Florence DIY Excursion

[tvlworm]

Hi! I’m looking for some guidance and recommendations for our upcoming visit to Florence (first time visitor!).  We’re booking the excursion through Viator that basically is transportation to Florence and Pisa, from Livorno.  

We’ll have approximately 4hrs in Florence according to the description. What are the top recommendations for what is logistically possible to see in that time frame? Should we focus on just truly sightseeing and taking in the scenery by walking around the city or would we have enough time to actually see places with get skip the line tickets? 
 

Thanks 🙂 

[euro cruiser]

You could go inside one place safely in that amount of time, so look through the possibilities and pick the one that interests you the most.

[Gimpy McFarlan]

We are seriously considering visiting Florence on our own from Livorno.  We will hop on the train to Florence, visit the Ascademia (to see David), visit Uffizi and then the Duomo.  Rick Steves has multiple pre-recorded walking tours of Florence so we plan to spend any additional time doing those.

[pkster]

4 minutes ago, Gimpy McFarlan said:

We are seriously considering visiting Florence on our own from Livorno.  We will hop on the train to Florence, visit the Ascademia (to see David), visit Uffizi and then the Duomo.  Rick Steves has multiple pre-recorded walking tours of Florence so we plan to spend any additional time doing those.

That's a lot to pack into one day, and probably too much!  You'll definitely need to obtain timed reservations ahead of time for whatever you choose to do.  When I was in Florence, visits to those sites was spread over three days.

[tvlworm]

1 hour ago, Gimpy McFarlan said:

We are seriously considering visiting Florence on our own from Livorno.  We will hop on the train to Florence, visit the Ascademia (to see David), visit Uffizi and then the Duomo.  Rick Steves has multiple pre-recorded walking tours of Florence so we plan to spend any additional time doing those.

That’s exactly what I to do too! I spent some of my time doing yesterday, plotting out the distances so I could estimate what times I should select on the tickets 🙂 

 

Is the train faster than the bus? We currently have a Viator option for coach transportation to/from which includes an hour in Pisa, but interested in learning about the train if it’s a faster option! 

[Gimpy McFarlan]

34 minutes ago, tvlworm said:

Is the train faster than the bus? We currently have a Viator option for coach transportation to/from which includes an hour in Pisa, but interested in learning about the train if it’s a faster option! 

 

The fastest trains from Livorno to Florence take around an hour and 20 minutes.  I'm not sure how fast the commercial buses are.  We are not that interested in Pisa so stopping there does not appeal to us.  Most of the excursions we have seen (which utilize buses) include some type of shopping stop which also does not appeal to us.  Since most of the sites we are interested in are with a 15 minute walk from each other spending the day there seems like a no brainer.

[euro cruiser]

1 hour ago, tvlworm said:

Is the train faster than the bus? We currently have a Viator option for coach transportation to/from which includes an hour in Pisa, but interested in learning about the train if it’s a faster option! 

If everything goes right with the bus, no unusual traffic or accidents on the road, then no, the train is not faster, it's about the same amount of time.

 

However, if there's any kind of a glitch on the road, in that case the train wins.

 

The train is a little more difficult because you've got to get from the port bus drop off point (Piazza del Municipio) to the train station (Piazzetta Stazione), about a mile and a half.  You can walk, take a public bus, or a very, very expensive taxi.    The bus tours generally pick up right where the port buses drop off.

 

On the other hand, with the train you go where you want, when you want.   No extra stops, etc.

[slidergirl]

If you want to try to do all of those things in one shot, you're going to have to prioritize in a major way.  For the Ufizzi, are you just going to walk through, not stopping to see anything specific?  I spent several hours in there myself.  For the Accademica, are you just going to high-tail it to David, click it off your list and leave?  You're going to need appointment tickets in advance to breeze through.  If it's like when I was last in Florence, you have to queue up to get inside the Cathedral.  To be honest, for me it was the outside that was the most attracting.   But, you have to keep time to just wander around the Centro Storico of Florence, stop and have a sandwich or an ice cream.  You have a full day!!!

[tvlworm]

50 minutes ago, slidergirl said:

If you want to try to do all of those things in one shot, you're going to have to prioritize in a major way.  For the Ufizzi, are you just going to walk through, not stopping to see anything specific?  I spent several hours in there myself.  For the Accademica, are you just going to high-tail it to David, click it off your list and leave?  You're going to need appointment tickets in advance to breeze through.  If it's like when I was last in Florence, you have to queue up to get inside the Cathedral.  To be honest, for me it was the outside that was the most attracting.   But, you have to keep time to just wander around the Centro Storico of Florence, stop and have a sandwich or an ice cream.  You have a full day!!!

 We do have a timed admission ticket to the Accademia for seeing David so hopefully that will help. I’m thinking we probably will not do the interior of the cathedral, out of sake of time.  Where is the best vantage point for the exterior?  
I too wasn’t certain about going through the Ufizzi, I read a different recommendation that there are good statues around the exterior and it’s close to the famous bridge. I was hoping they would have some recommended paths like the Louvre does to guide you to specific must see exhibits. I definitely want to enjoy the day and not feel like we are rushing just for the sake of seeing things so I love the suggestions for ice cream! 

