Length of Rick Steves tours for Florence? too short?

Hi there, erob1224 -

Wow, how lovely that you've given yourself a full week in Florence! That is going to allow you the luxury of puttering about at your own speed - which sounds a lot like MY speed - versus dash from one fascinating attraction to another. We didn't have quite a week but our 5 nights allowed us to just enough putter space to really enjoy the city; can't wait to go back!

I don't have the books but would never use a guidebook's estimated time for any self-guided tour or museum visit. Like your own experience, the Pitti and Boboli gobbled up a SERIOUS amount of time - and we threw in the towel before examining ALL of the palace/gardens - and we spent at least 5 hours at the Uffizi versus just the couple of them many other people do. But there are other things which might not grab you so you'll spend less time with them than someone else might.

If you only had 3 days then I'd be more concerned with how much time it'll take for this or that but with a long stay I wouldn't bother much with timetables at all. Just relax and enjoy the ride... or the walk, more accurately? :O)

It seems that you really enjoy museums and meandering. If that's true, you should consider giving yourself more time. Or perhaps if the museum offers a tour in English, you could take that and then enjoy on your own afterwards.

There's lots of great art to stop and enjoy between the pieces described in Rick's museum tours. You can move along at your own pace between those pieces and explore any parts of the museum he doesn't include. That's what I've done. I don't recall how long my visits actually lasted, but you could easily double his suggested time if you spent time enjoying several pieces he doesn't emphasize.

This is an interesting question and I agree with you that some of the RS time suggestions are too short. I can't speak for Florence but I've always wondered from his books and shows what his priorities are. He does stress the living like a local mentality and I don't disagree, but to me he seems to be in such a hurry to live like that, that he forgets to stop appreciate the sites. We took our first RS tour in May-Loire Valley to the South of France and loved it, but my only consistent complaint was not enough time at some sites. Cheonceau and Villandry in Loire Valley-could have used 2 more hours at each, Oradour-sur-Glane, I think we only had an hour and a half, could have used a couple more hours there as well. That's just a couple of examples. For some on our tour it was more than enough time, but for others it was rushed. Now don't get me wrong, I loved the tour, but I do feel he undersells the time required to appreciate the sites.

Thank you everyone for your quick replies! My question was prompted by my efforts to make reservations for the most popular places, as I'll get locked into a time/day and trying to figure out much time to allow between reservation times. I think what I will do is make a list of the Must See sites, and do no more than two a day, then if I have time, backtrack to catch what I might want to see or if I find I have more time in an area I can always pop into someplace that doesn't need reservations.

What do you all think of that plan?

That sounds like an excellent plan, but probably because I plan that way, too. I list a couple priority places to visit and then some second level places easy to get to from the priority ones that I would like to see. It has worked very well for me. Sometimes you want to linger and absorb and sometimes you just don't get as excited as you thought you would.

Good plan! 👍

Thank you for the wonderful feedback! So reservations for Duomo museum, the Uffizi, and Acedemia- hope the spelling is right. I think the Medici chapel may require a reservation- will check on this. And all the rest are no reservation needed per RS, I believe. So Excited!

So reservations for Duomo museum, the Uffizi, and Acedemia-

For the Uffizi and Accademia, yes, but not for the duomo museum, only to climb the duomo dome. I don't think advance reservations for the museum are even possible on the official website. I also don't think you'll need advance tickets for the Medici Chapels (which weren't our favorite) although timed-entry tickets are available online.

https://www.museumflorence.com
https://webshop.b-ticket.com/webshop/webticket/eventlist?production=8

The Tornabuoni Chapel in the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence has frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio showing lovely Renaissance textiles in the clothes people are wearing. So does the Magi Chapel by Benozzo Gozzoli in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi --- talk about lingering, I spent more than an hour in this one tiny room looking at all the details.

Do the few sites that require reservations first thing in the morning, just one each morning, then move on to the others for the rest of each day.

Nancy Sherer, Thank You! I love textiles and costumes! Thank you for the wonderful tip! I can't wait to get lost in the moment!

Thank you Kathy for helping me sort this out!

To add to Nancy's posts, if interested in costumes then drop into Santa Trinita for a look at the Sassetti Chapel and more of Ghirlandaio's work. The citizens in the frescoes were painted as they really looked, right down to the clothing and hairstyles, and you catch glimpses of 15th-century Florence in some of the backgrounds.

https://www.wga.hu/html_m/g/ghirland/domenico/5sassett/index.html
https://www.wga.hu/html_m/g/ghirland/domenico/5sassett/frescoes/index.html
https://www.wga.hu/html_m/g/ghirland/domenico/5sassett/shepherd/index.html

Some of the material in these links identify individuals and background scenes in the separate frescoes:
http://romananglican.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-sassetti-chapel-in-santa-trinita.html
http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/ghirlandaio/sassettichapel.htm
http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/santa-trinita.html

Look for Ghirlandaio himself peering out from the far right of "The Resurrection of the Boy" and Lorenzo the Magnificent (Medici) third from the far right in "The Confirmation of the Rule", St. Francis cycle.