Revised/ Researched 3.5 day Florence Itinerary
 

So, based on all of your help, I've had more time to research and take into consideration the time we have (3.5 days- 4 nights) and the kind of people that we are (we appreciate art, but don't want to spend all day in museums; we also like history; we like going on self-guided tours at our own pace; we like to mix in some of the "must-dos" with enough time to wander and enjoy all the adventures that come from spontaneity, etc.)

With that in mind, this is my tentative (more detailed) itinerary:

Day 1:

-Arrive in Florence around 2:00/3:00 from Lerici (possibly stopping at Pisa on the way to Florence); Check into Hotel Duomo; nap/freshen up

-Walk around Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio area (maybe even take a late evening tour at Palazzo Vecchio), explore shop, eat, etc. :)

Day 2:

-Morning: Il Duomo (figured it would be best to hit this first thing in AM because we’re so close to it): Cathedral, Dome, Bapistry, Museum, Bell Tower (maybe), Crypt (maybe) (don't really know if we need to do the Bell Tower if we're climbing the dome already)

-Lunch around noon

- Early Afternoon: Uffizi Gallery (reservations around 1:30; will plan what we want to see ahead of time spend about 2/2.5 hours there)

-Relax/Freshen up at hotel

-5:30 pm Gregorian Chant at San Miniato al Monte and Sunset at Piazzale Michelangelo. Any suggestions for a good restaurant around the area after sunset? (Another option is to move the Gregorian Chant to the 1st evening if getting up here by 5:30 would be too much of a squeeze)

Day 3:

- L’Accademia (first thing in AM)

-Basilica di Santa Maria Novella and the apothecary/pharmacy (morning)

-Maybe Medici chapels (*not a “must-do”; it will depend on what time we finish L’Accademia and Maria Novella)

-Lunch/Wandering in Mercato Centrale/ San Lorenzo Area

- Basilica di Santa Croce

-Back to hotel to freshen up/ nap/relax

- walk over Ponte Vecchio; Oltrarno Walk (have to find the Rick Steves route), dinner in Oltrarno neighborhood- any places with live music (preferably jazz)?

Day 4:

-Any of the following: Bargello Museum, Galileo Museum, Pitti Palace; or use this day to take some of the activities from other days and spend more time on them.

OR

-alternate idea: day trip to Bologna, Lucca, or Siena because we might not make it to either of those while in Tuscany (one day is driving through chianti to our agriturismo in montichiello, another day is montepulciano and montalcino, another day is assisi b/c we're huge animal lovers, another day is pienza and a farm/tour and cooking class, another day is just a day to do whatever we want- maybe go to Orvieto or just wander the grounds of our agriturismo and soakup the sun by the pool).

So if our two days seem to be a reasonable pace, maybe the best would be a day trip to one of those places?

Also, could I possibly squeeze the Bargello museum or Galileo Museum into one of the other days if we want to try and get a day trip in on Day 4? Or, would that start cramming our schedule a little bit too much?

Thanks as always for input- 6 weeks and counting! :)

Making a minor notation re "lunch around noon" that unless you plan to eat street food, or to visit the food courts in the San Lorenzo market, sitting down for a restaurant meal isn't possible until 12.30 earliest, and getting the food, consuming it and paying for it won't leave you enough time to make your 1.30 Uffizi reservation

I would suggest skipping the interior of the Duomo. There are long lines to get in, and there's not a lot to see inside. Most of the art that was at one time in the Duomo is now in the Museum of the Duomo. You can climb the dome without going inside the Duomo; the queue is outside. The baptistery is definitely worth seeing on the inside. It's older than the Duomo and has beautiful early medieval gold mosaics.

Santa Maria Novella is a very beautiful basilica. The pharmacy is not right beside the church; it's about a five-minute walk away.

The Bargello museum is one of my favorites; I myself prefer it to the Pitti Palace.

Another favorite of mine is the convent/museum of San Marco. And the church of Santa Maria del Carmine.