Help With My Itinerary for Florence (3 Days in September)

seem doable? any obvious problems?

This seems so structured, but perhaps that's what you like. And if it is what you enjoy, why ask others to determine your trip. Clearly you and your wife have researched this.

However, since you asked for critiques: Do you really need to specify "let's eat" or when you think you will be hungry 4 months from now? Or when you should shop?

Why not leave some room to just enjoy Florence and be a little spontaneous. Additionally, why not just eat when you are hungry, it just seems silly to say "dinner at 6pm" on one day, and 7:30 on another.

Also, your days seem to end rather early. Since you are there such a limited amount of time why not enjoy your time in Florence to the fullest. Stay out late and also wake up early.

Wow, that's a lot of museums! But I suppose you have to take advantage of your time. Check on whether your places on Sunday are open.

Good thing you don't have too much planned Day 1, unless you are immune to jet lag. Sleeping an hour on the way from Milan to Florence on the train ain't gonna do it! Accademia is short & sweet, and in theory before visiting there you should have time for a nap back at the hotel after a bite to eat. There are panini stands all over, best to take advantage of that (or a lampredotto sandwich if you dare!) before your nap rather than a sit down meal. For dinner that night (or other nights) I would favor Ciro & Sons on via Giglio or Ristorante Toto (near the Uffizi) on Borgo Santa Apostoli. Both reasonably priced and excellent.

Only other thing I'd tell you is that you will enjoy the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, possibly Italy's oldest pharmacy, dating back to 1533. Actually down the street from the piazza rather than right next to it, this place is forever linked with Catherine de’ Medici, who, aged just 14, commissioned the Officina to create for her a signature scent.

First, thanks for starting a new thread!

Don't forget the. baptistery on your first day (with Duomo and Campanile). Too bad you can't do this when you have more time, since the Museo di San Marco is just up the street from the Accademia. You don't have the Museo dell'Opere del Duomo on your list, it's in the same piazza as the Duomo and has wonderful pieces that used to be in the cathedral.

I would have put the Palazzo Vecchio, Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio and Boboli Gardens together, it's a logical walking sequence.

The leather school is a good place to shop.

Dinner a 6pm is a bit early in Italy, but you can do it.

You have, in my opinion, plenty of time for the Ufizzi. We took 90 minutes but we aren't dedicated art buffs either.

You like Michelin stars? Try this http://www.osteriafrancescana.it/
or, this http://enotecapinchiorri.it/

Both 3 Michelin stars.

You might want to run up to the Piazzale Michelangelo for an overlook of Florence.

Everyone, thank you for the advice.

To the poster who remarked how structured this agenda is: listen. I get it. i would like to be less structd/be able to walk around leisurely and take my time. but this is our first trip there, and we only have three nights. so i want to fit in as many must sees into the agenda i can, while leaving time to shop/take our time/stroll in the agenda as well.

yes, i researched this heavily to ensure museums are open at which times on which days. that's why its so structured.

as for the meals, yeah, you're right, i shouldn't "plan" when our meals are. they will be whenever we need to eat. Yes, it will probably be later at night than i mentioned in my itinerary.

i do need suggestions on where to go though, which a few posters provided some suggestions already.

anyone have any info on the opera? i just think it would be neat to attend an opera in florence. much neater than here in the u.s. just need help there as well though.

hey Zoe, can you share some more info on the duomo with me? how much time should i be planning on this when i add the baptistery? Should I be allowing for more than a few hours for the duomo all told?

I'll have to look at the Museo dell'Opere del Duomo and see if i can budget time for that as well... that's a museum i wasn't even aware of, to be honest. shame on me.

also, with the bobolo gardens, isn't that in the same area as Pitti Palace? so why not just plan it at same time as Pitti as I did? not crizicizing your suggestion, just wondering why that's better than doing boboli/pitt palace together (which again, I'm really only planning on focusing on the Palatine Gallery so we don't get burned out on the palace in one visit).

One more; When you say the leather school, do you mean Mercato San Lorenzo? If so, yeah, we're planning on hitting that up. If not, please educate me.

thanks all!

I didn't mean to criticize your plan, actually I think of the Pitti and the gardens as one place. In my opinion, I would skip the palace and just visit the gardens. I also like the Bargello museum, which is in an older palazzo. I'm not much of a palace person, anyway.

I would prefer the Museo dell'Opere del Duomo to the Pitti. The Museo has been under renovation for some time, just reopened a year or so ago.

The leather school is near Santa Croce, which you plan to visit.

