Travel question

My wife and I have been here for 7 months now and we're finally ready to start seeing the Continent.  We have a three day weekend and have whittled things down to Barcelona and Florence.  Anyone feel strongly about one or the other?  We're looking for more of a family-style trip and do the beaches and/or the culture.  It's mid-May, so we're not sure how much of the beach we'll be able to get, but some advice from others who have fallen in love (or hate) with the cities would be helpful.  Thanks!

My girlfriend and I used to go to Nice for our holidays but 3 years ago we switched to Barcelona and have not regretted it. mainly because of the culture and atmosphere. Going in 2 weeks! Barcelona is not primarily a "beach" type of place, so you would probably find plenty of space on the sand at Barceloneta beach.

I absolutely love Florence, but I haven't been to Barcelona so I can't give you a comparison.  Florence hasn't got beaches, but you'd be up to your eyeballs in culture.    Michaelangelo's David is there, and the Duomo, and gorgeous old bridges like the ponte vecchio.  There are amazing little shops and restaurants, and delicious gelato.  If you enjoy art, architecture, history, and Italian food, you'll be in heaven.   

If you enjoy art, architecture, history, and Italian food, you'll be in heaven.   

Change Italian to Catalan and you've got Barcelona.

Change Italian to Catalan and you've got Barcelona.

I've heard nothing but good things about Barcelona, you can't really go wrong with this decision, impleri 

I'm a passionate lover of both cities (returning to Barcelona in April; Florence in June) and a three-day weekend is a great way to be introduced to both cities.

Florence is a much more heavily touristed city than Barcelona, IMHO.  May is a good time  (before the stifling heat and crowds of June and July) but in Florence you'll still encounter fairly large crowds of every nationality in groups surrounding a pour soul holding an umbrella high in the air.

You can, I think, cram much more into three days in Florence (in terms of art history, European history, social and political history, etc) than in Barcelona.  Florence is a much smaller city, geographically speaking.   You'd be very hard pressed to walk from Miro park in the Montjuic area of Barcelona to Gaudi park and Sagrada Familia, but in Florence you can very easily walk from the main train station to anywhere and everywhere worth seeing (including the Piazzale Michaelangelo overlooking the city, which is a moderately strenuous 20 minute uphill walk out of the city center, but oh what a view after dark).

The flight connections are easier to Barcelona than to Florence.  More often than not UK flights go to Pisa, which is about 40 minutes away (IIRC) from central Florence by train.  Sometimes you can fly into Florence's very small airport, but that is still an expensive 20 minute taxi ride into the main city.

I also think hotels are a bit more expensive in Florence than in Barcelona, just because it is a smaller area and there are simply more tourists there.

Stil, despite desperately loving both cities, for a first trip to the continent I think I'd give a slight edge to Florence.  In a smaller area you'll encounter more stunning, iconic sights than you would in a similar area of Barcelona, which makes a three-day trip feel more full IMHO.  Just the stroll from the main train station to the piazza in front of the Duomo, then down the street to the Palazzo Vecchio and the Piazza della Signoria, then another short stroll over the Ponte Vecchio, and within 15 minutes you've seen the very major sights and can spend the rest of the weekend soaking it all in; whereas in Barcelona you'd likely be spending three days traveling between the major sights on the tourbus or on the metro.

One other note: IMHO the risk of petty theft in Barcelona is also a bit higher than in Florence.  Don't get me wrong-both cities have issues with pickpockets and purse snatchers and the like, but I simply think that the risk in Barcelona is a little higher and you're forced to be a bit more vigilant. 

I'd be extremely happy to make more detailed recommendations for either city depending on which you choose.  In the interest of full disclosure I did live in Florence for a while and am still good friends with some native Florentines.

ETA: The connection from Pisa airport is a little longer than I thought.  You can take a 10 Euro bus direct from the airport to Florence Santa Maria Novella (central train station) that takes 70 minutes; there are also train connections and bus/train connection combinations that can take 60-100 minutes, depending on timing.

I have been leaning towards Florence (and Pisa) prior to posting this for two reasons.  1: We have friends that would like to go to Barcelona as well and we've been trying to plan to go together.  2: Because we only have 2 more years here, we want to go to Italy twice (definitely...more if time/money permit), once to Rome and once elsewhere.  The elsewhere has been between Florence and Venice.  We can think of a host of attractions in the Florence area, but only a few in Venice.  I'm still thinking that Florence will be where we go this time.  Thank you all for your input!

One other note: IMHO the risk of petty theft in Barcelona is also a bit higher than in Florence.  Don't get me wrong-both cities have issues with pickpockets and purse snatchers and the like, but I simply think that the risk in Barcelona is a little higher and you're forced to be a bit more vigilant. 

I'll second that. Apart from pickpocketing (V. common on metro) and bag snatching (we have seen bags snatched by persons sitting on scooters in Barcelona and Milan. Sometimes they carry a knife or scissors to cut the strap) there is the very common "distraction robbery" where someone attempts to take your eye off the ball e.g. by dropping a handful of small change on the ground or showing you a baby or feigning illness or asking for directions or begging and then while you are distracted their friend is putting their hand in your bag).

I'll second that. Apart from pickpocketing (V. common on metro) ...

Yes. In Barcelona, my travel companion was the unfortunate victim of this on the metro when we first arrived. And on the train a few weeks later, I managed to scream enough obsenities at some bastard until he dropped my bag. 

You'll have a great time in both cities, though! I love them both.

Yes. In Barcelona, my travel companion was the unfortunate victim of this on the metro

You see guys on the station following people into trains or eyeballing the passengers already on the train and entering a car that they like the look of.

A friend of mine had her bag stolen in a restaurant in Barcelona.  She put it under the table when she arrived, and by the time she'd finished her meal it was gone. 

A friend of mine had her bag stolen in a restaurant in Barcelona.  She put it under the table when she arrived, and by the time she'd finished her meal it was gone. 

Listed in all the "don't dos" in the tourist guides...

The elsewhere has been between Florence and Venice.  We can think of a host of attractions in the Florence area, but only a few in Venice.  I'm still thinking that Florence will be where we go this time.  Thank you all for your input!

The whole of Venice is an attraction! Seriously, Florence is gorgeous, but Venice is like nowhere else - we went in early May when it wasn't too hot and you could still find places that weren't overcrowded.

I vote for Barcelona, but I'm a bit biased as I've never been to Florence!  What everyone else said, really.

We went with Florence for this trip.  It's a really early flight on a Saturday with a return Monday around midday.  One and a half days to run through Florence, then a night in Pisa (close to the airport).  I'll report back when we go as to how enjoyable it was.  Oh, and we're planning a 3-day run to Barcelona in Spain with our friends.