Climbing the Duomo in Florence, Italy is similar to climbing the Empire State Building in Manhattan. It’s very touristy and not many people who actually live there do it. But if you’re visiting Florence, it’s one of the most beautiful ways to see the city.
The Duomo is like a North Star in the middle of Florence. You can see it pretty much from anywhere. Every time I walked past it, the Duomo became more and more beautiful.
You need a ticket in order to climb the Duomo and they can’t be bought at the entrance, they must be purchased at the ticket office in the Piazza San Giovanni. You can also buy tickets online. You cannot pre-purchase tickets for a specific time.
Beware of lines. We got in line at 11:30 a.m. and it was already wrapped around much of the building. We waited for about two hours.
The climb is over 400 steps and very steep with not much ventilation. It’s also very crowded and the way down is the same as the way up so there are people coming from both directions.
But in the words of Hannah Montana (or was it Miley Cyrus? I always get those two mixed up), “Life’s a climb, but the views great.”
And of course we had to snap a selfie:
