Florence is a reservation city. The Uffizi and the Duomo complex punish people who wing it. Book those, eat across the river, and do not add Pisa as a half-day after the David.
Florence invented the modern museum crush. You cannot improvise the Uffizi in high season. Once those slots are in the calendar, the city is walkable, the river is the orientation line, and the south bank is where dinner should happen.
The mistake is stacking David, Venus and a dome climb in one day because they look close on a map. That is how you remember queues. One major interior per half-day.
Book: Uffizi, Accademia, Duomo climb, Oltrarno food.
Skip: Pisa tacked onto exhaustion, leather-market "workshops" that are sales rooms, and sunset tours of a free square.
The copy of David in Palazzo Vecchio's courtyard and the bronze in Piazzale Michelangelo exist so you can decide whether you still need the Accademia. Most people still do. The marble in the Accademia is not the same object as the postcards.
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Official timed ticket first. A guide helps if you want Botticelli explained in an hour rather than wandering 90 rooms. Do not combine with Accademia the same morning.
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You are going for one statue. The rest of the museum is a bonus. Thirty minutes with David is enough. Any tour that spends two hours here is padding.
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The dome climb is a timed slot with 400+ steps, no lift, and a tight gallery. Book it or skip the whole climbing fantasy. The cathedral floor is free and usually a queue of its own.
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Eat in Santo Spirito, not on Piazza della Signoria. A food tour on night one prevents the lampredotto-vs-tourist-menu problem.
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If you only have energy for one more museum, Bargello (sculpture) beats a exhausted shuffle through Pitti. Boboli Gardens are the outdoor version of Pitti and better in good weather.
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Half day, two estates maximum. Full-day "Siena, San Gimignano and Chianti" is a coach checklist. If you want San Gimignano, give it its own day.
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The viewpoint is free. A tour is a walk up a hill with commentary. Save the money unless you hate maps. Go 40 minutes before sunset, not at 8pm with a thousand people already there.
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Three full days for Uffizi, Duomo dome, Accademia, Oltrarno and one museum extra. Two is the highlights only. Pisa is a separate half day you will resent if you steal it from the Uffizi.
Run the numbers. It helps if you are museum-stacking for 72 hours including Pitti and smaller sites. It does not help if you only want Uffizi, Accademia and the dome — those three are cheaper bought apart, and the dome slot is still separate.
Uffizi and Accademia yes, always. Dome climb yes. Bargello often fine with less notice. August and Easter are hostile to spontaneity.
One bistecca for the table is plenty. Florence is also vegetables, soup and panini. Tourist menus near the Duomo are a different cuisine.
Only if you have a spare half day and accept that the field of miracles is a photo stop. Lucca is the better extra town if you have a full day.
