idaninalevy

I am planning the second part of my 3-city trip to Italy. This is the Florence section. Can you help me- is this a good itinerary, do-able, and are we missing anything?

Day 1- Train to Florence AM about 2 hours
Duomo- cathedral, huge, good audio (free but dome and crypt moderate) www.operaduomo.firenze.it 055-230-2885
Museum Duomo- cathedral workshop
Accademia- Michalengelo’s David (15 minute walk, 1 hr to visit 14 Euro pp) (expensive) 055-238-8609 book in advance
Piazza della Signoria- square outside of Accademia, outdoor market
Campanile- Tower of Duomo (expensive) 055-230-2885
Palazo Mediccia Riccardi- Medici palace (moderately priced) www.palazzo.medici.it 055-276-0340
Mercado Centrale- leather

Medici Gallery- tombs, etc (expensive) (just ok)
San Lorenzo- church and burial of Medicis (just ok)
San Marco- convent (moderate) (just ok)

Day 2- (maybe walking tour?)
Bargello- courtyard (moderately priced) 055-238-8606 (ok)
Ufizzi museum- just ok (10 minutes to walk, 2.5 hrs to visit 17 Euro pp) (expensive)
Mueso de Storia della Scienza (expensive) www.imss.fi.it
Palazzo Vecchio- tower (expensive)
Ponte Vecchio- bridge, then shop (free)
Piazza della Signoria- walk by
Via di Tornabuoni- good shopping, like 5th ave
Bobli Gardens- beautiful greenery (expensive+ 2 museums that look just ok) 055-265-1838
San Miniato al Monte- hill above Florence, church (free) (far)
Pitti Palazzo- palace with 4 museums (expensive) 055-238-8613

Copa Caccia

Day 3 Train to Venice in AM

charnees

Please do get yourself a good street map of the historic center of Florence. You will see that Piazza della Signoria is NOT a square outside the Accademia, but is back past the Duomo and down about 6 blocks towards the river.

There is an outdoor market for mostly clothing in Piazza San Lorenzo which is closer to the Accademia than P. d Signoria. Also a couple of blocks away from San Lorenzo is the Mercado Centrale, which is a huge food market, not a leather market. It's the biggest indoor food market in the country and maybe also the oldest, I forget. Fantastic!

There is an outdoor market under a loggia about a block from P. d Signoria that features lots of handicrafts and the bronze statue of Il Porcellino (wild boar) that everyone rubs on its snout.

When you are at the Duomo, you can climb to the top of that, as well as the Campanile, so you should decide which one you want. They are right next to each other, so why do you separate them on your itinerary?

The Museum of the Duomo is more museum than workshop. But it does have a lot of the original art that used to be outside: for example, the panels on the doors to the Baptistery outside are copies -- the originals are in the Duomo museum.

the Palazzo Vecchio is IN Piazza della Signoria, so you don't have to make it a separate visit. There in the Piazza you will see the copy of the David, in the spot where David once was before it was moved indoors to preserve it. And the Uffizi is right next to P. d. Signoria.

As for which things are just OK, you will get a lot of different opinions on some of those things. For example, I think the Medici chapel and tombs at San Lorenzo are amazing because of the fantastic inlaid marble and Michelangelo's sculptures. I also think the Bargello with its sculpture is too good to skip, not as you called it, OK.

San Miniato al Monte not only has a church, it has a fantastic view of Florence. You can take a bus up there if you don't want to walk. I don't know what the bathroom up there is like now, but when we were there a few years ago it was very filthy, so something to do before you go up there is:

Make time to stop at Gilli's (pronounced Jilly's) in Piazza della Repubblica not far from the Duomo and go to the bar inside and order coffee and a fantastic pastry, or sit outside and order from a waiter. It will cost 3 times as much but it's worth sitting down for a while (and using their clean bathroom, too).

ira

Hi I,

>Accademia-...14 Euro pp) (expensive)

Uffizi and Academia Museum Reservations
The easiest and cheapest way is to call Florence 1010987 (dial around number), 011 (U.S. international access code) 39 (Italy's country code) then 055-294-883 8:30-18:30 M-F and 8:30-12:00 Sat. Florence time. There is a long listing of press 1 for this and 2 for that--press 4 for bookings. You will get an English speaking operator and in 2-3 minutes YOU CAN RESERVE FOR BOTH. This is through the reservation service at the Uffizi and costs beyond the normal entry fee only about 3 euro for the service. This is MUCH cheaper than the commercial booking services.

You will not be charged for the reservations unless you use them.

Try to get up to Fiesole (Etruscan ruins) and watch the sun set over the city from the terrace of the bar Blu. No. 7 bus from the SMN train station - 0:20 hr - 1E.

Enjoy your visit.

MollyBrown

Bookmarking....Thank you for posting the reservation numbers and websites - very helpful.

Naxos

Jean

I don't think this entire list is do-able in two days, particularly since you only arrive on the first day (as opposed to the night prior).

Do you plan to climb to the lantern of the Duomo? That will take a fair amount of time. The museum of the Duomo would take an hour minimum, although we spent more like 2-3 hours there.

No need to climb both the Duomo and the Campanile, but the interior of the neighboring Battistery is definitely worth seeing.

The Palazzo Medici Riccardi's sights are essentially three rooms (one of them the Florence town council chamber) and an interior garden. Although the tiny chapel is fascinating, I'd drop this stop from your busy itinerary.

The Medici Chapel and tomb are definitely worth a visit.

The Science Museum is interesting, but I don't think you'll have time on Day 2 for this stop. Likewise, the Palazzo Vecchio is interesting, but other sights (such as the Santa Croce church) rate higher IMO.

I think the shopping at Mercado Nuovo is a bit nicer than at San Lorenzo. This is where the Il Porcellino statue mentioned by Charnees is located.

The Boboli Gardens can take a long time to see in their entirety. Unless you plan to visit the Pitti Palace (which I don't think you really should attempt in the same day as the Bargello and the Ufizzi), this is a bit off your path.

If you want to see San Miniato al Monte and Piazzale Michelangelo, take a cab to the church, then walk down to the piazzale. From there you can catch another cab at the taxi stand or take a bus back to the historical center.

You will (or should) walk through Piazza della Signoria during the day, but you should also re-visit in the evening. The Piazza della Repubblica is also nice to walk through in the evening.

artlover

Our hotel reserved for us at Academia and Ufitzi and I would think if you e-mailed your hotel, they would do the same.

Allow some time to just "wander" and take in the atmosphere and not be rushed.