Scandalous, I know...

It's your trip, and if you don't like museums don't waste your time and money going to them just because other people think you should. There are plenty of other things to see there.

I was in Paris with a friend a couple of years ago. It was her first time there. She didn't want to go to museums, see the Arc de Triomphe or do more than walk past the Eiffel Tower. Many would consider that to be scandalous, but she had a great time doing what she wanted to do!!

As previous poster said, it is your vacation, do what you want, don't listen to people who will say " you didn't go to that museum, you didn't see that?". You like seeing buildings, go to some churches, even to walk outside. Look at some of the residences, etc. Sit outside and just people watch. Enjoy!

If you're into architecture, there are plenty of beautiful churches in Florence to visit (I loved the Medici Chapels). There is great food, but also great gelato!

Do you want to spend time in Florence, or do you feel like you should because of what other people tell you? If you aren't interested in the city, don't go. But if you are, read a couple guidebooks and find stuff you'd like to do and see.

Here are my suggestions: climb the Duomo or the belltower (campanile); visit Dante's house; hike up to San Miniato al Monte and/or the Piazzale Michelangelo; eat lots of gelato like another poster said! Yes, we can get it in the U.S. but I swear it tastes better in Europe. Spend time souvenir shopping for olive oil, pottery, or whatever you're into.

Yes, There is a lot to do in Florence. I would recommend walking in and around the central market place - had a great lunch there. I walked all over Florence, across the Arno, lots of things to enjoy in Florence.
The main street that goes thru the town is wonderful for people watching, listening to street musicians,
ride the Merry-go-round.
Of course the food is fabulous and I had at least 1 gelato each day.

Florence is an open air museum. You can see art without.even entering a museum.
There are other things to do. There are restaurants, bars, cafes, the Artemio Franchi stadium (soccer), the Mandela Forum Center (basketball venue), the Costoli Swimming center (I saw the world water polo championship there 2 years ago), there are famous gardens and parks, palaces, villas, bocce clubs. There is even a huge IKEA near the airport. Or you can go shopping in the city center, there are fancy shops everywhere, thousands of them (Florence is also an open air Mall). If you like an American style Mall, you can even have that. Just go to the Gigli, in the suburb of Capalle.

It was our third trip to Italy before we did Florence (I rem the first trip and someone was like...you aren't doing Florence...whaaaaaaaaaaa?! But you MUST!). Hubby and I tend to go slack-jawed when looking at art (by which I mean paintings - we tend to like ancient sculptures/statues and stuff in that vein), as it's not really our thing (to pretentious for us...lol).

We tend more to archaeological sights and architectural stuff. So we really enjoyed the Duomo, the bell tower climb (well, enjoyed may not be the right word, it was hot, hard, breathtaking work, but the views were worth it), we did the archaeological museum, Pitti palace, Piazza della Signoria (for some nice statues) and we did do Accademia to see David and 'The Prisoners', but skipped the Uffizi. Just wandered the streets (we only had a full day and a morning), over the Ponte Vecchio, took the bus to Fiesole for some evening views of the city. And I think I would def return, if only to wander the city a little more and visit surrounding areas.

...and gelato...drooling thinking about the coconut/chocolate/banana combo I had...

I laughed when I read this post!

My daughter has her doctorate in Art History and was flabbergasted when I told her we did not plan to see all of the "art" in Florence or Rome. We'll see David and a few other things and that is it.
We spent a week in Paris with her and she dragged us from art museum to art museum-- we were bored out of our minds. Not that we don't like art- it's just not as fascinating to us as it is to her.

She sent me a very long list of what we must see in Florence and Rome- I'd say maybe one quarter of that list will actually be seen by us!

This trip we will do what we want to do and who cares if we totally skip the Uffizi. We would much rather sit in a Piazza and watch people.

As the other posters have said, Florence itself is rather like a museum - you are surrounded by beautiful architecture and art! But even if you don't ever set foot in a museum, there is a lot to see/do/experience in Florence! If you like to shop, Florence is a great city to do it in - gorgeous leather, paper, clothing... you name it. The Mercato Centrale is definitely worth a visit - the food is gorgeous and absolutely delicious! You could easily spend a couple of hours wandering the stalls and putting together a lovely picnic lunch! Excellent cheese and cured meats, beautiful fruit, bread and wine!
Needless to say, there are many excellent restaurants in Florence as well...
I second the suggestion of visiting San Miniato - the views of Florence are gorgeous and... for something a bit different if you time your visit for late in the afternoon (say 5 or 5:30) you can attend Mass... and listen to the gregorian chants!!

If you're not going to go to the museums, I wonder why you would go to Florence. Do some research on other places to see if you might enjoy them more. Siena comes to mind. (The RS Italy book gives a great overview of the major tourist destinations, including a lot of smaller places.)

As others have mentioned, plenty to do, no big deal not doing the museums. We enjoyed the large market (in the morning), both food inside and the stalls outside and just wandering the streets. If you feel like doing a museum, I would suggest the Academia to see David and skip the Uffizi. The Academia is actually pretty compact, and as long as you do not need to wait, maybe do a reservation, then it is very manageable, and even non-art lovers get a kick out of seeing David.

Good advice from Michael.

I think you should see Florence even without entering one museum.

But even if you do decide to go to the two most famous museums of Florence, the Accademia (David) and the Uffizi (Venus, etc.), it doesn't mean you have to spend the whole day there. I can't take more than one hour inside a museum.

As a famous Italian art critic said once on TV, going to a museum is like going to a great restaurant. You just order a dish or two, not the entire menu, or you'll come out sick with an indigestion.

According to that critic, you should never see more than a couple of works of art inside any museum.

Before going buy a DK-Eyewitness Travel- book of Italy. Those guides are very compact and display only the essential most important features of each sight. If you follow that guide, you'll be inside any museum less than one hour.