Is Florence a good “home base” for 3 weeks?

I think it sounds like you have good rationale for what you are doing based on what you want.

That said, this is a question that comes up a lot on the forum - the concept of how much time to spend at each stop. Some like to linger longer and dig really deep into one area and others like to bounce around and would stop in a different place each night. We are all biased on this front, based on our experiences. Really, what I am saying is you should do what feels right for you and your travel group.

Now, for what it’s worth, I think it’s a pretty good idea if you are up for the side trips. Firenze is pretty centrally located and has a lot of good, close connecting locations via train or bus. I think it allows you to do a combo of getting to dig a little deeper and seeing a wide variety of places and, if you decide not to leave one day, you’re in Firenze! Some others do this same thing from Bologna.

Against advice from some of here, I did my version of this for part of my European vacation this year with Munich. And we had a grand time!

Answering the question in your title, yes! We also enjoy being in an urban setting for all of the reasons you listed. Since no car is involved, having train service right there is a big plus. We have considered doing this type of a stay in Bologna as it seems les tourist filled and has the energy of the university.. Enjoy!

We stayed in Florence for a month, basing ourselves for other smaller trips. Well worth it.
If you would like to stay outside of Florence but have good access to the train station, might I suggest Fiesole? I’m not sure it would work for 3 weeks as it is small and dining options are limited, but the #7 bus goes to the train station and return. The ride isn’t terribly long, nor costly. I can even suggest a fun tour based in Fiesole if you might want to stay there. I’ve also not looked at accommodations there, so really who knows? A week of your three could be worth it though.

It makes sense to me, especially since you've been there and know your way around. But I hope you're not thinking of Venice, Verona, or Bologna as day trips. I know Venice deserves several days if possible, and I'm sure the other two deserve at least an overnight. You wrote "side trips," not day trips, which gives me hope that you agree! That said, sounds like a great plan.

Hallo, Italian living in Florence here. I would be mainly concerned about the total expense as Florence is not cheap and traveling by fast trains is not cheap either. But being based in Florence I routinely have day business trips to Bologna, Milan, Rome (a colleague of mine lives in Rome and works in Florence, traveling Monday to Friday by fast train - it is possible). Venice is also possible but Naples is a bit too distant for a day trip. When we have business meetings with people from every corner of Italy around I am usually the only one, being based in the very centre of Italy, that can do much distance by train without having to fly. - Keep in mind that regional trains are slow, so actual distances mean little in terms of travel time. Perugia and Assisi are closer to Florence, but take more time than Milan.

I agree with everyone saying it sounds like a solid plan. You're still in shoulder season that far north in April and Florence is really well connected and centrally located. My argument against someplace like Arezzo would be that you'll need to get to Florence for almost all travel arrangements and certainly all fast train trips. Also any further north - like Bologna - will make Tuscany pretty far away for day trips. Easy day trips by train Pisa, Lucca, Bologna, Siena, Arezzo, and you can arrange trips to wineries or smaller Tuscan towns that are harder by train if that's what you want to do.

Sounds like a great time, enjoy,
=Tod

Though a bit more expensive than some of the alternatives, I think Firenze would make a great home base for you. But heading down south, if you want to explore the Amalfi coast, I would stay in the town of Amalfi which is centrally located and a transportation hub for buses and ferries.

Define home base. Consider travel time between say Florence and wherever else you want to go. If it’s say to Venice, or somewhere a couple hours away, it might be best to consider lodging in this area.

You could not choose a better base for that length of time. Yes there will be lots of tourists but that is true with any city worth visiting. There is a reason why certain places have more visitors than others. You can mitigate that problem by selecting a base in an area of the city center that is less overwhelmed by tourists. Look into San Frediano, in the Oltrarno (on the southern side of the river). That area is also not too far from the train station.

How about 2 weeks in Florence followed by a week in Venice. Fly home from Venice. Venice would serve as a much better base for a day trip to Verona and Vicenza.

Florence is not a bad choice, but I would choose Verona. It has history, beauty, and train lines in different directions. Your desire to have a more local experience is well nigh impossible in the center of Florence, though difficult enough in any big Italian city without at least intermediate Italian.

Some people have told me it (Florence) is too touristy and expensive,
but we’ve been there before and were not off put by that.

We weren't either. We enjoyed Florence very much, and have a longer stay in our future plans. As you said, it is easily navigated, has oodles of things to see (if interested in those things), and is a really good transport hub for all sorts of day or multi-day trips. We also didn't feel like it was lacking in 'authenticity'; it's certainly not a recreated theme park, eh? 😉 Sure it's a tourist magnet of sorts (for good reason) but it wasn't all that difficult to find some breathing room.

