There are 3 combo ticket options for Duomo sites in Florence: Brunelleschi, Giotto, and Ghiberti. All three give you access to the sites each included for 3 days. The Brunelleschi ticket is the only one that allows you to climb the dome, and it requires you to choose the day and time of the climb. Unfortunately, that means that you are forced to climb the dome on the first day of your 3-day period. So if you want to start visiting some of the sites on a Monday and climb the dome on Wednesday, you're out of luck.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16655 posts
Yes, that's the way it works, and I'm unsure why that's a problem? Let's just say that I can't figure a reason why you wouldn't want to do the climb on the first day of the pass' validity? If it's a weather concern, as you must choose a day to begin with, the weather will be what it is on whatever day that is. Am I missing something?
IMHO it's nice not to have to explore the entire complex in a single day! :O)
Posted by
OP
19 posts
I arrive in Florence late on a Monday afternoon. A friend has arranged for a personal tour of the Duomo Museum, a subject of great interest to me, by a local art historian. She, the historian, is only available on Monday evening and said that we should dedicate a few hours to the visit, which is my preference also. So that takes up my first day in Florence. On Tuesday I have meetings all day in Siena, and return to Florence late at night. My hope on Wednesday was to climb the Duomo, visit the Baptistry, and visit the Uffizi and possibly the Accademia (and if time, squeeze in the Santa Reparata). Early Thursday morning I leave for Rome. So flexibility on climbing the Dome would have been beneficial to me, and I didn't see any techinical reason the ticketing process couldn't accommodate that. But perhaps my experience is absolutely unique, and no one else would find the flexibility useful.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16655 posts
Ah, I see. Yours really is a unique situation! So the guide for the tour you're taking on Monday isn't including ticket price in her fee, correct? So it would be €15 for the least expensive ticket to access the museum (Ghiberti Pass) and an additional €30 for access to the dome and baptistry on Wed. (Brunelleschi Pass).
Are you arriving on a transatlantic flight on Monday?
Posted by
OP
19 posts
The guide isn't a professional, simply a friend of a friend with a great deal of expertise in this area, and isn't charging anything for showing me the collection. I believe she wanted to visit the museum again as part of some academic work she's doing and I will be meeting her inside. When I told her my plans, she recommended that I look at the various ticketing options but may herself not been aware of the Duomo climbing time requirements. I am arriving from the states on Monday afternoon.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16655 posts
Yikes, taking on a museum right off an international flight is a sketchy undertaking. Assuming this is not your first looooong flight, I'll need to assume that you know how jet lag affects you? It hits us all differently. While I can generally stay up and do some exploring before it knocks me out, that exploring must be outside in the fresh air, outside of a short stop-by at a minor church or two. A museum? That would be too much to absorb in a foggy state.