Hi,

Between September 13th and 18th I will be heading to Florence from Lake Garda. Now leaving outside the arrival and departure dates (13th and 18th) I will have 4 full days. Now I was thinking of leaving 2 full days to go around Florence and 2 full days to go around some places in Tuscany. Do you think this is doable for 2 days in Florence? I will be going to some few art museums, definitely not all. let me know.

Of course you can limit yourself to 2 days in Florence. Which museums do you think you want to go to?

WIll you have a car?

It is very hard to have a car in Florence, but it is also very hard to get "around" outside of Florence in Tuscany without a car.

Florence is a very expensive place to stay and eat even if you don't need to pay for parking. Are you sure you want to stay there? Maybe you would rather visit for one day and stay someplace else.

If you have a car but want to stay 2 nights in Florence, I suggest you visit the Tuscan countryside first, then drop off your car before entering Florence.

We have not found Florence to be a very expensive place to stay and eat - no more than other Italy cities. Good suggestion to visit Tuscany first with a car, drop it off and then visit Florence. We absolutely love Florence and, after 8 trips totaling more than 30 days, we still find new things to see and do.

I love Florence too and agree it is no more expensive than other Italian cities. But it is a lot more expensive than much of the Tuscan countryside. I have some concern when I read about travelers using Florence as a "base" if they are only slightly interested in Florence and mainly interested in spending their days out of town. You get better food and better prices outside of Florence.

No where in Europe is inexpensive. I just want to know whether 2 days are fine to go around Florence. Which museums I will be going to, I don't yet know, so if you have some must go museums that will be good. I don't want to waste time seeing a lot of Art and Pictures.

All the museums of Florence are museums of painting and art. The other big attraction of Florence is churches or palaces filled with painting and art. So it is a puzzle why you want to go there for 2 days, if at all. Do you want to go shopping? Even then, you certainly don't need any more than 2 days.

Hi rbezzina, after reading your posts, I'm also thinking you could stay out of Florence. Perhaps you should base in one place for the 4 days--more relaxing and you won't loose precious time moving from one hotel to another. You could take a train or bus ride into Florence for a day.

Are you looking to see David? We were there in March quite a few years ago and didn't need them then, but I believe reservations are required now??? I found the Uffizzi to be a compact and visually interesting museum--sculptures spectacular.

Hub and I based in Pisa and it was about one hour to 1.5 hours to Florence by train. Lucca, Sienna, Viareggio and Arezzo look like straight shots to Florence by train as well. All are large enough to be active towns to come "home" to after a day of sightseeing.

"I don't want to see a lot of art and pictures": if this is true, why are you going to Florence? No offense, but art, pictures, and buildings are why you put up with the packed streets, expense,and inconvenience. Well, you didn't say anything about buildings or sculptures so maybe they don't qualify as art and you do like them.

Stay in the countryside or small towns and skip Florence altogether if you don't like those kinds of things. There won't be a quiz when you get home. Go to Siena and Pienza and Monteriggioni and San Gimignano and Greve in Chianti and a spa and don't waste the money to go somewhere that has no value to you. Nothing wrong with that!

Ackislander, ok I sounded wrongly. I'm not saying I don't like them, infact yes I like buildings and sculptures and museums to, but what I wanted to mean was that I don't want to spend all the whole 2 days seeing just paintings. I know there are churches, bridges and other historical sites.

rbezzina the Uffizzi is the 'must see' in Florence, meaning there is lots to see and much of it you won't see anywhere else in the world. If you rent an audio guide or take a guided tour, you can get the 'best of' Uffizzi without trying to look at everything. And you will also get some insight on what you are looking at. That is, unless you like doing research, and want to make your own itinerary for the Uffizzi.
Apart from museums, we found that Florence can be a fun place to just stroll around, there is always something going on, have coffee or wine on the piazzas, at night walk along the river, and listen to some street side music and just relax.
I agree with others that a good plan is to do your Chianti touring first, then get rid of your car before you go to into the city of Florence.
If you go to San Gimignano make sure you go a little farther to Volterra.

Another vote for San Gimignano and Siena, and even if you're not a huge museums fan, Florence imho is great for just wandering and people watching!

Hi, so in Florence I have around 4 full days, of which 2 days I will go around Tuscany and 2 days dedicated for Florence, I'm excluding the arrival and departure days. Now apart from other nice things Florence have these 3 top museusm..Uffizi, Accademia and Palazzo Piti. I don't want to spend 2 days visiting just these 3 as they take too long to see them well...Do you suggest that I visit Palazzo Piti on a day and Uffizi or Accademia on another day?

Have you considered visiting the Bargello? It's a museum housed in a old fortress/prison right in town (a sight in and of itself), and the collection consists of objects d'art and household items, including jewelry, knight's armour, and weaponry. It gives a glimpse into the life of wealthy medieval and Renaissance citizens of Florence.

The Accademia won't take too long to visit if you are only interested in seeing David.

For what it is worth: We stayed in Florence and took the public bus for a day trip to Sienna. That said, we thought it would have been nice to spend at least one night in Siena.

rbezzina, just a thought: Yes, limit your museums to one a day. You won't get museum overload that way.
As some-one above mentioned, The Accademia with David doesn't take long to see, so doesn't really qualify for your once a day dose of museums, but an interesting add-on.

One of our favorites in Florence is the Medici Chapels, amazing, if you feel so inclined.

Just wondering, what transportation are you planning for your daytrips into Tuscany?
See this website for some practical Florence info:

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/desti.../florence3.htm

While the Palazzo Pitti is worth a trip, especially the gardens, it is not a place to spend a lot of time. Walk to the top of the gardens and you have a pleasant view over the Tuscan countryside.
Be sure to visit the Duomo, Santa Croce, the Piazza della Signoria (many outdoor cafes, good for people watching).
Don't miss the David and across the square from the Accademia is the Museo di San Marco with exquisite frescos by Fra Angelico. It is only open in the morning.

Have a lovely time in Florence. After Paris, it is my favorite city in Europe.

Just got back from Florence and reservations for the Ufuzzi and the acadameia are a MUST unless you want to wait inline for 2 hours. I booked through the official site for just a few euros more and it was well worth it. We went to both late afternoon( not on the same day) and it wasn't as crowded as I guess it could have been.
There was a queue at Santa Croce but it moved very quickly and we were in in 15 minutes.

I loved Pitti Palace, in fact could have spent a whole day there exploring the outside gardens as well as the inside of the Palace. Florence is lovely and 2 days is what you have then that's fine. I could have stayed for a week and been happy.

I love the Bargello and Museo San Marco in Florence.

Fiesole is a nice trip (a short bus ride into the hills above the city) for the views of Florence and Roman and Etruscan ruins.