Bellissima Northern Italy

We are booked on the Sept 24th trip. As I read other travelers postings, it sounds like they visited the Duomo in Milan on their own time. The Tauck itinerary says "admire the Duomo"....does that mean there is no formal tour, just a quick walk-by? Since we are arriving one day early, we would have time the do a full tour on our own if Tauck does not do one. Any help would be appreciated...thanks.

Comments

  • They do not allow groups to go in, so yes you need to go inside on your own. I suggest if you fly in day early go by 9AM on Saturday. If you have to do it in Sunday afternoon free time expect long line to get in. Get ticket at hotel or near entrance for the stairs to roof. Line near entrance to Duomo is very long.
  • Your information was very helpful....thanks!
  • Thank you Crackers54. We're arriving on Sept 9 and will make sure to see the Duomo on our free time.
  • trish wrote:
    We are booked on the Sept 24th trip. As I read other travelers postings, it sounds like they visited the Duomo in Milan on their own time. The Tauck itinerary says "admire the Duomo"....does that mean there is no formal tour, just a quick walk-by? Since we are arriving one day early, we would have time the do a full tour on our own if Tauck does not do one. Any help would be appreciated...thanks.

    If you haven't gone to the Duomo website, I suggest you do so for details. Duomo Milano website

    By following links on the website, you can pre-purchase tickets online via TicketOne: TicketOne

    We purchased our tickets well in advance of our Classic Italy trip for the Duomo complex in Florence. I believe TicketOne was the authorized ticket vendor in the case as well.
  • AlanS: Thanks for Duomo info..We are on October Tuscany, Florence, Cinque Terra tour..We have 2 extra days after trip..Suggestions on how long Duomo tours last? Ticket one to purchase? Thanks for ANY tips. Can we purchase tickets then? Sailorguy
  • edited July 2016
    sailorguy wrote:
    AlanS: Thanks for Duomo info..We are on October Tuscany, Florence, Cinque Terra tour..We have 2 extra days after trip..Suggestions on how long Duomo tours last? Ticket one to purchase? Thanks for ANY tips. Can we purchase tickets then? Sailorguy

    We did not take a tour of the Cathedral of Santa Maria di Fiore (the Duomo) in Florence- it appears they offer a one hour tour once a day at 1030 for 30 € ea. You don't really need a ticket to enter the Duomo, itself. The "Opera di Duomo" ticket gets you into four attractions- the campanile (Giotto's Bell Tower) which you can climb, the Baptistry, Brunelleschi's dome (climb), and the excellent Duomo museum across the street. The tickets are good for 48 hours from the time of entry to the first attraction. I have a post (posts?) with more details about this and other things we did on this tour and in Florence under Classic Italy, Small Groups. You can read all the Opera dei Duomo and buy the tickets (and reserve entry times to the Dome and Museum) at this site.

    Quick answer (it all depends on your interests- you can zip through or spend hour(s) and it also depends if you have reserved entry times. The line to climb the dome was long but we went to the head of the line 10 - 15 min. before out designated entry time!) :

    visit Duomo- 30+ min. - ??
    visit Baptistry- 30+ min. - ??
    Climb Giotto's bell tower: 45+ min. - ???
    Climb Brunelleschi's Dome: 45+ min. - ???
    Tour Duomo Museum: 1+

    We visited all except climb the bell tower during free time over the span of two days. We did not need entry times for the Baptistry and Museum since we visited late in the day- we got right in.

    Ross King's book "Brunelleschi's Dome" is a must read before you go!
  • AlanS: Thank you so very much for your info ! I have printed it..Will go to your site and read more..?: off hand: any restaurant suggestiions for Florence? We have a few for Cinque Terra. Again: Thanks: Sailorguy
  • edited July 2016
    sailorguy wrote:
    AlanS: Thank you so very much for your info ! I have printed it..Will go to your site and read more..?: off hand: any restaurant suggestions for Florence? We have a few for Cinque Terra. Again: Thanks: Sailorguy

    Sorry, only ate one non-Tauck dinner in Florence at Hard Rock Cafe : ) Like Venice, it is hard to find a bad one. There are some other posts on the Classic Italy forum that mention restaurants. For lunches we had a quick pizza on the day we took a Seqway tour, at a small bodega another day, and open air restaurant on the Piazza del Duomo, just a few feet from the Duomo itself, on the day we climbed Brunelleschi's dome.
  • We also are reserved on the Sept 24 Bellissima and plan to arrive a day early. Since Sept 24 is a Sunday, wouldn't it be better to purchase Duomo Tickets for Monday Sept 25, the day the rest of the group arrives? Thus avoiding the Sunday afternoon long lines, but still have time to meet with group for evening reception?
  • edited August 2017
    DaytonJ wrote:
    We also are reserved on the Sept 24 Bellissima and plan to arrive a day early. Since Sept 24 is a Sunday, wouldn't it be better to purchase Duomo Tickets for Monday Sept 25, the day the rest of the group arrives? Thus avoiding the Sunday afternoon long lines, but still have time to meet with group for evening reception?

    This is an old, 2016 thread.

    My answer- yes/no. If you follow my links in the older posts and the one below, you'll see that there are 5 'attractions' included in the Il Grande Museo del Duomo complex that require tickets- Brunelleschi's Dome (climb, you enter from outside the Duomo), the Baptistry (separate building. Lorenzo Ghiberti's original doors, called the "Gates of Paradise" by none other than Michelangelo!, are in the Duomo museum), Giotto's bell tower (climb. separate building), the Duomo Museum (separate building. Don't miss this! and allow plenty of time), and the Crypt of Santa Reparata inside Florence Cathedral. ). The Duomo (Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore) itself is not included- tickets are not needed, you can enter for free (a ticket is needed for the guided tour) since it is an operating church. If I remember correctly, Opera Del Duomo tickets are good for 48 hours from time of entry to the first 'attraction,' good for a one time only visit to each one, and you can reserve entry times (at no additional cost) for at least two of them (required(?) for the dome climb and strongly recommended for others, especially in peak season.) That means you can probably visit some or all of the 'attractions' on Sunday, then visit the Duomo itself and any 'attraction' you didn't see on Monday.

    Don't forget to dress appropriately for the Duomo

    Its all here: https://www.museumflorence.com/?utm_source=opaeng&utm_medium=home&utm_campaign=piazzaduomo
  • Trish, I was on this tour in June. To be more flexible, I just got my Duomo tickets through the hotel concierge on my arrival.
  • I think there has been some confusion on this forum as to which tour is being discussed. AlanS has commented on touring in Florence. I did this tour last year and the Bellissima Northern Italy does not go to Florence. It is the Duomo in Milan which you will need to see on your own.
  • The Duomo is in Florence.
  • edited August 2017
    whw wrote:
    I think there has been some confusion on this forum as to which tour is being discussed. AlanS has commented on touring in Florence. I did this tour last year and the Bellissima Northern Italy does not go to Florence. It is the Duomo in Milan which you will need to see on your own.

    Actually there is a Duomo in Milan as there are in most Italian cities. I posted about the one in Milan in post #5 above, then sailorguy, who was going in October on Tuscany, Florence, Cinque Terra, asked about Florence in post #6. I responded to that one as well. I didn't catch that DaytonJ had switched it back to Milan in post #10. Sorry!? : ( In any case he was posting to a year old thread!!!

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