Duomo in Florence and other advice

Also, I tried to find this information in my RS book but found about 50 pages had been cut out of my used book. Who does that??

"Also, I tried to find this information in my RS book but found about 50 pages had been cut out of my used book. Who does that??"

Actually lots of people, many on this forum, do that. However to trade-in or resell a used book with pages missing is about as low as you can go. If someone is only interested in certain pages and cut them out then the rest of the book goes in the trash.

Regarding your question I'm sure the line was to climb the dome not just to enter the Duomo, unless there was something special going on.

You are in a great location! Firenze is compact, so walking is easy. Take the bus 12 (I think) to Piazzale Michelangelo for a sunset drink.

Don't know why the line was long, if it was moving fairly quickly it was to get into the Duomo; slower, to climb it. Lines are marked with signs at head of the line, so look for those. The line to climb the bell tower may be shorter. You can prebuy tickets, the TI office can help with that, or someone here will know how.

My favorite museum, after the big ones, is San Marco, same street as Accademia and almost never a line to get in. Also, the church of Santa Maria Novella has great artwork.

After travelers have cut pages out of Rick's books, they should not then turn around and sell them to booksellers as used books. I hope no one here is doing that.

We were just in Florence for the same amount of time as you and stayed within spitting distance of the Duomo. We saw that line every day, too. It's to get into the Duomo chapel, we were told. But, we were able to zip right in late afternoon, right after it rained.

Somehow we couldn't find our Florence guidebook when we arrived, so we bought the Kindle version the first night.
It was worth every penny. Consider the price of the book to saving us time and a lot of guesswork. (And I'm the kind of person who usually check out guidebooks from the library!)

Florence is so small that we walked everywhere... It was freeing not having to figure out local public transportation.

If you want to climb the dome (and I recommend it, I enjoyed it a lot), get there first thing in the morning, before it opens. I was the third person in line when I did it. I seem to remember reading that bit of advice in Rick's book, and it worked for me. One disadvantage to going later is that you are stuck going at the pace of the people ahead of you, and it can be a much slower slog.

I second the advice of making your way to Piazzale Michelangelo. I actually walked up there (it's a long walk uphill but I love walking).

Something I also did when I was in Florence was take the bus (the #7) to Fiesole. If you read A Room with a View you'll recall that they took a carriage ride to Fiesole. It's up in the hills overlooking Florence. I walked part of the way back down. It's a nice smaller village worth a visit if you have the time and get overwhelmed by all the art museums and churches in Florence.

And take a walk in the Oltrarno. (Yes, I'm recommending you do a lot of walking, but Florence lends itself to that.)

We got there at 9 am to climb and there was no line. It was great to go up with no one in front of us, so we didn't have to wait or slow down.

Florence is awesome! Couple of bits of advice...

-Morning Duomo is a must as others have said. We had a great time climbing it. Get there first thing in the AM.

-If you like churches, make sure you see Santa Croce and San Miniato (right near Piazza Michelangelo)

-If you are a foodie, hit up Mercato Centrale for lunch

-If you are planning on seeing the Accademia and the Uffizi, definitely pre-book your reservations

Have fun!!!

Being pressed for time I chose to ascend the campanile (bell tower) to get a great view of the dome itself (rather than inside looking out). Its also less crowded and an easier ascent.

That was the line to climb the dome..if it was the line on the left side of the church...as you look at the front. It moves slowly. If you see the line that goes into the front of the church, that one moves. Ore quickly...maybe 30 min in line.

If you have pre purchased tickets to do the climb, you can bypass that LONG line..other wise, you can be stuck for a few hours waiting.

Thanks everyone. We climbed the dome this morning and it was amazing.

One more question, what is the best way to get to the airport in the morning? Our flight leaves at 11:30am and we're staying in the Piazza Signoria. Is public transportation reliable enough? We haven't had to use it in Florence yet.

Grazie
Sarah