Hi all. I'm trying to put the finishing touches on our day in Florence. Are reservations a "must" for the Duomo? Or does everybody just wait in line? Can I make reservations to avoid a long line? Is there an entry fee? Thanks for any info. My job is really busy right now, and I am trying to plan our Italy trip with 5 minutes here and there. (Kind of speed planning..) I appreciate all the great posts on these boards. It helps me so much. Thanks.
Martha
Nope. just show up and hope there's no line. I recommend a little bit before sunset for the best views.
There is no admission fee for the duomo interior. Actually, the inside is somewhat underwhelming, especially when compared to the exterior. You will need to pay if you wish to climb the dome or the bell tower, or visit the duomo museum.
Do I have to make advance reservations if we want to climb the dome or the tower? ....I'm trying to avoid as many lines as I can.... Thanks!
Martha
If you find the line up to climb the dome is too long, just walk around the corner to Giotto's tower (bell tower) and you may find no line there at all. At 414 steps it's only about 40 or 50 less than the dome and has an incredible view of the city.
Thanks everybody! I can hardly wait.
Martha
A few more advantages to choosing the bell tower climb instead of the dome climb: 1) you get practically the same city view as from the dome; 2) you get to see the dome itself; 3) there are several landings along the way to rest and view the duomo / dome; and 4) wait time is much shorter to enter, at least at the time I visited. I suppose a disadvantage of choosing the tower would be not getting to see the inner workings of the dome, but I understand the dome climb is a one-way journey through very tight spaces at times.
Also consider a visit to the baptistry in front of the duomo. It can be a comfortable place to recover from your climb; the interior (especially the ceiling) is stunning; and the bronze door replicas on the exterior are a work of art. No reservations needed here either.
We found lines for both the Duomo and the tower. They are both on the same side of the church so be observant. I believe that the side door for the dome stairs opens at 8:30 with the front doors to the church for tourists open about 10:00. I agree with Lamont that the inside of il Duomo was really underwhelming. In fact, when we were there, you couldn't get under the dome as it was roped off for religious services.
If you want to see a much better history of il Duomo, walk about 150' across the street from the left rear of il Duomo and go into the Opera del Duomo Museum. It's modern and contains all of the history and historical objects associated with il Duomo. The original "Gates to Paradise" panels that were originally on the baptistery are in there. The ones on the baptistery are copies. Great stuff in there. No crowds either.
As you've heard already, no reservations required for the duomo or any of the associated entries.
However, if you want to avoid disappointment try to find out in advance it the duomo will be closed for religious services, especially since you're only spending one day in Florence. We didn't and the result was that during the one day we were there the only opening hours were also exactly the two hours we had reserved for the Uffizi. Well, to be precise when we came out of the Uffizi there was still a bit of time the duomo was open but the line-ups were incredible (including for the entry to the bell twer) with all those tourists who had waited the entire day to get in.
