Week in Florence

I'm only going to address the flying question...
It's not horror but you can expect to be rerouted to Bologna and bussed back to the airport in Florence. Florence is can be windy and the runways too short so if you want to avoid the rerouting I'd skip flying in/out of Florence.

What kind of activities do you enjoy - that might help us help you with day trips.

Museums and local activities--nothing really strenuous

I'd love to join you! No crowds, no heat, no humidity!!!! You're in a valley so expect some winds but I don't think snow will be a problem. From Florence you have a few wonderful options for day trips. Siena (by bus) is a beautiful city with a couple excellent museums attached to the Duomo (which is mindboggling beautiful). Lucca is also a great day trip and well worth it. From Florence, by the Freccia high speed trains, you can get to Bologna. Check the schedules to see if Verona is also do-able.
I think you could look into Venice and Rome also as possible airports. You really are only a couple hours total bus/train time to Florence from either one. If your flight gets in early morning you could be at your hotel by noon (they'll probably let you check in early). There may be limited service to/from Venice during the winter from MCO however. I found Milan less than convenient.
I've never done a B/B in Florence - I usually do a VRBO apartment rental that allows me some space, a washing machine, a chance to cook with whatever is fresh at the market. It can be surprising inexpensive!
My two must do items in Florence: the recently re-opened Duomo Museum (I'm not a museum person usually but this place is amazing), and the Mercato Central (great shops on the main floor, great choices for eating on the second).
Mid-November huh? You might run into me!

https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-events/events-in-november.html
https://www.adventurouskate.com/best-day-trips-from-florence-italy/

Dress in layers....be prepared for some rain.

Its been well over a decade since my time in Florence. Was there for the 7 day RS Tour which began on Christmas Day. Arrived 2 days before the tour having spent time in San Casciano Dei Bagni with friends.

Trained from Rome to Fabro Ficulli where my friends picked me up.

After the tour trained from Florence back to Rome. Think it took close to 2 hours. Slept most of the ride.

The website timeanddate.com has actual, historical, day-by-day weather data going back about ten years. I highly recommend checking the most recent 3 to 5 years for real-world information. Monthly averages hide extremes.

The Wikipedia entry for Florence, as for most cities of significance, has a climate-summary chart that includes monthly averages for precipitation and hours of sunshine. November is the wettest month of the year, on average, and is tied with December and January for the least amount of sunshine (an average of 3 hours per day).

The Pisa airport is used by a lot of folks heading for Florence, I believe. But I'd compare fares to Milan, too, to be sure there isn't a huge savings by flying into Malpensa and taking the train to Florence. Of course, you might decide your time is more valuable than any amount of savings.

Actually, as others have mentioned, Rome's a good idea, too. And probably faster because Fiumicino Airport is closer to the city than Malpensa is to Milan. It looks as if your ground-travel time would be an hour shorter if you flew into Rome as opposed to Milan.

Residenza Giotto-it's in Rick's Italy book...terrace looking at the Duomo
so great location...10 min walk to train station and reasonable on price...
had a great stay there a few year's ago.

A week in Florence! Lucky you! November should be a great month to go: google up average weather for that month (I did.)

Addressing seasonal closures, probably nothing to be concerned about. Some temporary exhibits at some of the museums may be changing out. The Italian national museums, such as the Uffizi, are closed on Mondays, and other museums are usually closed at least one day a week; you need to reference the websites of those you wish to see. Different parts of the duomo complex close on stated days but currently it all appears to be closed for COVID so check later. As well, climbing the dome requires a timed-entry reservation. Tickets used to be inclusive of all the buildings in the complex (not the cathedral's terraces) but it looks like that's no longer the case.

https://duomo.firenze.it/en/home

To avoid standing in a long line at the Uffizi, order timed-entry tickets. Churches often close for a few hours in the middle of the day, and can close without much notice for funerals and other ceremonies. Sightseeing is not allowed during mass. If you need the official websites of the attractions you wish to see, or need suggestions for others, let us know? As your trip is almost a year away, some details could change between now and then.

Day trips: Siena (by bus or train); Fiesole (by Florence city bus); Lucca (by train); Pisa by (train). There are more but these rise to the top, and please don't short Firenze itself? There are oodles of treasures to see; we loved our stay there!

We did 2 day trips with WALKABOUT FLORENCE. We did their Best of Tuscany tour and their Chianti Wine & Food Safari Tour - BOTH were AMAZING. They have a great website to look at and we booked on their website also.

