Anonymous wrote:We don’t need to see/do everything. We will have 2 full days in Florence. Ideally we would like to spend one full day in Florence and the bulk of the next day venturing out to the countryside or a village.

Tips?

There's a lot to see with only one full day in Florence proper, but it is mostly art/religious architecture. It's outstanding, but we probably needed a guide to fully appreciate it. We also went to the pharmacy in Santa Maria Novella (very interesting); I'd also recommend a house museum for a different kind of sightseeing.

For your day out of town, I recommend this company for a private tour/driver:
https://www.hillsandroads.com. You can choose from a variety of itineraries including the towns previously mentioned above.

Anonymous wrote:Siena was my favorite place.

Yes but that's not "Florence". Not sure if OP wants options outside Florence?

A few Florence things I haven't seen mention, but that I love:

Museo Galileo, used to be called the History of Science Museum. It had a couple of Galileo's telescopes (and one of his fingers), along with a lot of other cool stuff. it's a short walk from the Ponte Vecchio.

Basilica di Santa Croce. Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Galileo are buried here. The Giotto Life of St. Francis frescos are worth the visit, and some of the surrounding buildings were designed by Brunelleschi. There are leather workshops in some of the old friary buildings, and the surrounding neighborhood is known for leather goods.

Basilica San Lorenzo is worth the visit to see the Medici Chapels. It's the oldest church in Florence, built and rebuilt numerous times. But the Medici Chapels are a stunning display of wealth and power, even by that standards of the Catholic Church. it was designed by Michelangelo and many of the sculptures are his works.

For hardcore fans of Renaissance art and history, San Marco is where Fra Angelico lived and painted for 10 years. A number of his frescos remain viable today (and in my opinion, perhaps the most talented artist of the Renaissance). San Marco was also home to Girolamo Savonarola, he of the Bonfire of the Vanities fame. San Marco is near the Galleria dell’Accademia, which is where David is.

Anonymous wrote:Book everything well in advance and pay for the front-of-the-line tickets for places like the Galleria dell Acadamie di Firenze (and while you are there check out the other Michelangelo statues, not just David) and the Da Vinci museum.

You can hop a train to Pisa easily too. Takes about 30 minutes and well worth it.

I disagree and would never take time away from Florence to visit Pisa.

Siena was my favorite place.

Didn’t love Florence. Our favorite part was the Davinci museum, which our 10 year old loved and was super quiet.

Anonymous wrote:Book everything well in advance and pay for the front-of-the-line tickets for places like the Galleria dell Acadamie di Firenze (and while you are there check out the other Michelangelo statues, not just David) and the Da Vinci museum.

You can hop a train to Pisa easily too. Takes about 30 minutes and well worth it.

I’ve never heard anyone say Pisa is well worth it. 15 min stop, town is a dump to put it mildly.

Make a list of your must-dos and compare it with your itinerary. Availability of tickets may be a deciding factor for how much you're able to do if you restrict yourself to one/two days only.

If you would entertain a bus tour, we liked this one day sampler of Siena, San Gimignano, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

https://www.ciaoflorence.it/en/tour-detail/13

Book everything well in advance and pay for the front-of-the-line tickets for places like the Galleria dell Acadamie di Firenze (and while you are there check out the other Michelangelo statues, not just David) and the Da Vinci museum.

You can hop a train to Pisa easily too. Takes about 30 minutes and well worth it.

It's been several years since I was in Florence, but one thing I remember is that it was very difficult to get tickets to the Duomo. You were basically forced into buying tickets from the scalpers. I'm not sure if it's still like that.

You'll also want to make sure that your knees and shoulders are covered--so no shorts/short skirts or tank tops. It was a really long line and the two teen girls in front of us were turned away because they were wearing sundresses. When we were there, there were people nearby selling long scarfs that you could use to cover your shoulders or wrap around your waist like a longer skirt.

We have been lucky enough to visit Florence multiple times. It is one of our favorite cities. Our must does:

- see the dumo. You can grab sandwiches nearby here. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187895-d696584-Reviews-I_Fratellini-Florence_Tuscany.html

- see David (book tickets in advance)
- eat Florence Steak. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187895-d1088152-Reviews-Antico_Fattore-Florence_Tuscany.html
- walk, eat gelato, see bridges
- visit world’s oldest perfume shop https://us.smnovella.com/



Our two favorite Tuscan towns are Sienna and Multipulciano. If you are traveling to or from Rome, you can hire a car (we used and liked Daytrip) and stop in Multipulciano for a few hours on the way. Make lunch reservations in advance.

Early summer

Would like to do a mix of things.

No car. Happy to hire a driver/guide for the day trip.

What do you like to do? Florence is mostly art, museums and food. Tuscany is a large region with lots of options. Will you have a car? Are you relying on public transport? What time of year is it?

We don’t need to see/do everything. We will have 2 full days in Florence. Ideally we would like to spend one full day in Florence and the bulk of the next day venturing out to the countryside or a village.

Tips?