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Classic Italy (both) - Florence- Climb the Dome?
Shortly, we will be on Classic Italy, Small Groups. So much to do, so little time!!!
Our Tauck itinerary says we are scheduled for briefing by an art history lecturer, followed by a guided walking tour of the heart of the city, and a guided visit to the Accademia on the first morning in Florence. Lunch is on our own and the afternoon is free, so we booked a Segway tour of the city which starts at 1430. The Segway meet point is only a 5 min. walk from our hotel.
I just finished reading Ross King's Brunelleschi's Dome, an intriguing book story about Filippo Brunelleschi, a goldsmith and the designer of Florence's iconic dome, and the dome's construction. Further research took me to the Museum website where I learned visitors can climb the dome.
My questions for those of you who have taken either Classic Italy tour, are:
• Did you visit any of the Opera Duomo Museum complex sites (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo), the Dome, Bell Tower, Museum, Baptistry) during your free time?
• If so, did you climb the dome? (there are no elevators, but you can climb (463!) steps inside the vertical walls and between the curving inner and outer dome shells to an observation deck at the base of the "lantern" that sits atop the dome where you can get a fantastic view of the city.)
• If we grab a quick lunch is this doable in 2 hours?
• Is is worth it?
We are headed to Pisa during the free afternoon the following day.
Our Tauck itinerary says we are scheduled for briefing by an art history lecturer, followed by a guided walking tour of the heart of the city, and a guided visit to the Accademia on the first morning in Florence. Lunch is on our own and the afternoon is free, so we booked a Segway tour of the city which starts at 1430. The Segway meet point is only a 5 min. walk from our hotel.
I just finished reading Ross King's Brunelleschi's Dome, an intriguing book story about Filippo Brunelleschi, a goldsmith and the designer of Florence's iconic dome, and the dome's construction. Further research took me to the Museum website where I learned visitors can climb the dome.
My questions for those of you who have taken either Classic Italy tour, are:
• Did you visit any of the Opera Duomo Museum complex sites (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo), the Dome, Bell Tower, Museum, Baptistry) during your free time?
• If so, did you climb the dome? (there are no elevators, but you can climb (463!) steps inside the vertical walls and between the curving inner and outer dome shells to an observation deck at the base of the "lantern" that sits atop the dome where you can get a fantastic view of the city.)
• If we grab a quick lunch is this doable in 2 hours?
• Is is worth it?
We are headed to Pisa during the free afternoon the following day.
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I took this trip a few years ago. I also read the book before I went. i did go into the Duomo but I knew I could not physically climb the dome, so didn't attempt it. I did go into the baptistry and then went to the museum. Having read the book, I was interested in seeing the exhibit on the dome construction. Found it very interesting. Also there are some sculptures in the museum worth seeing--a second Pieta by Michelangelo and another small piece thst was covered in our art lecture. Also the original doors of the duomo are there. I really recommend it if you have time after climbing the dome.
It is a great trip (one of my favorites).
Have a good time.
Sue
We did Classic Italy last month, and here are a few Florence answers:
- The art lecturer is fantastic. She is a wonderful presenter, and covers a tremendous amount of information very well in a short time.
- The climb up the dome was described as arduous by our tour director (who was fabulous).
- The museum, located in a different building behind and across from the Duomo, is well worth a visit. Among many other interesting things, it houses the original Ghiberti Doors from the Baptistry.
- Going inside the Duomo sanctuary is a must, especially if you have studied Brunelleschi.
- The Baptistry was also fascinating, with much of its original decor from 1079 still intact. Definitely worth the time.
If you really only have two hours, climbing the dome would be off the table if you wish to see anything else. Based on the line we saw for that a month ago, you'd be lucky to get just that done!
It actually took us almost 20 minutes in line just to get tickets to the Duomo, Bapistry, etc. so you will be cutting it close in any event -- and that's with skipping lunch. You might want to reassess your Pisa plans, if these things are important to you.
Hope you have a wonderful time!
PS Thanks for your response to my concerns about being in Venice on St. Mark's Day a couple months ago -- it turned out not to be an issue.
Thanks for the info! We are going to give the Dome climb a shot. After reading Ross King's book, how can we not?!!
On that day, if it looks like we can't do the climb in the time available, we'll just bail before starting and visit one of the other buildings* before we head to the Segway meet point which is only a few minutes away.
When did your Galleria visit end?