We flew in and out of Pisa last year on our own trip - only an hour or so by train to Florence.
There are any number of pleasant day trips from the city by rail if you'd rather not join an organized tour. My wife's particular favorite is Lucca. Can stroll or rent a bike to circle the old walls (about 2.5 miles), then drop back down into the pretty little town for lunch. Makes a convenient overnight stop before a flight out of Pisa if that's how you decide to do it.
Another is the spa town of Montecatini Terme which is on the same rail line as the trip to Pisa or Lucca. It's home to several very elegant belle epoque era thermal springs, plus it's just a relaxing place to stroll around if you want a respite from the crowds in Florence.
For a truly off-the-beaten-path excursion you could head up to Fiesole - a 30 minute bus ride (7 miles and a world away) from Florence. The archeological site is interesting and features a well preserved amphitheater that I'm told is still used for summer concerts.
And if you're particularly adventurous you could walk the belvedere pathway thru the forest out to Monte Ceceri - the site of the world's first experimental test flight ... back in 1508 when Leonardo da Vinci and his crew gave it a go 400 years before the Wright Brothers.

I was going to mention Fiesole, but Robert beat me to it. We took the bus up there; no problem.

The first time we went to Florence was in October, back when RS was doing best of Florence tours. We were there for about two weeks total, and the weather was perfect. There was one day that was cold and rainy - the day we went to Fiesole, as it happens, but that was the only bad day. Now, October and November could be very different, of course.

I will also second the idea of the Duomo museum - we were there a couple of years ago, and it was amazing. We enjoyed the old one in 2009, but the new one is magnificent. Museo dell'Opera del Duomo.

Leaving from FLR was not an issue, but my travel was in September. It is a small, older airport, hemmed in by the suburbs, but the view of the Alps on our way to Zurich and then on to the US was breath-taking. Florence is a transportation hub, so you can go wherever you want. Even Rome on a day trip is not out of reach if the fast trains are running. If you want to go to Lucca, look at the bus as RS recommends instead of the train. The train stops every milk stop, you can probably walk as fast. Flights to Venice tend to be seasonal, so you may be stuck with Rome, Milan or a connection from somewhere to FLR as you desire. We will hope we can all travel again by November!

Yes, November historically has more grey skies and rain than other months but temperature records show them to be in the moderate range, and crowds will be lighter. Yes, daylight hours are shorter but won't be all that much different between, say, mid November and later October. It's a personal choice, for sure, but cooler temps and lighter crowds beats heat + humidity + trampled by the masses, IMHO. I would probably choose to visit earlier in the month rather than later.

This past November's weather record; could have been an unusually dry season:
https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/italy/firenze/historic?month=11&year=2020

Pisa is considered an airport of Florence and has good bus and train connections to Florence. It has better service than Florence's airport. Or fly into Rome and hope the train to Florence -- it takes about 90 minutes from Termini and you can buy your ticket at the airport when you arrive so you don't have to worry about timing of the ticket or missing a train. There is a train station at the airport where when you buy the ticket to Rome, you can get the ticket Rome/Florence that you can easily make at the same time. There have sometimes been direct trains from FCO to Florence -- but I have never connected and don't know the status of that now, so look into that option. From MCO I would think you would get better/cheaper flights into Milan or Rome than Florence which will surely involve transfers.

I have been in Florence in early January when it was about 60F and lovely -- that was good luck. But I'd take cold over the fetid swamp that it is in July. -- spring and fall are definitely the best times for Florence.

You should be sure to see the San Marco Museum to see Fra Angelico's work in its original setting.

A year and a half ago, my wife and I stayed at B&B La Casa Dei Tintori, Corso Tintori 33, Firenze. Telephone: 055 2639771 , 3287665169. Riccardo is the host.

We highly recommend it for being within walking distance of everything we wanted to see. Check their website for more information and pictures.

Ed

I second the suggestion for WALKABOUT Florence. We also did their Best of Tuscany Tour and it was an excellent value for an all day bus tour, including lunch at an organic farm, it is true that you just get as taste of each place but it's nice to be bussed around on one day of a long trip were you're the one figuring everything out.
A Trip to Florence for us includes lunch at the Mercado and a Florentine Steak Dinner and having one of the Sandwiches at Osteria All'Antice Vinaio (Sitting on the sidewalk with tons of other people enjoying our sandwiches, great memory). We flew out of Florence to get to Paris and although it was a smallish airport we had no trouble. The "gate" we sat at was actually not for the plane but for a tram that took us to the plane, other than that very smooth. We went in October.
We stayed at a wonderful one bedroom AirBnb that was about 1/2 block from the Duomo, best experiance, one of the best we stayed at. We walked to the train station for our day tour, everything close by.
I am sure you already know about the museums there. We always only plan one thing to do a day and spend the rest of the day wondering around, grabbing lunch, taking pictures etc.

I loved the Baptistry (included on the comprehensive ticket for Duomo Museum and other Duomo sites. Ticket can be purchased with and without tower climb.) Doors can be seen from the outside without a ticket (copies -- originals are in the museum) but the ceilings are magnificent. And minimal waiting time in line.

I loved the Baptistry (included on the comprehensive ticket for Duomo
Museum and other Duomo sites.

