When in Florence: Can I skip San Gimigano and Lucca ??!

Can I skip San Gimigano

Don't you mean should I?
Skip it, it is small very touristy looks better in pictures or from a distance. There's nothing there inside the walls.

You are not a "fool" for making choices to do what is important to you.

Thanks so much!!!!!

Been to Italy five times, Florence twice, never been to either. While I might be foolish at times, I do not consider myself a fool. Do wat appeals to you, there is no mandatory list.

Siena is important but you can skip that too if you want
The others are not

First trip we did visit Siena 2 nights and would like to teturn

3rd trip Lucca and were not impressed
Never been to SG probably never will

It's your time, your money. Do whatever you want.

hey hey wscarroll
no fool to skip. you and the other thousands will be visiting like sardines in a can.
while in florence check out the wine windows: educated-traveller.com/ wine windows of florence
vivoli.it
get your fix of gelato
tasteatlas.com/ bomboloni
and other bakeries/pastisserias for yummy goodies
paintandwineflorence.it
mercatocentrale.com/ florence
gpsmycity.com/ florence
i did a wine tour from florence several years back, never again. san gimignano was the worst. had about 10 tour buses, 6 tour vans plus people in their own cars. couldn't walk down the piazza area of shops/restaurants without bumping shoulder to shoulder, upset and grumpy people, can't even get into shops to look at souvenirs and if finding something the line is soooooooo long to apy for it. walking out to van pass the gelato shop, the line is outrageous, out the door along the wall down around corner to back of building. get me outta here. the to poggibonsi for family owned winery visit which was great, nobody around. onto crowded siena. parking is so crazy if you find a place, lines long to get into cathedral. then back the bumper to bumper hiway to florence.
if you are reading many posts, all these cities/towns/villages are 85% mentioned here of places all want to go to. italy is busy all year long, high season and summer is worse and hot. many tours all start at same times
if doing a wine tour, make it a small group (6-10 people). have you picked a company for tour? lucca was quiet before, not now. take the train to the town of pisa away from the tower, walk along the river, have lunch and enjoy it. or take the train to pistoia, quick ride from florence old italian town. montecatini terme for its thermal spas and gardens.
just added some other people, places and things to see for you. have a great time and enjoy
aloha

If this is your first time in Florence, you will likely enjoy having 5 full days to fully appreciate it. There is so much to see and enjoy. I would suggest no more than one day trip (and Siena gets my vote), in favor of having more focused time in Florence, but I’m somewhat biased. I’ve been there twice (it’s one of my fave cities in Italy), each time staying 4 and 5 nights respectively, and there are still plenty of places I’ve not yet visited. If you decide you want to do another day trip, a Chianti wine tour would be a higher priority than either Lucca or S. Gimignano. Every trip to Italy should have Il dolce far niente!

Not a Lucca fan either. I would rather spend the time in Siena or Florence. Do the wine tour!

Take the wine tour. SG is filled with tourists, and Siena is a great choice for a day trip from Florence. It will have tourists, but there’s more room for them there. I would place Lucca on a lower priority.

Have a great time!

Lucca’s location in the far west of Tuscany doesn’t lend itself to easily touring Tuscany. The cities you are skipping will still be there when you travel to Italy again. Siena is one of my favorites in Italy!

depends on your taste and inclinations. i don't give two hoots about wine so a 'wine tour' is as appealing to me as laying on a beach for a day. san giminigno on the other hand is visually stunning. i took the first bus out of siena and had the place all to myself for several hours. the clear blue sky, hard morning sunlight, and medieval stone architecture allowed me to make photos that look exactly like the ones you see if not better (even though I say it myself!). highlight of my tuscany trip in '23. luca paled in comparison. florence is florence but siena is more theatrical IMO.

My experience of San Gimignano was completely different, although it was in June 2015.
We stayed two nights in a lovely hotel (with parking) about ten minutes walk down the hill from the walls.
The trip was worth it for the amazing frecoes in the church alone.
Because we were staying, we could wander out after most of the day trippers had gone and have peaceful drinks and dinner.
Although, having said that, I don't recall it being as crowded as some have said. I bought a lovely leather wallet, which I still had until some xxxxxxxxx stole it from a cafe by St Paul's Cathedral in London last year.

On one trip we rented a car at the Florence airport, drove to Siena stopping at Certaldo and SG on the way. Loved them both! Bought a Tuscan pottery plate in Certaldo while watching the artist hand painting the pieces of pottery. Had the best ever bruschetta in SG. Drove to Siena for the late afternoon and evening and then back to Florence. It was one of my favorite days on that trip. On another trip, (we had already seen all the big things in Italy) we stopped in Lucca for 2 nights - 1 full day. We loved biking around the wall and exploring the city. Wonderful food and a Puccini concert in one of the churches. We loved both SG and Lucca, if you’re looking to experience something different than the larger, more traveled cities.

I don’t drink anymore but when I did I DEFINITELY would do a wine tour over those two overrun towns. It’s your trip so do as suits you best.

My family are not drinkers but we are doing a day trip from Florence to Val D'Orcia - Montalcino, Pienza, Montepulciano. You can tour wineries or just explore the towns/history.

I’ve been to Florence eleven times and absolutely loved Lucca…stayed there twice on other trips.
Siena was not my favourite.
Just my opinion…..you can always return!

I wasn’t impressed by Lucca. San Gimignano is beautiful but gets too crowded around midday, you would be better off getting there in the afternoon.