As many others have said (but it’s worth repeating) Florence is a MUST if you’re interested in art. Make sure to give yourself enough time there to see the Uffizi, the Accademia, the Bargello, AND putter around to all the churches that have amazing masterworks still on display in their original locations. In some ways, I loved seeing art in the churches best of all – so amazing to look at an altarpiece that I studied back in college (I took a lot of art history myself).

I know someone else suggested renting a car and staying outside of Florence, but that’s not what we did – we stayed in a place very near the Piazza della Signoria (which is next to the Uffizi, and I hope I’m spelling everything corrrectly :D), and then we walked everywhere. I preferred that to having to worry about driving and parking, and Florence is VERY walkable – I don’t think we ever took any public transportation at all on our explorations of the city.