• By Daria Radler
• 3/1/2019

There Are Better Things to Do in Florence than Waiting!

If you’re headed towards Florence and Tuscany, consider yourself a lucky traveler.
Whether you’re here for long or short, for the first time or because you’ve come back for more: The magical flair of this city along the Arno River is captivating. And — you’ve guessed correctly — we’re here to add to the pleasant anticipation of what will await you. In today’s news: Florence’s most famous landmark — Brunelleschi’s Dome, the Florence Cathedral, or La Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore.

Located in the heart of Florence and rising high above its historical center, the Duomo of Florence is a sight for sore eyes. Completed in 1436, this monument has made history. Not only did Brunelleschi’s construction of the Duomo’s cupola beat the theoretical understanding of physical laws and mathematical tools for calculation by centuries. The Cathedral of Florence has remained the largest brick dome in the world up to this day.

Exploring the Cathedral Complex: time well-spent at 5 Attractions.

Let’s go, you say? Yes, almost! Though the lines of people waiting for their turn to see and experience the Duomo first-hand shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, the actual size of the crowds might take you aback. So let’s cut to the chase: How long do you have to wait in line before you start your climb up the Duomo’s cupola?
Due to a limited capacity of visitors at a time, tickets for the Duomo’s cupola work on a reservation basis. A general prediction regarding waiting times therefore isn’t as straight-forward as you might hope.
But don’t fret just yet — we want you to love Florence as much as we do and we’re here to save you from the disappointment of sold-out tickets and wasted time. Think of all the things you can see and do in Florence!

We genuinely believe that waiting shouldn’t be one of them which is why we come prepared to take you through a private entrance.

Depending on what you are looking for, here are three options to explore the Duomo — right now:

1) Skip the Line: Brunelleschi’s Cupola
A certified guide will take you through the secret passages of the fourteen hundreds and straight into the heart of Florence. You might have seen photos before but once you see the largest painted surface of the world through your own eyes, you will have to agree: No photo in the world can do those paintings justice.
However, it is not only the size of the painting that sets the world record for Florence. The Duomo’s cupola itself used to be the world’s largest dome and still is the largest brick dome in the world. Designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, the Duomo’s cupola is a Renaissance masterpiece, an UNESCO heritage of humanity, and the centrepiece of Florence’s skyline.
463 steps will take you to the top of the cupola’s lantern, 100 meters above the ground and with magnificent views over Florence and the surrounding Chianti area in Tuscany’s countryside.

Find out more: Climbing of Brunelleschi Cupola with Skip the Line Ticket.
So you’ll climb the Cupola and learn all about its history, but what about the rest of the Duomo? Here are the good news: Your ticket is valid for 72 hours, leaving you with plenty of time to explore the Baptistery, the Bell Tower, the Crypt, and the Opera del Duomo Museum on your own.So there will be waiting again? Not necessarily — we’ve got you covered!

2) Skip the Line: The Duomo Complex and Gelato
Follow our certified guide into the secret passage ways of the past and learn about this famous Dome in all its complexity. From the marble floors of the main cathedral, we’ll take you up to Brunelleschi’s cupola and 100 meters high above Florence’s skyline. Back on the ground, we will also visit the Baptistery of San Giovanni. Here, we will show you the wonderful gold mosaics that inspired Dante’s Devine Comedy — the narrative poem hailed as the preeminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature.
You see, the Duomo is full of history, full of century-old knowledge that was, in many ways, ahead of its time. Join us in uncovering those truths, learn from our experienced guide and take in this architectural, cultural, and religious masterpiece.
If you would still like to explore more of the Duomo on your own, you can use your entrance ticket for a total of 72 hours.Last but not least: We deem gelato to be the ingredient to make the proper experience of the Italian culture complete. Before we’ll let you wander back out into our beautiful city of Florence, we’ll therefore take you out for Italian artisan ice-cream.
Find out more: Florence Duomo Complex Tour with Skip the Line Ticket and Ice Cream

3) The entire Duomo in all its Complexity
A private Tour Especially if you’ve been to Florence before you will know that no matter how many books you’ve read or how many times you’ve entered the dome in person: The Duomo of Florence allows for days and days of new discoveries and new information. After all, you’re eager to dive below the Duomo’s pastel colored surface and deeper into the historical web of the people and their knowledge that brought this Renaissance masterpiece to life?
If the answer is “yes”, a private tour of the entire Duomo complex might be just for you!
Your private guide will take you into the main Cathedral and up into Brunelleschi’s cupola, the Baptistery and the Museum. Masters in the fields of art, religion, and history, they will let you in on all they know. 

Find out more: Private Climbing of the Cupola and Discover the Entire Duomo Complex
At the end of the day, all we want is for you to fall for Florence, no matter if it’s your first or your hundredths time in the city. No matter what option you decide to go with — if there’s one piece of advice we can give you it’s this: Save yourself from wasting time in queues.
Go eat a gelato instead. Go out there and enjoy Florence!