My wife and I recently visited the Palazzo Vecchio and Bobble Gardens during our visit to Florence. The Palazzo Vecchio was the family home of the Medici's and was fascinating. Disappointedly, my wife's audio video guide kept breaking down. As we had started on the top floor and were working our way down, we had to keep returning to the entrance to get her audio video guide replaced, not just once, but three times. Eventually we were offered the opportunity to join a small guided tour of the Palazzo Vecchio. The tour guide was good and informative, with a personal tour missing from the audio video guide. It was though incredibly frustrating for my wife to be given three faulty devices (mine on the other hand worked perfectly throughout our visit).

Skip the lines are a must and money well spent. Otherwise, plan on spending some serious wait time for the larger venues. As far as the tours themselves, all of our tour guides were very knowledgeable and their English was fine. However, for us the actual live guide was not a make or break, especially for the smaller museums or cathedrals. It would really depend on your specific preferences.

The visit is an absolute must to understand Florence's history and cultural/artistic contributions. But you would get a lot more from the visit if you read beforehand at least a short introduction about Florence's history and the significance of the Palazzo Vecchio in this history. the guide video device is much too succinct to provide a clear view (not to mention it is not easy to manipulate). the visit itself is extremely enriching. Don't miss it.