4 couples in the 60's staying at a villa in Lucca. We are debating whether to drive from the Villa outside Lucca to Florence or drive to Lucca and take the train to Florence. Should we try to do Florence on our own or use a guide that can pre-book Uffizi, Accademia, ect?
What other must see's are there for 1st time visitors?

not sure if what you are talking about is a day trip to Florence; if you are going to be staying in a hotel, the hotel can book this for you.

however, if you can't or don't want to do this, it's easy enough to do yourselves, either by phone or on line through this site: http://www.uffizi.firenze.it/orari/

NB if you google, you will come up with a vast no. of sites trying to sell you tickets. THIS is the official one, which charges only €3 per ticket booking fee - quite a lot but the tickets are only €6.50 anyway. some of the others charge a lot more. if you book by phone, you don't pay until you get there and pick up the tickets, so if you change your minds,you don't pay anything at all or if when you get there there is no queue, you just buy your tickets and forget about the reservations. [more likely at the Accademia than at the Uffizi].

search this site to find the phone no - it's there somewhere!

I strongly recommend driving from Lucca to Florence. It's only an hour. Traffic around Florence can be fierce and confusing, and you cannot drive into the Centro Storico (historic center) where you want to go. Parking is very expensive anywhere within walking distance of the center and not very secure.

Furthermore the Centro Storico of Florence is so small you can walk across it in half an hour. The train station SMN (Santa Maria Novella) is right on the edge of the center. All the things a first-time traveler would want to see are there. I strongly advise buying a Florence guidebook with good maps so you can tell what you want to see and where it is. Rick Steves or Fodor's can be a good one.

Do try to stay until late in the day when the cruise passengers have gotten on the their buses and out of the way. Take a later train back to Lucca.

ordinarily I would agree with taking the train into Florence but last year while staying in a small outlying village we had a rental car and drove into town. We found a reasonably-priced garage about two blocks from the main rail station and parked there. It was certain 'secure' and was an easy walk to the Duomo, etc.

You aren't allowed to drive in the center of Florence so you would have to watch where you drive and find parking outside the ZTL. Buses also run from Lucca to Florence and take the same amount of time as the train. The historic center is very compact and only takes about 20-30 minutes to walk from one side to the other. You can easily navigate on your own with a map.

You don't need a guide to book your museums. You can book directly with the museums online.
http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/en...p#!prettyPhoto