I will be traveling alone on the Florence portion of my Italy trip....

Saturday- Arrive from Rome in late afternoon.
Spend evening walking around town.

Sunday- Have AM rez at Uffizi and late afternoon rez at Accademia. Will walk to both and then meander in the evening.

Monday- Half day tour to Tuscan countryside/lunch with Accidental Tourist. Spend rest of late afternnon and evening wandering town again. (I like walking and wandering!)

Tuesday- Bus to Siena. Do I have time for one other town or should I just concentrate on Siena?

Is Pisa a "must see?"

Hi there Personally, I think your plan sounds great. I know others may feel differently, but I wouldn't bother with Pisa. I don't feel it's worth it. As for concentrating on Siena....sounds great to me! My journey to Florence didn't allow time to visit Siena, so we focused just on Florence. Do a search online and hopefully others who have been to Siena will jump in and offer their advice. It seems that I've read of others touring Siena along with one or two other hill towns all in a day. I think it comes down to how much you want to see. Personally, I think a full leisurely day in Siena sounds like heaven! Florence is a great town to wander around in and I think your plan there sounds great! Enjoy! Melissa
Melissa

I think your plans sound great. The Uffizi will take at least 2 hours, if not longer. The Accademia will not take too long, so you will have a good amount of time to "wander" in between.

I have spent a total of 4 weeks in Florence (2 weeks each) and can still spend days wandering around and exploring. You are doing the city, and yourself, justice by taking your time.

Give Siena a whole day to visit - there is tons to see, the Duomo, climb the tower, lunch in the Campo, the baptistry, etc., etc.

Have a great trip!!

Hi vivi,

Sounds good.

On Sunday, you might want to do the Accademia first, as it is a downhill walk to the Uffizi.

One evening, take the no. 7 bus from the SMN train station (0:20 hr 1E) up to Fiesole to watch the sun set over the city from the terrace of the Bar Bleu.

You might want to have dinner up there as well.

You could do Siena and San G in a day. See www.sangimignano.net/bus/

Unless you absolutely have to have a pic of yourself holding up the tower, Pisa is NOT a "must see".

Siena is worth a full day, especially to someone who likes "walking and wandering", Siena is the perfect place for that. I'd dedicate the day to Siena and save San Gimignano for your next visit.

Are there "must-sees"? It's you who decides which places are "musts" to you... Anyway, the cathedral in Pisa is pretty, but the rest of the town is rather boring, and your trip is short, so there is no need for squeezing in more destinations. Your schedule sounds great the way it is now.

The "downhill walk" from the Accademia to the Uffizi is a joke, isn't it? The centre of Florence isn't exactly hilly.

No other museums in Florence on your list???

Yes, I do have plans to see the Pitti Palace, the Cezanne exhibit at the Palazzo Strozzi, the Duomo, and hopefully the Medici Chapels but I do not have reservatins for any of those.

I sounds very nice, have one meal at La Casaligna , on our last trip it came out as one of the least expensive places and one of the best ones.

>The "downhill walk" from the Accademia to the Uffizi is a joke, isn't it? The centre of Florence isn't exactly hilly.<

No it is not a joke. There is a definite slope down to the river.

I'd also spend the entire day in Siena. There's more than enough to do. Would also agree to skip Pisa. You don't have a lot of time and there will be plenty of other people that day holding up the tower - they won't need your help. Like your taking time to wander - Florence is a great place to do that and can be full of nice surprises.

I agree with Ira, there is a slight slope, no doubt.

vivi, while you stroll from the Accademia to the Uffizi, be sure to follow the path that will bring you past the Duomo.

Get yourself a little map, Florence is very easy to navigate.

During my first trip to Italy I traveled to Florence alone, it was heavenly! Do enjoy!

bookmarking

Having been to Pisa twice I partially agree with the others and say that it is not a "must see again" site.

But seeing as how it is Pisa, and the tower does lean, and is famous yada yada yada, it is one of those nice to see and take a photo in front of. (holding it up like millions of others before you.)

I would not venture out of my way just to go to Pisa, but from Florence it's an easy 1hr train ride.