Museum in Florence

The Renaissance collection everything else is measured against — Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Titian, Caravaggio. Big enough to exhaust anyone, so pick a few rooms rather than walking all of it. Book a timed entry; the walk-up queue routinely runs over an hour and the corridor windows over the Arno are worth arriving fresh for.

The Medici's later palace across the river, holding several museums at once — the Palatine Gallery's Raphaels are the reason to come — with the Boboli Gardens climbing the hill behind. Easily a half day if you do both, and much quieter than the Uffizi. The Oltrarno around it is the least touristed part of central Florence.

Florence's sculpture museum in a former prison, and the quiet alternative to the Accademia — Donatello's David, Michelangelo's early work, and a courtyard worth sitting in. Rarely busy even in August. An hour, and a good pairing with Santa Croce five minutes away.

Michelangelo's David, and the unfinished Prisoners in the corridor leading to him, which many people end up preferring — half-carved figures still emerging from the block. A small museum built around one sculpture: an hour is plenty. Book ahead, and go early or late, because the room around David fills.