*I was able go online and pre-purchase and print combo tickets. I have them in hand as I write this. One ticket is good for all Duomo buildings- Dome, Giotto's Bell Tower, Baptistry, Museo dell Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore and Santa Reparata (second one in basement of Duomo?). The ticket allows us to skip the ticket line and go right to the turnstile. Additionally, it allowed us to print special vouchers for "priority access" and reserved entry times to the Dome, Museum, and Baptistry. So far we only have done that with the Dome. Since the combo ticket is good for 48 hrs from the time of entry to the first building we will attempt to visit the Baptistry and Museum late before they close in the afternoon after our Segway Tour on the first day (I assume dinner a la carte means we can dine any time that evening) and after our trip to Pisa on the second day. The Baptistry is open until 1830 and the Museum until 1900. From what I have read, crowds drop off considerably late in the afternoon. Depending how it goes the first day, I may try to reserve entry time(s) for the second day for whichever building we haven't seen by then.
I guess we'll just have to see how it all works out. We may be worn out when we are done, but I think it is worth a shot. If our "three coins in the fountain" work, we can always take another Tauck tour that also visits Florence someday.
I wonder how it will be in Venice on "Republic Day"?
Thanks for the info.
Thanks.
Bryan
You betcha! All 463 steps! Florence was fantastic- gotta go back someday- too much to see, not enough time- though we gave it our best shot!
I don't remember if I post this already but here is what we did:
First full day in Florence: After breakfast our group met the local guides in front the Hotel Brunelleschi and we walked with them to and toured the Galleria dell Academia (Michelangelo's sculptures, including "David" , and other great stuff.). Then had a guided walk back towards the river to Piazza della Republicca where Tauck directed activities ended.
Tauck HQ said it would end by 1230 but it actually ended well before then (1145 - 1200?) so we had plenty of time until our previously booked dome climb time of 1330. (We asked but could not change our reservation to an earlier time.)
We purchased Duomo complex (Opera del Duomo) tickets from the official website months earlier and got a specific entry time to climb the dome. The Duomo complex tickets are good for 48 hours from time of entry to the first building and give you access to the Dome, baptistery, Giotto's Campanile (Bell Tower), and the Museum (entry to the Duomo itself is free). When you buy combo tickets you can also reserve entry times for the dome climb, Giotto's Tower and the Museum for no additional cost.
We had plenty of time so we were able to walk back to the Piazza del Duomo, eat a nice lunch at one of the sidewalk cafes and visit the baptistery which doesn't take long. The regular line to climb the dome was quite long, wrapped part way around the Duomo, but (he says with a big grin) there were only a couple people waiting in the "reserved entry time" line. They let us begin the climb at 1315 (15 minutes early). It took us about 15 -20 min. to climb to the top. Traffic is one way for 3/4 of the climb (all of the drum and part of the dome) then bi-directional for the the last bit, it can be slow here especially if you arrive there just as a group of folks are coming down. The stairs are narrow and relatively steep, but there are handrails and a few spots where you can step aside, to rest and let others pass if needed. Also, there are a few small windows to the outside that let fresh air in as well as a few windows on the inside where you can catch a glimpse of Vasari's frescoes on the inside of the dome. You also transit a walkway lined with plexiglass the runs a short way along the inside of the dome where you can get a close-up view of the frescoes. We spent about 15 minutes at the top. Fantastic views! Once past the short bi-directional section the descent is all one way. Going down is easier and is a bit quicker. Once you reach the bottom you can easily wander around the Doumo itself. Total time was about 45 min. We trained- a little walking and stair climbing- before the trip so did not find it especially strenuous- others much older made the climb. (the next day we took a side trip to Pisa and climbed the leaning tower too.) Once at the top, you are only slightly higher than the people who climbed Giotto's Bell Tower. We did not climb the tower.
After the climb we had enough time to walk south towards the river to the meet point on Via del Cimatori for our 1430 Segway tour- another great experience.
Our Tauck group visited the Uffizi Gallery the next morning. It finished up about the same time or earlier- we had enough time to walk from the Uffizi to a little shop a couple blocks north of the Duomo where they made incredible intarsia pictures with stone, eat a quick lunch in a little cafe, and make it back to the hotel by 1230 to meet our driver who would take us to Pisa.
Since dinner was on our own, we had enough time after returning from Pisa, to spend about an hour and a half at the Duomo museum before it closed. It is located behind the Duomo. Don't miss it. It is relatively new and very well done. See the official website, "Il Grande Opera del Duomo" https://www.museumflorence.com/ for open times, tickets, etc.
Also, it helps if you have studied a map of Florence and are familiar with key locations before you go- we discovered everything is very close to the hotel- even closer than it looked on the map!
p.s. If at all possible before you go read "Brunelleschi's Dome" and "The Pope's Ceiling" both by Ross King!!!!