Florence's Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Il Duomo)
 

I was wondering if anyone knows if I buy tickets in advance directly from the Cathedral's website for the Museo & Cupola, do I still have to stand in line? Is the line for the Campanile also long in May? Is it worth climbing both the Cupola & Campanile?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Here's the website:

http://www.operaduomo.firenze.it/monumenti/duomo.asp

sadly, the english version is under construction, so i had to plumb the depths of my italian, but I could find nothing to answer your question.

However, given that they are timed tickets, I should think that they divide the line into those with and without tickets, else there wouldn't be much point.

as for campanile v cupola, I'd go for the cupola - as one who has only been up the campanile because the queue for the cupola was too long, really it wasn't very exciting. but in the cupola you have the chance to see the inside, which I have read is very interesting.

that would be my choice!

For those with reservations the website states: Entrata dalla porta della Mandorla del Duomo (lato nord) - enter through the North side, Mandorla del Duomo Gate.

Otherwise, they just say: Entrata dalla porta sinistra della facciata - entrance on the left had side of the facade. (That's where I made the line)

I can only hope that the left hand side is not the same as the North side!

Unless you are mad for climbing, I would choose the dome. It is a slog, but a fascinating one. Have you read Brunelleschi's Dome? It will add a lot to the experience.

You could take the terrace tour of the Dome, which allows you to skip the line. Our guide was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed the tour. Great views of the campanile from the terraces.

Thank you, everyone for the info. I think I will opt for just climbing the dome since I will be climbing the campanile in Venice and I will also buy the tickets online. I guess it can't hurt. I will also check out the book you suggested Tuscanlifeedit.

Thank you, everyone for the info. I think I will opt for just climbing the dome since I will be climbing the campanile in Venice and I will also buy the tickets online.>>

as an alternative to the campanile in the piazza san marco, you might consider that on the isola di san giorgio maggiore. you get the same great view but there are far fewer people and it's about half the price.

you can get a vaporetto there - from memory we got one from the Guidecca.

You can also walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo and get the famous skyline panorama. It is free and depending on how you walk the climb can be very steep up the steps to the right of the park but pretty interesting, or much easier by going up the switchback road and/or through the park directly in front. Try to do this on a day with few or no clouds to get the full effect of the sky, mountains, city.

dave

annhig, Thank you for the suggestion. I was thinking about going to Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore. However, the America's Cup of Sailing will be in Venice while we are there and they will have stands set up there on the island & San Marco for viewing the races. So I'm not sure if it is worth the trip over to the island since we only have two days in Venice.

davesl, I definitely have Piazzale Michelangelo on my itinerary. I am hoping to be there during sunset.

Thanks to you both!

So I'm not sure if it is worth the trip over to the island since we only have two days in Venice.>>

amyla - i can't help you there. We ended up on the island as the result of some vaporetto hopping that we did - from the Zattere over to the far end of the Guidecca, walked along the water front, then the isola di san giorgio, back to the other end of the Guidecca, then to the Zattere again. it was a lot of fun!

In florence, when I got up to the Piazzale Michelangelo, i was pretty hot and the only place I could find to have a drink was a rather swish looking bar just below the parapet. it turned out not to be as expensive as it might appear, and given the view, i decided just to look on the price of my beer as a very short-term seat rental! if it's open, the rose garden on the way down is fantastic.

annhig, hi there! Is the rose garden easy enough to find on the way down? Any particular directions you can give me as it seems there is more than one way?

Many thanks.

Hi Maudie,

from the piazzale michelangelo, you would need to walk up to towards san miniato - about half way up you will see a cafe restaurant by the side of the road on the right, overlooking the valley and the city. the rose garden can be reached via the steps to the right of that cafe which lead back down to Oltrarno.

If you click on my screen-name you'll see the thread I wrote about it last year which has the address and more information about it.

FYI, both the Campanile in Piazza San Marco and that of San Giorgio Maggiore have elevators. Climbing is not an option. Which campanile you choose depends on the view you want. From San Marco you can see the rooftops of Venice and the lagoon (including San Giorgio Maggiore). From San Giorgio Maggiore you can see the whole spectacle of Venice before you as well as the lagoon. From the San Marco area, it is about a 5 minute vaporetto ride since it is the first stop. The line at San Giorgio was virtually non-existent in comparison to that at San Marco.

Thanks annhig, I will mark that on my map and check out your thread. I am a bit of a sucker for a rose garden or any garden or that matter.

Delaine, thanks for your info on the views of Venice. I shall do further research on your suggestions.

Thanks again Fodor Friends.

Annhig, I really enjoyed reading the tale of your discovery of the rose garden near San Miniato last year. I went to the site you provided but---unfortunately for me---it doesn't open until May 15---the day I leave Italy to return home :-(

annettafly - how sad. it was lovely. perhaps go and have a look the day before you leave? sometimes the italians can be quite flexible about these things especially if there has been some hot weather to bring the roses on, which is what happened last year.

Maudie - if you go to my other trip reports, you'll see one about my trip to Italy last year, which towards the end includes details of other gardens i found in Florence, as well as the rose garden, which might interest you.

Hi again Ann
I did enjoy your post about the rose garden, so thanks for directing me to it. We were in the UK when you posted that originally otherwise I would have pounced on it.

We are only in Florence for one day from a cruise but I shall take notes for our future plans for a much longer visit to Italy.

Well, if you possibly can, you should try to visit this garden as well, which is not that far from the Rose garden, and would probably take no more than an hour or so - but is well worth seeing:

http://www.gardenvisit.com/garden/giardino_bardini

Irises, roses, and a fabulous wisteria if you are there at the right time.

there is also a cafe with light lunches where you have a lovely view over the city.

and on the way out you get to see where they keep all the left-over monuments and statues!

Well I shall certainly try, it looks delightful. We will be there in October so not sure what will be flowering by then but you have intrigued me about the monuments and statues.

Thanks for posting the website, that will keep me busy for a while just looking at all the wonderful photos.

Cheers Ann.