Climbing the Duomo in Florence

It was first come first go when we climbed a few years back.

Best suggestion...go first thing in the morning, right when it opens, or wait until late in the afternoon when the "bus" people leave to go to the next town.

Nope. No reservations. It opens at 10:00am and you should get there about 30 minutes early to stand in line. The line queues up at a door about 150' down the left side of the il Duomo. Don't get confused with the long line that is waiting to go into the front door of the il Duomo. If the il Duomo line gets long, it will go alongside the dome line and can be confusing.

Go early while few people are there and it is cooler.
Bella Duomo.

read Brunnelleschi's dome by ross king before you go. If you like architecture and construction you will appreciate this.

We went about 40 min. before it closed and it was fine. What a view!

I was under the impression it opens at 8:30. Is this correct, or is it 10:00 as mentioned by a previous post?

End of May I was there at 8:30 and it opened shortly thereafter. That was posted time. I got in just ahead of a group of schoolchildren. On the way down (up and down are different paths) there is a small museum space with some of original construction hardware. On your way up at about the level of the base of dome, on top of the drum, keep eye open on outer wall. This is one of few places you can see one of the large timbers and iron hardware that connects them. They are embedded in the masonry and are part of a compression ring running the circumference of the dome. Supposedly there is a large iron chain embedded in the masonry also, but 'xray' type scanning in 1970 failed to detect its presence.

We're in Florence now and I made the climb on Monday after touring the cathedral. We had lunch nearby and watched the line. When it had about 20 people in it, I joined in, and it only took maybe 15 minutes from there. You do not need reservations, or as far as I could tell, even make them. Look like first come, first served to me.

Word of advice...pace yourself and step out of line if you need to. There are several places where you can do this, although most of it is very tight. When you get to the top, relax to enjoy it all. Take your time to savor what you've just done, the absolutely gorgeous scenery you see and try to imagine how they could possibily build it in the 1300-1400's. On your way down you will see tools that they had to create to build it.

Second word of advice...walk, jog or ride a bike quite a lot, and for a period of time before coming here. I did it at someone elses suggestion and it proved so helpful, both at the Duomo and Siena today. Ciao

this is kinda "off the topic", but someone mentioned either getting there early or late..i was there first 2 weeks of may, and i found the best way to check out this lovely town, is get up and out EARLY: on the streets at 7...it is delightful: u see the locals setting up, very peaceful, NO one around, and if you are lucky , a free cup of coffee..:]by 9 or so the zoo begins.

In July we arrived at 8:20am and were 10th in line. Absolutely breathtaking! Bring your camera.

I just want to second Randy's suggestion to read Brunellschi's Dome by Ross King before you go. Also, if you are heading to Rome and plan to see the Sistine Chapel, read Ross King's Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling first. An even better read than Brunelleschi's Dome!

If the line at the Duomo is too long, consider climbing the nearby Campanile. It is almost as high, not as tight inside, and has several places to rest along the way and take great photos. Best of all, you get to see and take photos of the dome itself! As Rick says in his guidebook, the view is obstructed at the top because of the cage, but it's not too bad. You can easily take photos between the cage.

re St Peters, another great read is Basillica, by R A Scotti. More political and historical than construction related. Very, very good!