Don't spend more than the bare minimum in crowded tourist traps Florence and Pisa. Say, no longer than two days and half a day, respectively. Rather, wind down in places like Lucca and Siena. Except the latter for a few days in July and August, when it becomes one of the craziest places on the planet. That's one of the few times when it might be actually ok to chase loud crowds that are totally losing their minds. (That's for an ancient and, from the outside, rather bizarre horse race. You won't get it until you're there.)