Help laying out time in Florence
 

Planning to be in Florence for two and a half days in early May. We will arrive about 1pm on a Thurs and depart on Sunday AM.
I know I would like to visit the Ufizzi, Accademia (if time permits), Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, as well as allowing time to stroll, eat local cuisine, taste wines, visit markets etc. I don't want to feel like we're on a treadmill, rushing site to site.
We're staying near the Duomo in central location.
I know everyone has their opinion about what's important to them. I would love it if you shared yours ... Thanks for any help in planning my time in Florence.

We loved visiting the Pitti Palace lots of great Etruscan things.

Also loved having a drink at sunset at the roof bar of the Continental hotel right near the Pone Vechio.

Bargello Museum
Santo Spirito
Brancacci Chapel

Accademia is easily visited if you wait until about 5pm. The tour groups have all gone and access is easy. We waited no more than 10 minutes to gain entry. And it's fantastic, I thought David was breathtaking. There's lots to see there but if you just want to see David then 30 minutes will be plenty of time. The gallery is open until about 7pm. Do,go, I doubt you'll be sorry.

As far as the rest of your stay goes, Florence is quite small and you won't have any trouble seeing everything you want to see in your 2 1/2 days. There is fantastic gelato, but be warned that the gelato shops near the Ponte Vecchio charge like wounded bulls! One hundred metres further down the street the price drops dramatically.

"...gelato shops near Ponte Vecchio charge like bulls!"
The same is true for the jewellery stores. If you do want to invest in a little silver something to remind you of Florence, walk away from this bridge.

I found Michelangelo's incomplete sculptures just as breathtaking as David. Make sure that you have enough time to really 'see it'. I agree, go early or late. We were there before opening time in the morning, walked right in and had the place (almost) to ourselves.

I really fail to see how the things shouted out by posters above are any greater or more interesting than the many famous sights they have not mentioned. Zillions of folks have been to Florence and been thrilled to see the Duomo and never once regretted not taking time away to visit Etruscan artifacts or see sculptures in the Bargello. My favorite bar is not the Continental, so shouldn't you go to mine?

For what it is worth, after more than half a dozen to visits to Florence I finally made a reservation to go to the Accademia to see "David" and while it was interesting, I was much more fascinated by the tapestry up on the 3rd floor and I was really glad to have seen it. For just plain enjoyment, I liked the musical instruments museum there.

I think what people are really telling is that they did what they wanted to do in Florence and followed their own noses and their own nterests and they were really wowed. So maybe the best plan is to do that yourself and don't travel with other people sitting on your shoulder hollering "go over here!" "No, this way!" "Eat a lot of gelato!" "This is THE place for cocktails". It is fun that Florence has so many top 10 attractions that people can go almost anywhere and come up with a completely different top 10 list and have no clue about what other people think is the top 10.

Have a great time in what I think is the most beautiful city in Europe.

Make sure time permits for you to visit the Accademia - the David is worth the trip to Florence. I would skip the Pitti with only 2+ days but try to find time for Santa Croce.

sunshineboca:

If you try to cram in too many museums and art-laden churches in your two-plus days, the art will be just a blur. You'll be able to say you visited such-and-such museum or church, but that's about all.

What are you interested in? If you want to see Renaissance masters, then obviously the Uffizi, where you can easily spend an afternoon. Sculpture? The Bargello. Michaelangelos David? Then obviously the Accademia. (And I agree that you can go there late in the afternoon and just walk in if David is "a goal.") Michelangelo and Galileo's tombs? Then Santa Croce. If you head for the Duomo and the nearby Baptistry, sites you'll be near, you're going to be caught up in the crowds; you're arriving in Florence in the teeth of the weekend in May. I wouldn't recommend the Pitti Palace on a first short visit to Florence; it's enormous, but if you go there you'll likely want to focus on the Palatine Gallery, where many of the more well-known paintings can be found. Other people will tell you that the Brancacci Chapel (Santa Maria del Carmine and Masaccio's frescoes) is wonderful or the Duomo Museum (where Ghiberti's original "Gates of Paradise" for the Baptistry are housed) is a site to consider. They're right, but are they right for you on an initial visit?

Do your homework, consider your priorities, be selective, so that you'll have time to relax, walk around, have a drink, watch people ...

You're going to need to reserve a time for the Uffizi, if you want to go there. Do you know that? Where are you staying? Your hotel can likely help you reserve a spot for such a visit? There's a ton of information on Florence on this Forum about making reservations, restaurants, museums, churches, places to relax, so much so that you're likely better off spending your time using the search engine above to get information already posted than to wait for answers to your original post.

I strongly agree with the advice not to let others tell you what to see. That's what a good guide book is for. Would you let perfect strangers choose your wardrobe? Don't let them plan your vacation, either.

The Uffizi is a museum for lovers of Italian Renaissance paintings. That's what most of the huge museum is devoted to, and I've read many reports from people who didn't care for it at all. (One said it was just one Madonna after another, but he used a modifier that I'm not sure would pass muster here.) I could spend hours at the Uffizi, but there are other "top 10s" in Italy that I really don't care for very much. For example, the Borghese Gallery in Rome doesn't do much for me. That's mostly because I'm not a big fan of Bernini, that over-the-top Baroque sculptor. To be perfectly honest, I'm not all that much into Michelangelo, either. I still haven't got around to the Accademia, but I'm sure I'll see David one day. On the other hand, I've made repeat visits to the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo just to see Donatello's Mary Magdalene.

Thank you all for your input and insights.
The beauty of this information sharing site is recognizing others options, while gathering information to make your own decisions.
I'm well on my way to two and one half amazing days in Florence.