I am going crazy trying to decide on how much time to spend in the actual city of Florence and how much time to devote to side trips outside of Florence. We do want to see the Tuscan countryside but we do want to "see" Florence. Is it true that many sites, shops are closed on Mondays in Florence? Also, if we take two 1/2 day side trips or 1- 1/2 day side trip and 1- 1 day side trip, what cities or villages would you recommend? We were thinking of Orvieto one day and then a whole day in Siena. We are using Florence as our base and will be there from 9/30 - 10/04. We are also thinking of using a driver and going from Rome (in Rome from 9/27 -9/30) to Florence and stopping in Orvieto and maybe other places on the way to Florence. Need help. Thanks.

Gee a lot of people are asking that same question this week. I know searching on this forum is hard to do sometimes but if you click on my name and then read the threads about Florence you'll get a lot of info (not just from me, but other people who answered your same (almost) question.)

Anyway, I'm begining to feel like a one woman fan club for Florence but I really loved it. Was there for 6 days in July and did one whole day trip to Siena (very easy by bus) and another day trip to Pisa and Lucca on the same day, quite easy by train. That gave me 3 and a half days plus two extra evenings (the day trip evenings) in Florence and that felt about right. Only a few major museums are closed on Monday. Everything else is open.

I did Orvieto and Rome on a different trip and I would suggest you tack Orvieto onto the Rome part, or perhaps do it enroute to Florence, although evenings in Orvieto are quite nice.

Anyway if you have any specific questions I'll try to answer them but seriously, try clicking on my name, might be easier than searching, and it should bring up several threads about Florence and Tuscany. Have fun.

Whether to spend more time in Florence or in the countryside is dependent upon your personal preferences. Not everything is shut down on Mondays in Florence. This information is from my file from a few years ago. Go online to check current days and times of openings and closings. A good source to use is: http://www.comune.firenze.it/servizi...eng/altri2.htm

Some suggestions for a Monday are:

* The Duomo, Campanile, Baptistery
* Piazelle Michelangelo for terrific views of Florence. San Minato Church is just up the hill and worth a visit. Check to see if it is open.
* Santa Croce Church
* Palazzo Vecchio
* Museo dell Opera del Duomo
* The Bargello museum (open certain Mondays)
* Museo di San Marco (open certain Mondays)

Decide what sights you want to see in Florence and figure out an itinerary to fit them in. Then you will know how much time youc an devote to the countryside...or vice versa, depending on your preferences.

Lorac1127: Thank you so much for the great information!

Hi Paci,

With only 5 days in Florence, I suggest that you base there and take daytrips to 2 of the following: Siena, Orvieto, Castellina, Bologna.

I would recommend against a driver to go from Rome to Florence. It is only 1 1/2 hr by train.

You might find the Florence part of my trip report helpful:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044

Paci, you are very welcome. Hope it helps.

Ira and Lorac1127:

You are both extremely knowledgeable and helpful. I have been on this site most of the day and I have seen many of your postings. I started to plug in various cities and landmarks and it is amazing how many of them contain postings by both of you. It is hard planning a trip like this because although you realize that you can only see just so much in 12 days, and one should just appreciate whatever one can see and not worry about what you are going to miss, etc., it is still very overwhelming. Thanks for all your help. What would all of us do without you?!

Ira:

I just read your fabulous trip report on Florence, etc. It is filled with such great info. You have relieved so much of my anxiety in planning this trip.

Thank you, Paci

Most of us have gathered terrific information from forums like Fodor's. The most difficult part, I found is gathering it all and deciding what there is time to do and what must be left out.

I don't have a trip report for Florence in Siena, but I do have one from our last trip which includes Tuscany. Take a look at the report here: http://www.slowtrav.com/tr/TripReport.asp?tripid=460

Also look at the photo galleries. I find that sometimes photos "talk" to me and help make the decision easier...

Lorac1127:

What a beautiful trip report!!! Your descriptions made me want to hop on an airplane immediately. Loved hearing about Orvieto and Venice since we are planning on going to both but was most impressed by your attitude and your ability to enjoy everything and always look on the bright side. Looking forward to hearing more from you on any future trips you may be planning.

Thanks for your kind words.

Actually, after my son goes off to college, I'm going to try to write a report on a trip to Italy in 2001...