Thinking about a week in Florence

I just returned from 6 days in Florence and would have gladly stayed several more. I did a wine tour into Tuscany for one day but still would have loved more time - so filling a week should be no problem. I know there are some tour companies that do tours to Siena and other towns in the area but I'm not certain about hotels. Another great tour is Taste Florence - if you are interested in food and wine. It's a walking tour and takes you many famous places in the city that would have been difficult to find alone.
Regarding concerts - I used the website eventi.comune.fl.it
It is not in English but my iPad translated it. Even without a translation, it's easy to determine what the concerts are, when and where.
If you are staying a week, you might want to consider renting an apartment. There are many available at much better rates than hotels - and you get the extra room to spread out.
I have no information on flights from Philadelphia but flying into Milan and taking the train is easy and relatively inexpensive if you book your train a couple of months out.

USAir flies direct to Venice and Rome from PHL.
I don't believe there are any direct flights from PHL to Milan. From NYC- yes.

I think the train time/cost would be comparable to train from Milan. 1.5- 2 hours?
We purchased tix from Venice to Florence about 3 months prior and paid 48 Euros

The Florence airport has a short runway so in no way an intercontinental flight can land/depart from there. Most planes hold 100 travellers or so and fly to big hubs - so you can land in Florence with a connection in Paris or Frankfurt or Munich or Amsterdam or Rome or London or Zurich.

There are trains to/from Milano and Rome, in both cases you would need first an airport shuttle train to reach the main station and then a fast train for the leg to Florence, it is not difficult but may be finding an air connection to Florence could be simpler.

You might want to check out: http://www.theflorentine.net/
They also have a Facebook page that will link you to what is happening in Florence on a weekly basis.
Also you may want to start getting on some ticket sellers' newsletter lists like vivaticket.it and ticketone.it that lists concerts etc.

I would not count on the hotel for booking side trips, although it's possible they would have an advertisement for something of interest. When you're in the city, various branches of the Tourist Office have more complete resources. Rick's guidebook lists many qualified private guides and tour companies whom you can usually book by email or online. Roberto Becchi is one who is based in Siena - www.toursbyroberto.com.

Craig,

That's exactly what I did on my visit to Italy last year. Spending a week in Florence and having more time to both look around the city as well as take day trips was wonderful. A few thoughts on your questions.....

• I don't know what flight options are available from Philadelphia, but in my case it only involved one change in Frankfurt and then a regional flight to Florence. It was very easy. I had originally planned on taking the Shuttle from the airport into the city, but I was jet lagged and tired so opted for a Taxi. They have a flat rate into the city, and while it cost a bit more, IMO it was worth it.
• I've never looked for an Anglican Church in Florence, but hopefully Roberto will spot this post as I'm sure he will have an answer to that.
• If you plan on visiting the Uffizi or Accademia, it will take at least three hours or so to look around each. Reservations are highly advisable!
• I've found that there are usually brochures near the front desk in hotels that have information on local concerts or whatever. Hotel staff often know what's happening so you can ask.
• Yes, it's absolutely possible to take day trips to Siena, Lucca or even the Cinque Terre. I don't know whether hotels will arrange that as I've never asked? The trips are very straightforward, so no reason you can't do that on your own. Siena is easiest by Bus, as you'll be dropped in the centre of town rather than the bottom of the hill where the rail station is located. The trip is about 1.5H each way as I recall. DON'T forget to validate your ticket prior to boarding the Bus on the day of travel. For travel to Lucca or the Cinque Terre, train is a better option. The trip to the C.T. will involve at least one change, often at Pisa Centrale. As many of the trains on that route are Regionale, again DON'T forget to validate your ticket prior to boarding the train on the day of travel.
• While in Florence, another short trip you might consider is the short trip up the hill to Fiesole, which is a small community located above Florence. There are not a lot of attractions there, but the views are great and there are some nice restaurants.

Although you're a "nervous traveller", with adequate information and preparation, you should be fine. You might find it very helpful to pick up a copy of the Italy 2015 Guidebook, as that has an enormous amount of information that will help you plan your touring and transportation. It's available in both print and E-book versions.

Good luck with your planning!

Classical concerts:
http://www.classictic.com/it/special/concerti-firenze/941/
(just click on the flag you wish for any language).
The Anglican Church of St. Mark is on via Maggio, across the Santa Trinita bridge (the one immediately west of ponte Vecchio). The Santa Monaca church, not too far away from St. Mark, also has concerts.

You can visit all of Tuscany using Florence as a base and you can do it on your own very easily and very cheaply (unlike with private tours).

For trains use: www.trenitalia.com.

For buses the SITA company station is across the train station on via Santa Caterina da Siena.
There is also the Lazzi company, across the station on the opposite side (across the North East side of the station).
It's easy, just don't travel by bus on weekends (especially Sundays) as frequency is more limited on weekends.

FLR has only European flights.

The best from PHL is with Lufthansa via Frankfurt (PHL>FRA>FLR) or Delta/Air France via Paris CDG (PHL>CDG>FLR). However CDG is a huge messy airport, therefore, if you are a nervous traveler, avoid that airport.

Otherwise fly US Air non stop to Rome FCO, then take a Leonardo Express train from FCO airport to Rome Termini (Rome's main station), 32 min ride, and a high speed Freccia train from Roma T. to Florence (Firenze Santa Maria Novella station), a 90 min ride. Use the Trenitalia website above for schedules.
Another alternative is to take Delta from JFK to Pisa non stop. Pisa is only 1+ hr from Florence via bus or train. Delta flies non stop from JFK to PSA 4 times a week from June till the end of August. Not sure if they start early enough in June for your trip.

