The Duomo in Florence (actually properly named the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore) is the number one thing to see in this city, and it’s easy to see why. One of the oldest cathedrals in all of Italy, and one of the largest cathedrals in the world, there is massive history here. And while most of the main part of the church is not really all that much to see, having the opportunity to really take the time and examine the inside of the dome is worth all the fuss. Easily one of the best things we did in Florence, taking a 45 minute tour around the Cathedral was one of the best ways to not only learn a ton about the place, but view the dome directly from below it without having to fight the long lines or crowds.

As always is the case with Italian landmarks, buy tickets in advance, and make sure you are doing so from the official website to avoid scams. Click here to buy official tickets, and guided tours. There are lots of different types of tickets for how much of the place you want to see, but since we had a limited amount of time, we simply booked a short tour and skipped climbing the dome, as well as the other buildings.

You can book guided tours through the Duomo website about four months out, and they do sell out as they are super reasonably priced. I highly recommend booking through the official website as they do choose really great tour guides who are experienced and speak English well. Adult price for the 45 minute tour is only 17 euros and children are 7-14 are only 7 euros. Under 7 kids are free.

Our tour started promptly at the booked starting time, and you enter through the north side of the cathedral, not through the front with the long lines of people. Our tour guide discussed the history and architecture of the cathedral and we moved around the cavernous space for about 25 minutes before making our way to underneath the dome. There were about 20 or so people in our small group.

The dome is seriously impressive – easily the most intricate painting of such a massive dome I’ve ever experienced. The painting is so strange in that it makes the dome seem somewhat small until you view it from the outside – the forced perspective is truly astonishing. Our guide was able to tell us about each layer of the dome and which Catholic angels, saints and demons are depicted throughout the space and where, as well as how it’s organized. The best thing about the tour was that we could stand almost directly under the dome, and not have to fight amongst the crowd, since we were standing in a private section reserved only for the tours.

The Cathedral of Santa Maria de Fiore is absolutely massive and definitely deserves more than 45 minutes of your time, however the Cathedral Tour itself will get you into the main cathedral without having to stand in line, and will give you private access to view the dome from down below. The rest of the tickets that you can buy online are to get you into the other buildings including the Bell Tower and the top of the dome, but will not grant you skip the line access to the church itself. I will definitely be returning to check out the rest of the stunning architecture of the Duomo and surrounding buildings next time!