4 days (4 nights?) in Rome is not enough time to even skim a sampling of its highlights.

ellenem,

Great day!!!

This is exactly what I suggested further up only you did it in reverse order and most likely had the dramatic effect first. I omitted the market.

Myer,
Having the view first, followed by the downhill walk, seemed to put this group into a special mood, though we are all great friends and simpatico travelers . . . not very interested in rushing around with a checklist.

I'm fascinated by the assumption that everyone must be interested in art and that this is the compelling reason to go to Florence (or most of the cities in Italy, evidently).
I am alone in just enjoying the ambiance, food and even shopping?
Is this such a sacrilege?

ellenem.....you captured perfectly my thoughts on hitting the highlights of Florence in 1 day. Of course you cant savor all that is Florence in a day much less a week, but your trip description is exactly how to show someone Florence for the 1st time given the limited time to do so. Thanks. I have actually printed it out and will use as my guidebook for the day.

nygvic,

I thought the day was a great balance. We actually could have seen a lot more were we so inclined, but this was sandwiched between two busy days in Rome: a day at the Vatican/St Peter's and a day at the Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine.

Since our group was just in Rome for 5 nights and had 4 of them had never been to Italy before, this day trip to Florence gave them a taste of a different place—a famous place they had heard about— and also gave them a variety of different activities from those of the past few days. I have been to Florence a number of times and was able to think of options that would suit their interests. In a sense, Florence became our slower day since it involved so much shopping and less rigorous sightseeing, but the novices still felt they had gotten the feel of the place.

ellenem, thanks for a great one day itinerary of Florence. We may be confronted with the option when we are in Italy next year (mostly Umbria). Thanks again.

<<I'm fascinated by the assumption that everyone must be interested in art and that this is the compelling reason to go to Florence (or most of the cities in Italy, evidently).
I am alone in just enjoying the ambiance, food and even shopping?
Is this such a sacrilege?>>

welsh,

You are not alone and it is not sacrilege to enjoy the ambiance, food and shopping. They are 3 of my many favorite things to do when visiting Italian cities. I would imagine that many others enjoy them also. Especially with just one day.

welch,
We are not really museum goers. But one of the highlights of our recent 10 day trip was the visit to the Accademia.

We also went to the Bargello several days later but there was no comparison. We went to no other museums.

The only other museum that we enjoyed as much was the Prado in Madrid.

Thank you so much for your response ellenem!!!
My husband and I will be spending one day and one night in Florence in September and this looks like a perfect itinerary for us as we aren't as interested in visiting the museums as many others are....

Did that very thing on a tour in Italy this spring. I had been to Florence before, and friends were excited to be there, even for a day. The connection from Rome was convenient and scenic. Make plans ahead of time for what interests you: seeing The David, the Uffizi, the Duomo, just strolling.

One day in Florence beats no days in Florence.

To ellenem- I was very interested in reading your one day trip to Florence. My friend and I will be doing that in October and am interested in the walk you took down to the city. We will likely be coming in to Florence by bus and we aren't really into art in a big way so just want to have a day like you describe. Where exactly are the San Lorenzo markets? I would love to email you directly.

nanaof7,
The San Lorenzo market are near the church of San Lorenzo and the Mercato Centrale, both of which are a short walk from the SMN train station and nearby bus station. While it is a good idea to have discussions here on Fodors in a public way so others might benefit, you can contact me at my Fodors screen name at hotmail.com.

I love ellenm's suggestion of a day in Florence--starting with the Piazzale Michelangelo and so on. I will save that and reference it in case we do decide to take a daytrip to Florence later this month!

Going back to nygvic's original question, if I were taking a first-timer to Italy for 5 days and wanted a side trip, I would definitely want to give them a taste of "village Italy." A day in Chianti or the Siena province's little hill towns, a winery, etc.

But I am a small-town girl and to you New Yorkers, Florence probably feels small! ;)

We stopped in Florence for a day once and a few years later no one really remembered much about the city. Returned for a week and everyone had a much better time with good long term memories.