Hello good peoples,
I have one day in Florence (one full day - arrive around 5pm the day before and leave at 7.40am the next). Anyone have a suggested itinerary I should follow?
Following that, there is the question of Uffizi versus Accademia (I'm thinking I'd start with a museum in the morning). I know some people do both in the same day but I don't think it's worth the time or money, or even the money to get the Firenze Card since I'm there for one day.
Thanks everyone!
First evening - nice orientation walk from Duomo across Ponte Vecchio. Spend some time in Piazza della Signoria after dark.
Start the morning at the Accademia. Make a reservation! Take Rick Steve's Florence walk . Pop in wherever you are interested -- Duomo, San Lorenzo Market. etc. -- and when you get to Piazza della Signoria go to the Palazzo Vecchio. Really lovely. You can probably have lunch on the cafe at the Gucci Museo on Piazza della Signoria before you see Palazzo Vecchio. No res necessary as far as I know for the Palazzo Vecchio.
Late afternoon: La Chiesa di Santa Croce
Evening - catch something you missed or just re;ax over a great dinner and walk the city one more time.
check below websites for ideas. If English is not available, use Google translate, you'll get the meaning of it even though Google is not perfect.
For sure, with only one day at my disposal, I would totally skip the Accademia. Leave the David to the next visit. In the meantime you can see the copy in front of the entrance to Palazzo Vecchio (next to the Uffizi). That's where the original used to be before they moved it to the Accademia and frankly, the copy looks exactly the same as the original.
http://www.firenzeturismo.it/en/in-24-hours/visit-florence-in-24-hours.html
The Accademia is a pretty quick visit if you just focus on the couple of rooms with David and the Prisoners. For most travelers, two hours is enough time in the Uffizi. See Rick's Florence audio tours to download at http://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours/italy.
"the copy looks exactly the same as the original."
Unless they've gotten a different and much better copy since 1989 (when I was last in Florence and saw them both), this is absolutely NOT TRUE. The David you can see for free looks nothing like the one in the Accademia. Having read differing opinions (some books said what Roberto said, others disagreed), I was quite startled to see just how different, and how much better, the real thing looked compared to the copy.
I know Roberto is a native Florentine. Since I've been to Florence exactly once in my life, 25 years ago, normally I would never contradict him. But this is one case where I must make an exception. (sorry, Roberto).
As for the rest of your question, the answer to "how should I spend one day in Florence?" is the same as "how should I spend one day in New York?" You will have to be ruthlessly selective, looking at lists of "highlights" and choosing as many of your own personal "must sees" as you can squeeze into your time. Uffizi vs. Accademia vs both vs neither? Only you can make that call; read about them and decide.
Harold it might be because I'm not too sophisticated when it comes to art, in spite of having spent most of my life in Florence. I couldn't tell the difference if it weren't for the filth on top of the one in the piazza.
On the other hand, to me even the face of the Statue of Liberty looks a lot like David's. I just think the French just put a robe and a crown on top a copy of David and shipped it to you guys in New York-:). Of course I've seen it only from the Staten Island ferry, so it might have been the distance.
No copies of David, ever! Although it interesting to see where Michelangelo's sculpture was originally placed. It's not a bad copy, but it's a copy.
A couple of years ago there was a contemporary exhibition at the Accademia, which included a pepto-bismol flesh-colored, blond David sculpture just outside the gift shop near the exit. I found this so alarming that I had to tunnel through the crowds back to the original just to erase the fake image.
We were in Florence for one day two years ago, and while I enjoyed the Uffizi, I found the David to be the highlight of my visit. I had just taken my first art history course, and seeing it in person was an incredible experience - it was so much bigger than I had pictured it, and the sun shining down through the dome highlighted the marble in an amazing way. We did both in the same day and limited our time - we went to a leather school, then did a 2 hour guided tour of the Uffizi, had lunch and spent less than an hour in the Accademia, so it was an easy combination. We did not, however, go in the Duomo…we just walked around it. The day we were there it was 98 and supremely humid, and I was hot and grumpy:-) So we ate gelato instead! I'd love to go back to Florence when it's cooler - I think I'd like it much better! Whatever you choose, I hope you have a great time!