100 agree, Laura! The baptistry is magnificent; more impressive, IMHO, than the interior of the cathedral. However it doesn't look as if they offer that comprehensive ticket that includes all parts of the duomo's complex anymore. Could be that they've split the pieces up for crowd control, or to make it possible for visitors to see only the parts which are of greatest interest to them? Also, tickets to some of the structures, such as for the baptistry only, apparently are not available every day of the week.

https://operaduomofirenze.skiperformance.com/en/store#/en/buy

Couple things to keep in mind. Florence is much further north than Florida - closer to Montreal. Therefore, your days will be much shorter and the sun much weaker than what it would be in Florida at the same time in November. Some of your outdoor activities could be shorten because of the shorter daylight hours. You need to prepare for somewhat more cooler weather so bring a good wind breaker, perhaps a stocking cap, even light gloves, and used the layered clothing approach to handle temperature differences.

Our most favorite thing was a one day cooking class out of Florence. The day started when we met at the mercado and we shopped together with one of the chefs before we were taken by small van out to a beautiful Tuscan countryside home with a professional kitchen where we received excellent instruction (and the wine started pouring early in the day) by two funny, talented and enchanting chefs. After much laughter and cooking we got to leisurely eat all we made which was an amazing full course meal.

I don't enjoy cooking at home but it didn't matter the day was the best and most enjoyable of two months of travel in Europe. You can access details and scheduling by googling:

"Cooking Class and Lunch at a Tuscan Farmhouse with Local Market Tour from Florence",
at Walkabout Florence.

Salve Carl and Sandy.
I’ll chime in since I’ve lived about half of my almost 60 y.o. life in Florence and visit there at least once a year (the only year I have not visited was 2020, you can easily guess why).

1. Not exactly Florida weather. Maybe Northern California weather. Nights in the 40s and highs in the high 50s/low 60s. Rain always a possibility.

2. No closures, Coronavirus permitting. If the pandemic persists, then everything may be closed.

3. Siena, Lucca & Pisa (both in one day trip since they are close), Arezzo, Pistoia, San Gimignano, are some easy day trips by train or bus.

4. Since Florence is your only destination, I encourage you to try to fly into and out of FLR, if you can find convenient flights at reasonable prices. In a normal (non pandemic) year, FLR has numerous flight connections to Paris CDG (Air France), Frankfurt FRA and Munich MUC (Lufthansa), Amsterdam AMS (KLM), Zurich ZRH (Swiss), Rome FCO (Alitalia). I wouldn’t worry too much about the possibility of flight reroutings to Bologna in case of high winds. Although it does happen occasionally due to the short runway, however only 7-8% of flights are affected every year. I’ve flown in and out of Florence well over two dozen times and my flight was rerouted to Bologna only once (at Thanksgiving holiday due to fog, not wind). I departed the next morning from Bologna, with hotel, bus transfer, meals, all paid by Lufthansa (best free ravioli ever at the Bologna airport hotel). If you can’t find convenient flights at reasonable prices, then Rome FCO is the best alternative. From there you can take a fast train to Florence (2.5 hours including transfer at Rome Termini main station). The only drawback is that if you fly in and out of Rome, you will need to spend the last night before your flight back in Rome since flights to the US depart in the mornings.

5. I will leave hotels and B&B suggestions to others since I generally stayed with family.

I've been in Florence in November twice - once with my husband in 2016 and once solo in 2018. (Still have the husband - LOL)

I live just outside of NYC so I am used to cold, damp and snow, Neither time did I have that. It did rain a bit in 2016, but I wouldn't call it cold. Dress in layers and have shoes that can get wet.

I am a huge museum person (former full time art curator and present consultant) and loved having the Firenze pass. Yes, it's pricey, but it allowed me to pop in and out of places and not worry about lines. The morning I went to the Uffizi Gallery in 2018 I was the 3rd person in line and spent a lot of time alone in galleries. It was glorious. The crowds are low, you can still sit outside, and the Christmas lights start going up by the end of the month.

I took three "day" trips, although one of them doesn't really qualify as a day trip. I took the bus to Fiesole (20 min) and walked around a bit, looked at the Roman ruins, and came back down the mountain to the city proper. It was foggy that day so my photos were great but the views were not. I also went to Ravenna (long trip but I didn't care - I needed to see those mosaics!) and to Siena (easy and cheap 1 hour bus ride).

I personally think the Duomo museum across from the Duomo is one of the best museums I have visited - anywhere. And I travel a lot.

A week in Florence is wonderful and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I love Florence, but November, you will need warm clothing and a hat when outside. Good time for indoors (Museums). Don't miss the Uffuzi and Accademia.

Take a day trip to Sienna by tour.

We stayed in a great hotel on the Arno, the Hotel Balesteri
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-s1-g187895-d203902-Reviews-Hotel_Balestri-Florence_Tuscany.html