I have recently discovered that although entrance to St. Peter's in Rome is free, you can purchase low price admission tickets in advance to cut down on standing in line. Is there anything similar for purchase for the Duomo in Florence (if you don't want to climb the dome)?
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I'm pretty sure there's access to the Cathedral via Santa Reparata (Ghiberti Pass, 15 euro). However, the inside of the cathedral isn't very exciting.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
17984 posts
As Jeff posted, you can avoid the free entry queue for the cathedral with the least expensive of the 3 passes available through the duomo's website: the Ghiberti Pass. You do have to book an advance, timed entry slot for Santa Reparata, which is underneath the cathedral, and the specific entrance from which you can also access the main part of the 'newer' church above.
https://duomo.firenze.it/en/discover/crypt-of-santa-reparata
https://duomo.firenze.it/en/728/ghiberti-pass
This pass also allows entry to the Baptistery and Opera del Duomo Museum. The baptistry's dome is under restoration but take a peek at previously restored areas not under scaffolding (https://duomo.firenze.it/en/opera-magazine/post/8538/the-restoration-of-the-mosaics-on-the-vault-of-the-florence-baptistery), and a visit to the museum is highly recommended. There is no pass JUST for the cathedral...which is surprisingly austere inside compared to most older cathedrals in Italy, such as those in Milan, Venice, Siena, etc.