Three whole weeks in Firenze? I am so jealous!!!

PS: If you are a fan of the Uffizi and Pitti, you might consider purchasing the annual PASSEPARTOUT FAMILY card. It's 100 €, covers both you and your husband, and you get unlimited, priority access to the Uffizi without having to make advance, timed-entry reservations. It would be a good deal if wishing to visit the attractions it covers several times. Shoot, 2 regular, single-visit tickets to the Uffizi would cost you 50€ or more, and combined Pitti+ Boboli tickets for 2 would run you another 44€ plus additional ticket reservation fees so you're virtually at 100 € right there PLUS having to make a timed-entry reservation for the Uffizi.

https://www.uffizi.it/en/pages/annual-subscriptions

5-day passes would run you 76€ for 2 but you're still restricted to single visits, and still have to make an advance, timed-entry reservation for the Uffizi.

The trick with Florence (or Rome or Venice) that we have found is to stay slightly on the edges of the heavily touristed area and then you can plunge into the busy center when you wish but live in relative normality the rest of the time. My husband and I have spent 46 nights in Florence already (once staying in the Oltrarno near Santo Spirito, and once in the area near the Sant'Ambrogio market just west of Piazza Beccaria) and our plan for 2024 or 2025 is to stay another 35 nights, this time in San Frediano. We ate quite a few meals in San Frediano because I was taking art history classes at the British Institute, and liked the neighborhood.

We only took two quick day trips while in Florence, once to Pistoia and once to a nearby town to visit a ceramics museum, so we didn't use Florence as a "home base" in that way. I think you already know that most of the other places you want to visit from Florence are not day trips, but if you plan to spend a night or two in them while keeping your apartment in Florence, perfectly reasonable.

There are any number of other cities you could stay in for your three weeks (I would recommend Padua), but their one flaw is that they are not Florence. They are also not where you feel most drawn to live in for a while.

Although Florence would be a good choice as a base for all of the reasons the others have stated, I do think you'll be missing out if you don't devote a week or so to rural Tuscany with a car. Meandering from one hilltop village to another was the highlight of our own anniversary trip several years ago, and we quite frankly enjoyed it much more than the couple of weeks we later spent in Florence.
There are rental car outlets at or near the train stations in both Siena and Chiusi which make it pretty easy to collect one and be on your way without the hassle of city driving. Our base was Montepulciano, though thereare a host of other places that would put you in the center of things.
If you do opt to try something like that, know that the operating hours at some places away from the city can be restrictive - with later opening times, earlier closing times, healthy breaks for lunch, and complete closures on weekends so you'll need to factor that into your planning. Can only say that driving around rural Tuscany was a joy for us and is highly recommended.

Might add that Kathy's suggestion of the PassPartout is a good one. We purchased one ourselves during our visit and the thing paid for itself several times over during the course of our visit. We especially enjoyed the head of the line feature which allowed us to visit the Uffizi several times without worrying about pre-booking dedicated entry times - we just showed up, flashed the cards, and were hustled to the head of the security line. It's well worth the money.

I haven't read the other answers yet, but when I saw the topic I thought both yes and no.

If you have no interest in Renaissance buildings or art it is possibly 2 and a half weeks too long. Or if Renaissance art really rings your chimes it is probably 2 years and 11 months to short.

I know folks who have fallen madly in love with Florence and others who are glad to go after 2 days.

We have used cities or towns as a base in a more limited manner than for three weeks.

First, I would decide WHERE you plan to visit.
Second, consider your current plan with Florence as a base, but also consider breaking up your one city plan into perhaps three or four.

For example, Florence would be great for visiting nearby Siena, perhaps Pisa and other towns in Tuscany, however, for UMBRIA, consider Perugia as your base. You can visit Assisi, Spoleto, Gubbio and other Umbrian towns in a more effective manner. Instead of lengthy backtracking all the way to Florence, you will be much closer to your destinations. I did a check on my apple MAPS and found it is a TWO HOUR and TWELVE minute trip from Florence to ASSISI. Whereas, from PERUGIA it is only 33 minutes away.

The other cities that you mentioned are Venice, Verona, Bologna. Those cities are some distance from Florence. VENICE is over three hours from Florence. You could take the high speed train for a bit less, but it is still too far for a day trip. Consider a base city of one of the three that you mentioned, like Bologna, where you could visit Venice, Verona and Ravenna.

Thank you for all of the responses - I truly appreciate your feedback!