For the duomo, baptistery and campanile, it depends. I could spend three hours (without climbing anything), but I love the artwork and architecture. Half an hour for the baptistery, an hour for the duomo, plus climbing time (there are lines), plus an hour or two at the museum - depends on your interests.

I hope this helps.

zoe, i know you weren't criticizing. i appreciate all your help.

i might take your recommendation and switch out pitti palace.

anyone else who has any ideas or suggestions, please let me know!

Just a few points..

Restaurants do not usually open before 7.30 in Florence. Even a Piazzaria won't have their oven warm enough before 7pm.
Forget the Michelin star restaurants in Italy...for one the beautys of Italy is that you can eat great food ANYWHERE! Seriously, don't waste your money. But here is not the place to get cynical on food and wine award systems.

Get your opera info here in English http://www.operadifirenze.it/en/ . It gets good word of mouth reviews but I have never been.

Tours for galleries are always worthwhile IMO but if you really want to make the most of thing read a little about renaissance art and architecture before you come.

Food tours can be fun, however if you want to learn and experience everyday Italian home cooking try a cooking class. Manuela La Spina does them from her home in Florence and gets good reviews
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187895-d2518897-Reviews-Cook_Eat_Italian-Florence_Tuscany.html
http://cookeatitalian.com/

I see you have only a few days in Florence. It might still be an idea to get out and experience the countryside or visit a vineyard. A tour company in Florence called "Slow days" do very good small or private tours out to the hilltop towns and vineyards.

The Cappelle Medicee is not considered a must see , again IMO! An alternative would be to spend that whole morning of day 3 south of the river in the Oltrearno region, Piazza Santo Spirito etc

Good decision skipping the Pitti in favor of the Bargello, IMHO. The Pitti is exhausting, and the Bargello has a good collection plus it's in a more interesting Medieval structure. We found Cappelle Medicee underwhelming so switching that one out wouldn't be a bad idea.

San Marco: that one is right around the corner from Piazza Santissima Annunziata; one of my favorite little piazzas in Florence. Take a walk through to get a look at the exterior of Brunelleschi's Ospedale Degli Innocenti with its famous Della Robbia tondos, and stop into Basilica della Santissima Annunziata. There are some lovely frescoes both inside and in the exterior porch/cloister. From a spot in the piazza, you'll get a interesting view down the street of Brunelleschi's dome on the duomo.

"I see you have only a few days in Florence. It might still be an idea to get out and experience the countryside or visit a vineyard. A tour company in Florence called "Slow days" do very good small or private tours out to the hilltop towns and vineyards."

Simon; good advice, but we are traveling to Siena and spending three days in Tuscany once we drive out of Florence. So we'll get plenty of the countryside the three days after Florence.

Thanks for the info on food/opera. Much appreciated!

kathy: interesting note/opinion about skipping Cappelle Medicee.

Does that mean we should skip Palazzo Medici as well? are both of those sights overrated/underwhelming?

Just wondering - if i should skip both those sites, i'll slide something else in.

has anyone here stayed at golden place hotel and spa before? any reviews? seems like it's close to the Duomo - well from what i can tell anyway. A bit hard to find on the map.

Does that mean we should skip Palazzo Medici as well? are both of
those sights overrated/underwhelming?

Wish I had a good answer for you there, Nathan, but we skipped that one as we're sort of like Zoe: with a few exceptions, maybe, we're not much into palaces. There were too many other things in Florence with more appeal to us personally. For instance, I would not have missed the walk up to Piazalle Michelangelo and San Miniato (terrific old church). We also had a lovely sit-down and couple of drinks at an open-air bar up there. Ahhhh.... :O)

Must put in a plug for just walking Florence at night: different parts seemed to reflect more of their Medieval roots after dark, and the detail on the duomo seemed to stand out more when lit, for some odd reason: gorgeous! There were also buskers/busking groups in some of the piazzas, and some of them were very good!

Restaurants: another vote for Ciro and Sons, and we had a very good meal at Francesco Vini.

Don't make a choice based on one or two personal opinions here. I was underwhelmed by the Palazzo Vecchio and really like the Pitti Palace, both the building and the collections. I loved the Medici chapels (very limited visitor capacity, so sometimes lines can be long to get in). Different tastes, different opinions. The Boboli Gardens are an uphill walk, unshaded. If it's a hot day, you may not want to do it.

The Bargello is great for sculpture. I've never seen it crowded. The Baptistry has a beautiful mosaic ceiling; take some time to view the bronze doors (outside, free).