Tours in Florence

I’m trying to figure out how to structure the arrival day

Off an international flight? If so I wouldn't plan anything more than some independent walking around outside; most guidebooks have self-guided tours you can follow, or Rick has a Renaissance audio tour you can download to your own devices. I wouldn't schedule a guided tour or pre-purchase museum tickets in case your flight is delayed or cancelled: most of them are non-refundable.

One full day isn't much time at all for this interesting city, and the State museums (Uffizi, Accademia, etc.) will be closed on Monday the 21st, although some others will be open. I believe your dates are Sept 19, 20th and 21st?

Arrival day (sorry that I didn’t include, very confusing I know), is from Venice. We will arrive late morning.

Thank you for letting me know that Monday the 21st things will be closed! I’ll plan on doing our Tuscany tour that day instead. (Whew!). I think you need to be my travel agent, Kathy!

I remember a Kathy the first time we went 4 years ago that was extremely helpful too. Seems she was from Alabama, is that you?

LOL. No ma'am, that would not be me. I'm a Minnesota/Iowa girl. :O)
Good to know that you're just coming from Venice on the 19th.

Anyway, most of Italy's State Museums across the country are closed on Mondays. Civic and private museums usually have different closure days, if they close at all during the week. For Florence, this might be helpful?

https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-museums/list-state-museums-in-florence.html

The Duomo's complex (museum, belltower, glorious baptistry, etc.) is open on Mondays, and the Museum of San Marco is oddly open on 1st and 3rd Mondays of a month so you're OK for the 21st. Piazzas and churches? No problem there either. Piazza della SS Annunziata, with its basilica and Brunelleschi-designed Spedale degli Innocenti, was a favorite of mine and is very near San Marco.

https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-monuments/piazza-ss-annunziata.html

San Miniato, up above Piazzale Michelangelo, is another favorite; the view, the view, the view...!!!!
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-monuments/piazzale-michelangelo.html
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-churches/san-miniato.html

That's just a start, and just for some Monday ideas.

I would not do a tour on your arrival day -- too much can go wrong on a travel day, so instead just use that day to wander the area, relax, and learn a bit about the area. If something catches your eye, you can do it, but don't plan for it.

I loved Florence, and I enjoyed both galleries and museums, but also just sitting in the Piazza della Signori with a cold drink and watching the people and the sculptures there. My favourite sights in Florence are not the most famous: I really, strongly recommend the Duomo Museum. Entrance is included with the Duomo and Baptistery, but it's much more low profile and less crowded, but stunning (Donatello's Mary Magdalene was a highlight for me). The second favourite place I visited was the Bargello Museum, which (opposite of the Uffizi) has primarily wonderful sculptures, not paintings. I don't know why it doesn't get as much notice, but it was wonderful.

Neither of those places are on any tour itinerary I've seen, but I'd recommend visiting them anyway.

I have visited Florence twice, the last time in 2010. Neither time did I use a tour, except the second time, my wife and I did a nice bicycle tour that was inexpensive and we covered some areas that I missed earlier.

Florence is very walkable for the most part and for a three day visit can be done on your own. Of course, if you elect to see the wonderful museums there, like Accademia and Uffizi that will take up a far amount of time. Don't miss St. Croche church where so many famous people are buried like Dante, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli.

I am also a day tour lover. Since you will already be adjusted to the time zone, and are arriving mid-morning on a short trip from Venice, I would not be averse to booking something that same day. Why waste most of a day not knowing where you are/what you're seeing? Maybe something lighter, like a walking tour of the Oltrarno or a food tour if you don't want to hit the art right away. But I think a combined Duomo/Baptistery/Duomo Museum tour would be a good choice, since while an important part of Florence to see, they are all clustered close together and not as heavy as the Uffizi. You could do that in a few hours, then settle in for a nice long dinner.

Specifics on tours: I have done 4 different walking tours on several trips to Florence, each with a different focus. 3 were with Context Tours and were very good. I had trouble finding the meeting places but once I did, the tours went very well and exceeded my expectations. The tour I was most excited about in advance was with Freya's Florence, but it was the worst of the bunch by far. We had a tour guide who simply would not slow down for us or depart from her planned spiel. She really treated us very dismissively as a bunch of bumbling middle-aged, female, ignorant tourists. As it happens, gender and age were correct, but we are all well-educated, well-traveled, and knowledgeable about art and culture. We had each been to Florence before and were looking for more depth. It was a forced march of 4+ hours. We all agreed we should have ditched her in the first half hour, but had each been worried about disappointing the others. It wasn't Freya herself, by the way, but Freya was not interested in our feedback afterward.

I have not used Walks of Italy before, but I've heard good things about them too. I'll always start with Context to see what they have, given my experiences, but I'm sure there are other good choices. (Not Freya's, imo)

I love tours, too! We used Custom Tours of Florence and had a very good experience with a waling tour, but, it was more expensive than the option you have listed (but, we had only 2 people, not a group). The tour guide met us at our hotel so we had no trouble getting started right away. Also, very available by email to make arrangements. Good luck!