We leave in 10 days and will visit Bologna, Florence, Siena and Rome. I see Rick always climbing the top of the duomos and other churches and towers, with their amazing views. Do you need to reserve or get a ticket for these or do you just show up and hope the line is not too long?
Posted by
Anchorage, Alaska, USA
5 posts
We travelled to Italy in May and early June. For domes in Florence, Siena and Rome, we just waited in short lines, paid and climbed.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32220 posts
Maria, I've found that the entrance to Bell Towers and other vantage points always requires a paid ticket. That was the case at the Towers in Verona and Siena, and is also the case for climbing Brunelleschi's dome in Florence or the dome at St. Peter's. AFAIK, it's not possible to reserve tickets. As you noted, you'll just have to "show up and hope the line is not too long". Happy travels!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16392 posts
The line for the Duomo in Florence can be quite long, especially in the afternoon. We went around 9:30 in the morning and there was no line at all. We had the stairs pretty much to ourselves, which was great.
Posted by
winston salem, nc, usa
1078 posts
Go early or late for the shortest lines. For example the line to get into St. Peter's was looong at 10 when we were there in May, however, there was no line to the dome once we went through security.
Posted by
Catadupa Alamere, CA
515 posts
It never occurred to me that there are bells in some bell towers and that, sometimes, for example on the hour, some bells actually ring. This can be beautiful when heard from the ground. But, when standing next to a large clanging bell, as I did, the sound hurts.
Posted by
OP
Austin, TX
41 posts
As always, all your replies give me peace of mind! Thank you! I'm afraid you'll see me here in the next few days with last-minute questions if I can't find answers with a search.
This is our Italy trip #3 and I'm as excited as if I'd never been!
Posted by
Lewisburg, PA, USA
346 posts
We just got back on Monday,so the memory, if not the mind, is fresh. We climbed the Duomo in Florence-definitely get the Terraces and Dome ticket in the Duomo Museum and skip the lines-but beware, the tour doesn't let you back into the church, so contrive to get in your church visit first. We also climbed the bell tower in Sienna-really cool,tickets line was short-keep in mind that in some places it is really low (54cm) and narrow (29cm). Great views. We opted to skip the Pisa tower because of time-just looked and took pictures and the St. Peters dome (turns out it is finisihed inside and I really wanted to see the construction-ala Florence.