We are visiting Florence for the first time in May 2024 and see there is availability for purchasing the Brunelleschi Pass for our dates. We also see many tour groups also using the pass for triple or quadruple the price. Our question is, do we need a tour guide to get the full enjoyment of the pass? Thank you for any information you can offer!
Posted by
Seattle
284 posts
Absolutely not! Purchase the passes from the official site, duomo.firenze.it, show up at your allotted time, and enjoy the glories of the Duomo Complex.
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1026 posts
Hello campbellkristie5, and welcome to the boards!
In my opinion you can enjoy the wonder of the Duomo and and most sights in Florence fine on your own. Tours can help add context and depth but I would save them for things that you are really interested in since you can find guides for about anything you want.
Rick offers good, easy to understand background and guides for all the big sights. Check out the guide books, videos and the self guided tours in the books and audio guides. You can also watch shows and movies before you go to add context when you get to see it in person. For example: Italy's Invisible Cities: Episode 3 - Florence offers some great Florence history and architecture stories.
I've used guides and/or city walking tours in several cities and good tour guide can add a lot of great background to cities if you're interested. But all of this depends on your schedule, budget, and inclination. Your first trip to Florence is likely to be busy enough without trying to add yet another activity into it.
Don't miss the Duomo museum - included in the pass - it is pretty amazing. Just keep going up, it's worth it.
Have a great trip!
=Tod
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Super helpful information - thank you both for you input!