My husband and I are going to Florence for a long weekend, arriving Thursday and
departing Sunday afternoon. During our stay, we want to visit the Uffizi, the Duomo
Group, Santa Croce, Accademia, Il Borgello, as well as time for wandering/browsing/cafe sitting. I'd love some advice on how to structure our
itinerary so as to cover these sights without feeling pressured to run from place to place.
thanks in advance.

Three days will give you a nice taste of Florence. Some of my favorite things to do include wandering/browsing/cafe sitting so I am glad you are making time for those pleasures.

I would advise booking the Accademia and Uffizi in advance to avoid waiting in lines. I would not do both on the same day. We like to visit museums in the early morning and save lunch and the remainder of the day for more random pursuits.

The Bargello is one of my favorite museums - not only for the art on display but for its size and lack of crowds. The Uffizi can be overwhelming and I take in small doses.

Head up to Fiesole (bus) and enjoy watching the sunset over Florence.

If you like to walk, make your way up to San Miniato and visit the church as well as enjoy the views.

We are regular visitors to the public markets where we pick up local delicacies to enjoy.

Your list is quite reasonable for a long weekend. Enjoy!

We spent 4 days in Florence - Thursday to Sunday, just like you are planning! We pre-booked entry times to the Uffizi (on the Friday morning) & the Accademia (on early Sunday morning). We went to the Bargello on Saturday. Like kfusto, I loved the Bargello!

If you'd like to see how our days unfolded, just click on my name to go to our trip report, <i>A Trip to Northern Italy: Sept 14th - Oct 5th, 2009</i>.

Good luck with your plans!

If you have a chance, after you visit the Duomo, visit the Museo del Opera del Duomo. It is another wonderful museum containing many of the works originally in the Duomo (or intended to be placed there), including a statue of Mary Magdelene by Donatello and a pieta by Michelangelo. It is one of my favorite stops in Florence. Also, try to see the "Procession of the Magi", a beautifully restored fresco in the Medici-Riccardi Museum. It only takes a few minutes and is well worth it.

Make your timed reservations for the Accademia and Ufizzi using phone number, not the website. Operators speak excellent English and can complete the transaction in a couple of minutes. You can do both in a day, but how much time you spend depends on your interest in art, especially at the Ufizzi. There's no downside to reserving ahead, as you don't pay until you pick up the tickets.

Fiesole is a good idea, but if you're pressed for time, you can go to Piazzale Michelangelo instead via bus or taxi, and see the sunset from there.

Suggest you hit the Duomo early in the a.m. to avoid the lines. The morning we did it, we walked right in and up the steps to the top.

We have always emailed our hotel and they took care of museum reservations as a courtesy.

These are all very helpful suggestions - you're getting me very excited about the trip. 2010,I see from your earlier trip
report you went to Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco twice, two
nights in a row - worth it?

We booked the Uffizi and the Accademia on the WeekendaFirenze website. Booking is for a particular entry time, so you will not have to wait in line. At the Cathedral, we avoided the long lines to climb the Duomo and climbed the Campagnile (bell tower) instead. This afforded wonderful views of the city as well as a view back toward the dome. Our favorite restaurants were Cafe Coquinarius (reservations a must) and ZaZa's.

We enjoyed the food, the service & the ambience at Cinghiale Bianco enough to return on our last night in Florence! If you decide to go for dinner, I suggest that you make reservations.

www.cinghialebianco.it

save

bookmarking!

JMO as someone who has been to Florence many times and enjoys good food - Cinghiale Bianco is a Rick Steeve's recommendation and quite touristy - including bus tours. There are many better options in this city.

kfusto: We went to Cinghiale Bianco on our friend's suggestion & we happened to enjoy it. I didn't know that it was recommended by Rick Steves. Sorry if it offended your sensibilites!

We are returning to Florence in May. Perhaps you can share the names of a few restaurants you've enjoyed?

Thanks!

<<Sorry if it offended your sensibilites!>>

I simply commented that IMO there are much better options...we all have different tastes. A few that we enjoy are:

Il Guscio
Il Santo Bevitore
Trattoria Perseus
Trattoria Roberto
Golden View Open Bar

JMK38, in addition to the places you or others have already mentioned, you might consider Santa Maria Novella, the Cappelle Medici and the Pitti Palace/Boboli gardens.

On the way to or from Santa Croce, you might want to have gelato at Vivoli, www.vivoli.it, about a block away from Piazza Santa Croce. They are fairly famous, and rightfully so. I also really enjoyed Festival del Gelato on Via del Corso. They had a huge variety of very good flavors.

Also near Santa Croce is one of our favorite restaurants, Osteria de Benci at Via di Benci, 13r. And Vivoli is very near so save room for gelato there!

great info-bookmarking!