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Florence Cathedral: Brunelleschi's dome and how to climb it

For decades the cathedral of Florence stood with a hole in its roof about 45 metres wide that nobody knew how to close. Filippo Brunelleschi, a goldsmith, closed it between 1420 and 1436, without scaffolding from the ground, and no one has built a larger dome of brick since.

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Tickets
From €64.90
Open
Dome: Mon to Fri, 8:15 to 18:45
Closed
Cathedral: Sundays
Allow
2 to 3 hours

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    What to see at Florence Cathedral

    1. The climb of the dome

      463 steps and no lift. The stair narrows as it rises and the last stretch follows the curve of the dome itself. Allow about 45 minutes up and down.

    2. The Last Judgment

      The inside of the dome is one painting of about 3,600 square metres. From the floor it is a blur of figures. From the gallery on the way up, the devils are an arm's length away.

    3. Giotto's bell tower

      Begun by Giotto in 1334, 84.7 metres high and faced in the same three marbles. Its 414 steps have landings to rest on, and from the top you look across at the dome, which you cannot do from the dome.

    4. Inside the cathedral

      Look for Paolo Uccello's clock above the door, which runs backwards and tells the hours from sunset, his painted monument to the soldier John Hawkwood, and the painting of Dante holding his poem with Florence behind him.

    5. Santa Reparata

      Down a stair in the nave are the remains of the earlier cathedral, with mosaic floors of late Roman times and the plain slab of Brunelleschi's tomb.

    6. The baptistery

      The eight-sided church of St John, where Florentines were baptised for centuries. The gilded doors facing the cathedral are copies of Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise: the originals are in the museum across the square.

    Tickets and tours for Florence Cathedral

    • Sold by GetYourGuide

      Florence: Brunelleschi's Dome Climb Entry Ticket & Duomo

      A timed climb of Brunelleschi's dome, with entry to the bell tower, the baptistery, the museum and the crypt of Santa Reparata over three days.

      Included

      • A climb of Brunelleschi's dome at a set time
      • Entry to the bell tower, the baptistery, the museum and the crypt of Santa Reparata, once each within three days

      From

      €64.90

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    Visiting Florence Cathedral: hours and admission

    Opening hours

    The cathedral, Monday to Saturday
    10:15 to 15:45
    The dome, Monday to Friday
    8:15 to 18:45
    The dome, Saturday
    8:15 to 16:30
    The dome, Sunday
    12:45 to 16:30
    The bell tower, every day
    8:15 to 18:45
    The baptistery, every day
    8:30 to 19:30
    The museum, every day
    8:30 to 19:00
    Santa Reparata, Monday to Saturday
    10:15 to 16:00
    Santa Reparata, Sunday
    13:30 to 16:00
    • The cathedral is closed to visitors on Sundays and on religious holidays.
    • The baptistery closes at 13:30 on the first Sunday of the month. The museum is closed on the first Tuesday of the month.
    • The time chosen for the dome cannot be changed or cancelled.

    Who gets in free

    • The cathedral itself, for everyone: no ticket and no reservation.
    • Disabled visitors and one companion, on request, with a certificate.

    Getting there

    On foot
    About ten minutes from Santa Maria Novella station. The square is closed to traffic.
    Tram
    Lines T1 and T2 stop at Santa Maria Novella station. T2 comes from the airport.
    By car
    The old centre is a restricted traffic zone, watched by cameras. Leave the car outside it.

    Address

    Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
    Piazza del Duomo
    50122 Florence, Italy

    Entrances

    Visitors without a ticket enter the cathedral by the front. Holders of a pass enter by the door beside the bell tower, on the south side, which also leads down to Santa Reparata. The climb of the dome starts at the Porta della Mandorla, on the north side, and an identity document is asked for with the ticket. The bell tower is entered at its foot, the baptistery by its north door and the museum at Piazza del Duomo 9. Bags larger than a handbag must be left at the cloakroom at Piazza del Duomo 38 red. Shoulders and knees must be covered in the cathedral, the baptistery and the crypt.

    On the map

    Before you go

    • The climb is sold for a set time that cannot be changed, and it sells out days ahead in the busy months. Book it before anything else in Florence.
    • Bring the identity document named on the ticket: it is asked for at the door of the dome.
    • The cathedral is free, and its queue is for the free entry. With a pass you go in by the door beside the bell tower.
    • Shoulders and knees must be covered in the cathedral and the baptistery. Bags larger than a handbag go to the cloakroom in the square.
    • If the dome is sold out, the bell tower is nearly as high, has more places, and gives the better photograph.

    A dome nobody knew how to build

    Santa Maria del Fiore was begun in 1296 to a design by Arnolfo di Cambio, and by the early fifteenth century it was finished except for the dome. The opening was too wide for the timber centring every builder used. Brunelleschi's answer was two shells, one inside the other, of bricks laid in a herringbone pattern that held themselves up as the walls rose. It was completed by 1436.

    You climb between those two shells. The stair passes just under the fresco of the Last Judgment that Vasari and Federico Zuccari painted inside the dome in the 1570s, close enough to see the brushwork, and comes out at the foot of the marble lantern, with the whole city below.

    The church itself is free to enter and almost bare, which surprises people after the outside. The marble front is not medieval: it was added in the nineteenth century and finished in 1887. Beside it stand Giotto's bell tower, which can also be climbed, and the eight-sided baptistery, older than both.

    Florence Cathedral: common questions

    What are the opening hours of Florence Cathedral?
    The cathedral, Monday to Saturday: 10:15 to 15:45. The dome, Monday to Friday: 8:15 to 18:45. The dome, Saturday: 8:15 to 16:30. The dome, Sunday: 12:45 to 16:30. The bell tower, every day: 8:15 to 18:45. The baptistery, every day: 8:30 to 19:30. The museum, every day: 8:30 to 19:00. Santa Reparata, Monday to Saturday: 10:15 to 16:00. Santa Reparata, Sunday: 13:30 to 16:00. The cathedral is closed to visitors on Sundays and on religious holidays. The baptistery closes at 13:30 on the first Sunday of the month. The museum is closed on the first Tuesday of the month. The time chosen for the dome cannot be changed or cancelled.
    Is Florence Cathedral ever free?
    The cathedral itself, for everyone: no ticket and no reservation. Disabled visitors and one companion, on request, with a certificate.
    What does the ticket include?
    A climb of Brunelleschi's dome at a set time. Entry to the bell tower, the baptistery, the museum and the crypt of Santa Reparata, once each within three days. It is sold by GetYourGuide.
    Is Florence Cathedral free to enter?
    Yes. The cathedral itself needs no ticket. The dome, the bell tower, the baptistery, the museum and the crypt of Santa Reparata are visited with a pass.
    How many steps are there to the top of the dome?
    463, and there is no lift. The bell tower has 414. Neither climb is suitable for anyone with a weak heart, vertigo or a fear of narrow spaces.
    Should you climb the dome or the bell tower?
    The dome for the climb itself, between the two shells and past the frescoes. The bell tower for the view, because the dome is in it. A pass for the dome covers both.

    What visitors say about Florence Cathedral

    Rating from Google

    4.8

    112,010 ratings on Google

    Google's figures as read on 11 October 2026.

    Read every review on Google

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