[euro cruiser]

While art lovers will disagree on exactly what the top pieces are at the Uffizi, everyone has Botticelli's Birth of Venus on the list, as well as a few others.  Why not take a look through a few of these "top" lists and see if the stuff even appeals to you?  I don't see the point of looking just for the sake of looking, unless it's something you like.

 

The 10 Most Important Artworks at the Uffizi Gallery, Florence - Mynews28

 

The Most Important Artworks at The Uffizi Gallery, Florence (theculturetrip.com)

 

Uffizi Gallery Collection:Must See Artworks at Uffizi Museum in Florence (visituffizi.org)

[slidergirl]

4 hours ago, tvlworm said:

 We do have a timed admission ticket to the Accademia for seeing David so hopefully that will help. I’m thinking we probably will not do the interior of the cathedral, out of sake of time.  Where is the best vantage point for the exterior?  
I too wasn’t certain about going through the Ufizzi, I read a different recommendation that there are good statues around the exterior and it’s close to the famous bridge. I was hoping they would have some recommended paths like the Louvre does to guide you to specific must see exhibits. I definitely want to enjoy the day and not feel like we are rushing just for the sake of seeing things so I love the suggestions for ice cream! 

No specific place to best view the cathedral - you get up close and personal with it.  Walk around it.  

 

There is a David among other statues in the Piazza della Signoria.   I've joked that since I've seen that one in the times I've walked through the Piazza that I don't have to pay to go into th Academia. 

[euro cruiser]

One of the most interesting aspects of the duomo is the dome, more specifically how it was built.  For centuries the secret of how Brunellsechi built the dome was lost, and only in the last few decades have they figured it out.  A scale model is in the process of being built to confirm that what they believe is true.  

 

The Mini-Dome | The Florentine

[cruisemom42]

13 hours ago, slidergirl said:

No specific place to best view the cathedral - you get up close and personal with it.  Walk around it.  

 

There is a David among other statues in the Piazza della Signoria.   I've joked that since I've seen that one in the times I've walked through the Piazza that I don't have to pay to go into th Academia. 

 

More Florence trivia -- there are actually 3 of the Michelangelo "David" sculptures in Florence: the original in the Uffizi, the one in Piazza della Signoria, and another bronze cast of the same statue in Piazzale Michelangelo.

 

While I love that they have kept a copy on the Piazza della Signoria in its original location (you can understand a lot when you see art where it was originally intended to be), I can truthfully say that having seen all of them, there is no comparison with the work of the original. 

[pkster]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

More Florence trivia -- there are actually 3 of the Michelangelo "David" sculptures in Florence: the original in the Uffizi, the one in Piazza della Signoria, and another bronze cast of the same statue in Piazzale Michelangelo.

 

 

The original David is at the Accademia Gallery, not the Uffizi.

[pkster]

2 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

One of the most interesting aspects of the duomo is the dome, more specifically how it was built.  For centuries the secret of how Brunellsechi built the dome was lost, and only in the last few decades have they figured it out.  A scale model is in the process of being built to confirm that what they believe is true.  

 

The Mini-Dome | The Florentine

What really stands out for me thinking back to my Duomo visit was climbing the dome from the inside and taking in the beautiful Last Judgement fresco, then being rewarded with breathtaking panoramic views of the city and beyond from the top of the dome.  There's so much more to the Duomo complex though, including the Baptistery, Giotto's Campanile (which you can also climb for awesome views of the city), and the museum.

[cruisemom42]

14 minutes ago, pkster said:

 

The original David is at the Accademia Gallery, not the Uffizi.

 

Temporary brain freeze, sorry.

[euro cruiser]

2 minutes ago, pkster said:

What really stands out for me thinking back to my Duomo visit was climbing the dome from the inside and taking in the beautiful Last Judgement fresco, then being rewarded with breathtaking panoramic views of the city and beyond from the top of the dome.

I've made that climb many times, it's very evocative.  It's easy to put yourself in the place of a monk hundreds of years ago climbing up to check the light.

 

I'm embarrassed to admit that I was so focused on the climb itself and the architecture of the dome that I didn't read anything about the fresco, and it wasn't until my second or third trip up there that I even realized what the subject was.

[slidergirl]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Temporary brain freeze, sorry.

No more gelato for you 😸

[euro cruiser]

51 minutes ago, slidergirl said:

No more gelato for you 😸

Ohhhhh, I don't think the punishment fits the crime!  That's cruel and unusual.

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, slidergirl said:

No more gelato for you 😸

 

[slidergirl]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

That's EXACTLY what I saw in my brain when I said that!!!

[samavarcruiser]

Book your tickets in advance, that is the only recommendation I have for you.