What to do in Venice and Florence?

A group of friends and I are taking a short trip to Italy where we will be spending a couple of days in Venice and a couple if Florence.
What are some of the things that we MUST see and what are some of the things that we should avoid?

I'm already booked to stay at the Hotel Arlecchino in Venice and the Hotel Meridiana in Florence.

Venice: Your hotel is a 10 minute stroll from the closest vaporetto stop. You'll have to cross the open air bus terminal to get to and from the vaporetto. You are not close to center city (San Marco) and if you aren't used to walking much you'll be knackered by day's end. Do consider a vaporetto pass for the amount of days you'll be in Venice - it may be expensive but just consider that it costs Euro 6.00 each time you get on the vap. without the pass. It can add up.... save your money for wine. Contact your hotel for more information on the Venice Card.
With transportation out of the way now we can get down on what to see and do. There are two modern art museums in Venice: 1. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection (part of the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation in NYC) 鈥?one of the finest collections of European and American Art of the 1st half of the 20th century. It鈥檚 located on the Grand Canal.... great art & great view of the canal... and a good restaurant too! & 2. C脿 Pesaro 鈥?a civic museum that has collected bits and pieces of art throughout the years of the various Biennale art events over the years. The collection is extraordinary and the building, recently renovated, is a jewel and worth paying a visit.
Places of interest are the Doges Palace and the Basilica (not cathedral) of San Marco close by and of course Plaza San Marco 鈥?Europe鈥檚 sitting room. It may cost a pretty penny but it鈥檚 worth sitting at one of the open air cafes to have a drink, listen to the 4 or 5 piece orchestra play and watch time go by.
You may want to take a trip out to the Jewish Ghetto 鈥?see a bit of Judaic history in Venice and learn about that community鈥檚 roots in the Most Serene Republic. There are visits to the Synagogues and a museum.
The Biennale 鈥?one of the hottest contemporary art venues in the world. It may take you a couple of days to cover all that the Biennale has to offer. Google 鈥淏iennale Venice鈥?for more information.
Places to eat 鈥?鈥淟e Testiere鈥? Taverna San Trovaso鈥? Ai Gondolieri鈥?are just a few of the ones I can vouch for. Maybe others on line can come up with others for you.

First, you might want to invest in a travel book or two at your local bookstore. I just returned from visiting and I found the information/research ahead of time (both good things and bad experiences of other travelers) helped alot.

That said, Florence has several locations to get gold jewelry in addition to the wonderful art museums and cathedrals.

Where are you staying in Venice. The Rialto is a great hotel next to the Rialto bridge. wonderful place to plant yourself while your visit the sites.

The Venetians scare me. But anyways, I don't like l'arte so when I was in Venezia, I liked the modern art museum. Mi piace l'arte moderna (I like modern art). Gondola rides are expensive (I think at 90 Euro), so if you opt to do that, find 9 other people to ride with you. Or you can just take the water taxi around like I did. It's a little bit less romantic but you'll end up being just as floored by the beauty of Venice.
I think the only other thing I did in Venezia was go to the shops and check out the cathedral.

There are A LOT of tourists in Venice, like beyond belief, so I think for that reason, Venetians in my experience have been rude. Literally, every interaction I had was bad. And I speak Italian so I didn't expect these things to happen. Just don't be daunted by them. It's a beautiful city and don't let their attitudes affect you.

In Florence, I lived in Florence, so this is my area of expertise. You should already know the must-sees: the Duomo, the David, and Venus. I can't really recommend too much because a lot of the draws to Florence are art related things, and again, I only like modern art. There's the big street market with all of the Italian "cose tipiche" (typical things). Eat gelato. Go to the Ponte Vecchio on the Arno.

I've been to Florence and Venice several times. I used to live in Italy so I know a lot about the places you should see.

There is a lot to do in Florence and it is one of my favorite cities en Italia. You should see Michelangelo's famous sculpture the David. It really is neat to see in person.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_David

Also, the Duomo is a very beautiful building to visit with a lot of history. The shops in Florence are a great passtime and give you a good view on Italian lifestyle.

In palazzo vecchio you will find a beautiful cathedral, great authentic italian restaurants, gelato shops, and real italian stores.

Venice is one of the most breath taking cities in the world. It's man made beauty is no doubt stunning and the food and stores there will keep you busy most of the day. Also, you can ride in an infamous gondala but they can be as much as 120 euro, so I suggest taking a water taxi which is just as good.

Well I hope you have a great time in one of the most beautiful countries in the world!

in florence you must go to the top of the dome its one of the most amazing sights i have ever deen in my life
venice is just a great place to walk around & get lost in dont really worrie about where you are going just have fun walking around & you will find your way back to your hotel eventuely