Duomo in Florence
 

Should I buy tickets ahead of time? It seems that buying them ahead of time all together will save some money. The thing that is throwing me off though is that I can't pick up any of the tickets until 1000, but the The Dome of Brunellesch opens at 0830. Should I just wait until I am there?

Here is the link:

http://en.duomo.waf.it/museo_dett/23...del-fiore.html

Thank you!

Bruneleschi* typo.

Do you really want any tickets at all?

There's ton of things to see in Florence, and the cathedral itself is free. I really doubt anyone wants to see the cathedral museum, the baptistery (whose doors are freely visible without any booking, paying or queueing) and the crypt AND climb the bell tower as well as the cathedral. Time spent dealing with those crowds (having a prebought ticket doesn't duck the queues: just put you into a shorter one) is time you're not visiting the Uffizi or the Accademia, or Santa Croce, or SMN, or Ognissanti or...

For most people, the thing you really need to be frugal with in Florence is your time. Climbing bell towers because there's a nominal cash saving is simply prodigal.

I agree, I probably don't want tickets at all. Have you climbed the dome or the bell tower? I want to do one of them at least.

Is there nothing special about the inside of the baptistery? I know the original doors are in the museum.

I value time over cash savings any day while traveling, especially for this trip. So we are in agreement there too. I didn't think this one through, sorry if I wasted your time.
I do appreciate your response.

ps: I have reservations for Uffizi and the Accademia on different days. Also Santa Croce is on the itinerary as well :)

I climbed the tower on my last visit and the view over the city was beautiful.

We climbed the Bell Tower just before dusk on our visit last month. Great views of the City, close-up of the Duomo (and ear shattering as we reached the bells as they were ringing on our descent) - definitely worth it IMHO!

The climb up into the cathedral's dome, where you walk between the inner and outer shells, allows you to see how the dome was constructed. You also get a great view of Florence. I do not think the interior of the cathedral itself is as interesting as the interior of some of the other churches of Florence (e.g., San Lorenzo, Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella). If you decide to do the dome, I encourage you to read up on Brunelleschi to see how he solved the problem of spanning the interior of the church.

The Baptistry does have an interesting interior. The upper levels are covered by 12th century mosaics laid out in registers (kind of like comic strips) that tell stories from the Bible. You can get an English audioguide that explains the significance. There is also a portion of the floor covered in glass where you can see down to Roman era pavements.

But, as noted above, you have to decide how to spend your time in Florence, where there is a lot to see.

There is more to see n enjoy around the doume, there are more than 1000 steps to climb on top of the doume where you will have 360d view of the city. Great for pics.
Try to book your hotel between Florence train station and doume. It was best part of my trip.
Look in tripadvisor and booking.com map view will give you an idea around the doume.

I enjoyed the ceiling in the baptistry and is worth the price (from the little shed across the road. The climb up the tower is not worth the money. The copy doors are interesting and free.