We will be arriving in florence on a sunday afternoon. We have one full day there and we leave the next day which is tuesday. Here is the problem. the only full day we have is a monday, which i have learned is when all the museums are closed. Any suggestions on how we could see the museums on the half days we are there and what are we suppose to do on the full day (monday)?

Here is a list, from the Florence Tourist Office, of museums open on Monday. Churches (in addition to those listed) are also open on Monday.

http://www.firenzeturismo.it/musei.asp?parole=&area=-1&tipo=-1&lun=si

You can call Firenze Musei, Tel: 011 39 055 294883, to reserve for the Uffizi and the Accademia (David) during the time that you are in Florence. The fee for each reservation is 3 Euro, but if there is no line, you can go right in, without picking up your reserved ticket and paying the fee.

thank you !!!

Sorry, here's the "open on Monday" list in English:

http://www.firenzeturismo.it/en_musei.asp?parole=&area=-1&tipo=-1&lun=si

hello tina,
depending on how late you arrive in florence on sunday afternoon, the uffizi stays open until 6:50pm and the accademia until 6:30pm .... so you can see both rather quickly or pick one and meander. for some, the uffizi means a day-long event, but i've had other travelers who have walked through it in less than one hour!

you won't have any trouble filling monday - there are still a lot of places open - like giotto's campanile - walk to the top to see all of florence... or walk to the top of the duomo and be even higher than the campanile! if you're afraid of heights, then spend some time in the duomo itself, and the baptistery across from the duomo's entrance. don't miss the duomo museum - its so wonderful - lots of brunelleschi's actual tools displayed in there -then wander down via calzaiuoli and walk all the way around the orsanmichele - just have a guide book handy to tell you the details about this former grainery.

spend time in the piazza signoria, the civic center of florence. and then there's the bargello (it might be open depending on what monday of the month you're there - its open the first and third mondays), the medici chapels, santa maria novella, the science museum, the ponte vecchio, brancacci chapel, the boboli gardens, the pitti palace (open most mondays), and,to top it all off, hike up the hill to san miniato church... maybe the brothers will be singing... and back down to pizzale michelangelo to watch the sunset.

find a nice restaurant to have dinner and relax - but, get ready, because florence really comes alive after hours. enjoy!

thanks again! looks like i was worried for nothing about monday

There is a lot of art in the Churches and I think they are open. http://www.operaduomo.firenze.it/english/opera/orari.asp is the web site for the duomo and its museum. Very worth a visit and open on Monday.

hello again tina,
i forgot to add that there's always the option of taking the bus up to fiesole and spending a delightful day exploring, eating, drinking wine, and just relaxing.
remember the italian credo: dolce far niente...
the sweetness of doing nothing.

If you plan to do shopping, remember that on Monday the open air markets are on rest (it is the only occasion to see the S. Lorenzo piazza without the carts) and most shops have a half day rest on Monday morning.