I will be in Florence 3.5 days....my first day I will just unpack and settle in. My 2nd and 3rd days I already have reservations at the Academia and Uffizzi, and I was wondering since those museums will take no more than half a day at best, leaving me walking around the rest of the day, should I do a day trip somewhere on the third day?

Are there reasonably priced (less than 20 euros) day trips from Florence to other areas that would bring me back to Florence in the evening?

There is plenty more to see and experience in Florence other than those two museums. Check the destinations here on Fodors and see what else you could be interested in. Otherwise maybe take a tour to a winery. I dont' think you are going to find a day tour company that will charge you less than 20 euro. You can take a bus up to Fiesole.

Hi ilovetotravel, I agree with SeaUrchin. With 3.5 days in Florence you should find plenty to do if you do a bit of research ahead of time. You could go to Lucca for a few hours via the train but personally I would take advantage of being in Florence and exploring this ancient and historical city.

Hi IL,

With only 3.5 days, you won't have time for daytrips.

However, Siena is 1:30 hrs (13E RT) by bus; Orvieto is 1:30 hrs (20E RT) by train.

You could do Siena in 1/2 day, more time for Orvieto.

You could also take a bus to San Gimignano for a day-trip.

To each their own, but to suggest you can do Siena in half a day seems ludicrous to me. San Gimignano possibly, but not Siena.
I suppose it depends on what you mean. You could "Do Florence" in half a day if that meant peering through the doors of the Duomo, a quick jog up to the Piazza Michaelangelo for the view, and then stopping at the Uffizi and Accademia only to gaze at the Venus and David. It would "tick the boxes".

I agree with willt about needing more time for Siena, and with all the others who suggest you stay put in Firenze. If you feel you need a breather, take the bus up the hill to Fiesole, relax and admire the views.

If you are near the Accademia, walk to Museo San Marco, which is not really a "museum" but a monastery, where each of the monk's cells contains a fresco painted by Fra Angelico.

After the Uffizi, take a bridge across the Arno and take in the Cappella Brancacci.

The churches of Firenze are well worth going into.

I agree, too; I think there is so much beauty and artwork to take in that doing so slowly and leisurely would probably be a very luxurious experience. I only had two days there, and while I got to see most of the major sights and neighborhoods, I didn't have too much time to let it sink in/wash over me.

If you're an art-lover, you might consider it, even if you get a little bored (which may happen). Otherwise...well, there is always, ahem, Pisa. ;-) Probably more around 30 euros, though, if you do go.

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