I flew into Bologna Italy via London from the USA as it was marginally cheaper than flying into Pisa. We transferred to Florence via a scheduled shuttle bus service foe around €20 a person – easy and no fuss.

We could have easily spent an entire week in Florence. As it was, we only had 2 ½ days before we were off to points north via train.

Although I can’t answer any of you other questions, I google day trips from Florence as there are several tour operators with day trips to the country side. Or, you can venture out on your own using the trains.

If you plan to visit the Uffizi or the Accademia, either book the tickets well in advance or purchase guided tour. The line for “walk-up” tickets stretched for two blocks when we were there.

Good luck and have fun. We absolutely loved Florence and can’t wait to go back.

I just wanted to thank everyone for their responses. You're really getting me excited! I check this forum regularly, so please feel free to give additional thoughts.

I second (or third or fourth!) the opinion of Florence. Spent 4 nights there on our first trip abroad (and to Italy), and by the last night I didn't want to leave. A buddy of mine taught art there a few years ago, spent 4 months and didn't want to go home!

We will be spending 5 nights in March, and will stay at a VRBO apartment near the SMN train station, which is a tremendous hub for all points. Florence will be a base for potential day trips to Siena, Fiesole, Pisa, Lucca. Or we might not do anything at all except hang around Florence. It's that great.

We are coming by train from Switzerland, but flying I don't think there's any way around changing planes at least once. Try to get a nonstop into Paris CDG or Frankfurt or Munich. You could fly into Rome Fiumicino, but it's a real zoo & if your Italian isn't good, you might stand in the wrong line for an hour (like I did!).

Good luck!

Day trips from Florence.
By train you can easily reach all of Tuscany's provincial capitals (10 provinces in Tuscany, including Florence).
Among these provincial capitals the best to visit for a tourist are:
Pisa, Lucca, Arezzo, Pistoia and also Siena (although Siena is better done by bus, as the train station is at the bottom of the hill and Siena is on top of the hill, while the bus takes you to the top). All are 1h15m or less by train (Siena by bus).

Buses are better options for smaller towns and villages (and for Siena). Since buses are primarily for commuters and students, using intercity buses on Sundays is not a good idea (more infrequent runs). So on Sundays stay in Florence or visit the places above that can be visited by train (trains are just as frequent on Sundays).

Certaldo and San Gimignano are along the Florence-Siena rail line. For San Gimignano, you need to take a bus from Poggibonsi-San Gimignano station to San Gimignano, on top of the hill.

On my first trip to Florence I took the Hop On Hop Off bus (HOHO), in 2008. It was a good overview of the city, and went the Piazzale Michelangelo (nice view) and up to Fiesole also. There's a much cheaper city bus to Fiesole of course, but the HOHO might be a good introduction to the lay of the land. The bus to Siena is very easy and once you're there, you'll have no problem seeing the sights. A day trip to the CT is doable since you have so many hours of daylight. Leave really early, though! You could also take the train to Pisa for a 1/2 day visit (most people don't need more).

There is a large Tourist Information office opposite the main entrance to the train station. This is kind of a misdirection, since hardly anyone uses the main entrance. With the train tracks behind you, you will be facing the main entrance, but most people turn left to the side entrance. The best maps are at the TI and lots more information as well.

Please ask all the questions you want.

We thoroughly enjoyed Walkabout Florence's Best of Tuscany tour. It's a long day and a bit pricey but well worth the time and money. I made our reservations online and emailed them for details.

We rented an apartment for our week in Florence. It was right across the street from the leather school behind the Basilica of Santa Croce. We found it through VRBO.

You can Google both Walkabout Florence and VRBO to find out more.

Others have covered the transportation quite well. A quick look online indicates that you could also get to Florence from Philadelphia starting with a US carrier to Brussels or Madrid and transferring to a European carrier from there.

I don't advice to connect to Florence at CDG, as flights to FLR leave from terminal 2G, 15 minutes distant by shuttle bus from other terminals.

A week is perfect for Florence. It is such a deep rich city filled with time intensive adventure in Renaissance art.

The opera performances at St. Marks English Church in Oltrarno are fun. They are fairly amateur concert performances by enthusiastic young performers. The place is tiny and you are sitting within 10 or 15 feet of the performers and so their lack of operatic power is not an issue. Not first rate opera, but fun and worth doing. The church is rather hard to find, so be sure you have looked at it on a map and have the exact address. We walked past it a couple of times the first time we went. It is sort of in a block of buildings -- not a free standing church that is obvious as you pass.

Be sure to see the Brancacci Chapel which I think is the best thing in Florence and be sure to book reservations for the Uffizi by phone a couple of weeks in advance.

A day trip to Siena by bus is easily done and a real pleasure. The Cathedral is jaw droppingly beautiful inside and be sure to climb the Torre Mangia in the town square.

In Siena -- great hot porchetta sandwiches at Antica Noe just up the street from Vivoli the well known gelato place in Florence. Perche No is another gelato shop with good authentic ice cream. Avoid the shops on the main streets with fruit on the brightly colored piles of gelato -- a lot of super market quality stuff there.

I agree that CDG is messier and from the time of touch down to the time you get to the gate to FLR it's a 2 hour affair.
However CDG also has the most flights to FLR (6 or 7 daily each way), therefore even if you miss a connection (and I have missed mine to FLR more than once) Air France will put you on the next flight to FLR. Since you are likely to arrive at CDG in the morning, you will have plenty of chances to make it to FLR during the day, even if you miss your scheduled connection.

Rather, you should look at the connection time back to the US. Make sure you have enough time because there is likely only one flight daily back to your US airport (a bit more if it's JFK) therefore you might get stuck in Paris for the night (which is not necessarily a bad thing).