You can visit Florence’s Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral free of charge and without a booking. You only need to pay to climb Brunelleschi’s dome or to visit other attractions around the cathedral.

If you want to go up, decide in advance: from the dome you’ll see Florence and the fresco up close, whilst from the bell tower you’ll be able to capture the dome itself in your photographs.

Hundreds of steps lead up to both viewing points, and there is no lift.

• Cathedral only: free entry, no ticket required.
• To the dome: the Brunelleschi Pass for 30 eur, with a specific time slot booked in advance.
• To the bell tower: Giotto Pass for 20 eur, or the Brunelleschi Pass for 30 eur, which includes access to both viewing platforms.
• No stair climb: Ghiberti Pass for 15 eur includes the baptistery, the museum and the underground chambers of Santa Reparata.

Buy tickets on the official website of Florence Cathedral. Separate tickets for the dome only or the bell tower only are not available.

Find the cheapest hotel in Florence

The dome or the bell tower?

ChooseBrunelleschi’s dome if you’re drawn to the structure itself. You’ll climb 463 steps, getting a closer look at the dome’s frescoes along the way, and at the top you’ll be rewarded with a view of the city.

However, the dome is missing from the panoramic photos – you’re standing right on top of it.

ChooseGiotto’s bell tower if you want to have the famous dome right in front of you. There are 414 steps to climb, and the view from the tower, which is almost 85 metres high, awaits you. We also have a separate guide to the Campanile bell tower.

Would you like to visit both places? You don’t have to do them in a single day: the Brunelleschi Pass is valid for 3 calendar days. If you’re mainly interested in the overall silhouette of the cathedral and don’t want to pay for the climb, do also take a look at the view from Piazzale Michelangelo.

Tickets for Florence Cathedral

What you want to visit	Ticket	Price for adults
Cathedral interior only	Not required	Free
Dome and bell tower + other sights	Brunelleschi Pass	30 eur
Bell tower + other sights, excluding the dome	Giotto Pass	20 eur
Museum, Baptistery and Santa Reparata, excluding the climb	Ghiberti Pass	15 eur

All three paid passes also include the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, the baptistery and the archaeological remains of the Church of Santa Reparata beneath the cathedral.

They allow one entry to each included site within three calendar days. Entry to the cathedral itself remains free of charge.

Children aged 7–14 pay for the Brunelleschi Pass 12 eur, for the Giotto Pass 7 eur and the Ghiberti Pass 5 eur. Children under 7 enter free of charge. No specific senior discount is mentioned.

Please note the booked time slot: for the Brunelleschi Pass, this applies to the dome; for the Giotto Pass, to the bell tower; and for the Ghiberti Pass, to Santa Reparata.

You cannot change the date of your dome visit once you have purchased your ticket. When booking the dome, you must provide the visitor’s name and present proof of identity at the entrance.

• 👉 Choose a pass and book your dome visit on the official website

Opening hours and entry to the cathedral

The cathedral is open to visitors from Monday to Saturday, 10.15 am–3.45 pm.

On Sundays and during religious services, the interior is closed to tourists. Free entry is via the cathedral’s main façade.

Access to the dome is via a separate entrance, the northern gate known as the Porta della Mandorla. Opening times for the dome vary depending on the day: on Sundays, the dome may be open even when the cathedral is closed to general visitors. Please check the current opening times for all parts of the cathedral before you visit.

Please arrive in good time for the ascent. There is no lift to the dome or the bell tower. Medium and large rucksacks, suitcases and other luggage must be left in the free left-luggage facility at Piazza del Duomo 38/r before entering. Please ensure your shoulders and knees are covered when entering the cathedral.

The Baptistery is currentlyundergoing restoration: the famous mosaics on its vaulted ceiling are not currently visible. If these are your main interest, do not buy a pass solely for the Baptistery.

What to see in the cathedral

From the outside, the white, green and pink marble, the huge dome and the ornate façade catch the eye. Although construction of the cathedral began in the Middle Ages, the current façade dates from the 19th century.

Inside, you’ll find a surprisingly understated space. Look up at the vast Last Judgement mural on the inside of the dome.

Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari worked on it between 1572 and 1579. Also take note of the stained-glass windows, the marble floor and the paintings depicting Dante Alighieri.

Continue through the complex to the Baptistery of St John the Baptist and the Opera del Duomo museum, where originals of some of the works from the square are on display. You can find the layout of the monuments in our guide to Piazza del Duomo.

Where to stay near the cathedral

If you’re staying in the historic centre, you can return to the cathedral in the evening when it’s illuminated, and carry on to the galleries or your booked tour the next morning.

• The Hotel Duomo Firenze is situated right on the cathedral square
• You’ll findthe Hotel De Lanzi in a side street behind the cathedral

Would you like to compare prices and locations of other options?

• 👉Take a look at accommodation near Florence Cathedral

We discuss the differences between the neighbourhoods in the section on where to stay in Florence.

History and dimensions: why Florence Cathedral is exceptional

The Basilica of Santa Reparata had stood on this site since the early Middle Ages. Construction of the new cathedral, designed by Arnolfo di Cambio, began in 1296, and the older church remained within the building site for a long time afterwards. You can visit its remains today beneath the floor of the cathedral.

Other architects were involved in the construction, including Giotto, who designed the adjacent bell tower, and Francesco Talenti, who expanded the original plans for the cathedral. A major challenge was roofing the vast space above the cathedral.

Filippo Brunelleschi found the solution. Between 1420 and 1436, an octagonal dome was built using bricks laid, amongst other techniques, in a herringbone pattern. To this day, it remains one of the most remarkable structures of the Renaissance. As you walk around the cathedral, try to spot the bull amongst the stone gargoyles.

The cathedral is 153 metres long and 90 metres wide at its widest point.

At the top of the dome is a golden sphere at a height of around 115 metres. Its dimensions are striking even from the outside: walk the length of Piazza del Duomo and stand back from the main façade.

 

 

 

The dome itself stands atop the cathedral’s 55-metre-high nave and has a span of 44 metres. The dome isthe third largestof its kind in the world, after St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the Cathedral of the Salvation of the People in Bucharest and the Basilica of Our Lady Queen of Peace in Yamoussoukro, the capital of Côte d’Ivoire.

The cathedral itself is the 11th largest in the world in terms of internal floor area.

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