill 5 hours. I don't imagine you can "do" the Uffuzi in that short visit. Why just 5 hours? Jan B

With five hours I'd bypass climbing the tower. Prereserve tickets to the David, then pick up some picnic food and take the 12 or 13 bus up to Piazzle Michelangelo, from there walk up the steps to San Miniate al Monte for a fantastic view and have your lunch sitting on the stone wall while you admire the view. Walk back down the hill and stroll the Oltrano cross over and stroll the streets to the Duomo then back to the station. Alternately you could see the David, stroll through the San Lorenzo market walk to the Duomo then over to Cantinetta di Verrazano for a nice lunch with wine. Wander the streets, have a coffee at one of the cafes on a piazza then head back to the station. Or see the David head to the Central Market for lunch at Nerbone move on to the Duomo, do the Rick Steves Florence walk, find a cafe on the piazza and have a glass of great wine and relax.

I did four or five hours in Florence once. I believe this was more or less what we did: - Walk from Train Station to St. Marco Convent - we took our time seeing the famous Fra Angelico frescoes and the Savonarola apartment. - Got a quick standing lunch at a pizza place nearby (the kind of pizza place where they have it all laid out, you tell them what kind you want, they heat it up real quick and then hand it to you on a napkin). - Walked to Duomo, went in the baptistery, then climbed the belltower (campanile). It is like 414 steps, but invigorating if you like exercise and seeing a great view at the top. - Went inside the Duomo (I would probably skip this, as it's really not that spectacular on the inside). - From there we walked over to the Santa Croce church (Michelangelo's tomb is in it, also some great frescos and paintings). - From there we walked to the Ponte Vecchio. Then over to the Piazza della Signoria (outdoor replica of the David, big square that is interesting) - After that I guess we probably got a snack or something then walked back to the train station. I am sure we stopped in a few more churches besides those I listed above. Incidentally, we hadn't really planned anything; this is just how our day worked out. So as you can see, it is possible to do quite a lot in that time. What you might want to do is look at all the options and then map out some possible itinerary scenarios for the short time you have there, and see how it goes. If one option doesn't work out or goes longer than expected (e.g. if there are big lines), then you'll have some other options at hand and can fit in as much as possible that way. Florence is very walkable and you will really enjoy it!

Thank you all for the suggestions. I was debating whether to go up to Piazzale Michelangelo or not. Jan, we're stopping in Florence on our way to the Cinque Terre.