Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria dei Fiori)
- Address: Piazza del Duomo, Florence
- Hours: Mon - Wed and Fri: 10am - 5pm, Sat: 10am - 4:45pm, Sun and religious holidays: 1:30pm - 4:45pm. Thurs and other holidays: hours vary seasonally. Dome hours vary
- Admission: Cathedral admission is Free, Dome admission is € 8
ATTRACTION Keywords:
Cultural Experience,
Religious Experience,
Church / Cathedral,
Monument - Historical
Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria dei Fiori) Reviews
We've found 34 Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria dei Fiori) reviews from Viator.com travelers and members: what they loved, what they liked and what they think could be improved. It's all here to help you make the most of your next trip.
Review by yaz2k79, August 2011
Doing what: Skip The Line: Best of Florence Walking Tour including Accademia Gallery and Duomo
Overall the tour was very good with a great overview of the major sites of central Florence. Of note, you definitely skip the linear the accademia but you do still wait in the general line at the duomo- not necessarily too long but just something to know. The stop at the gelato was perfect timing. Our guide was good, it did take some time to adjust and understand her explanations, possibly because of the quality of the audio equipment. Still, a good experience- would definitely recommend following this up with a climb to the cupola of the Duomo!
Review by Matt, USA, August 2011
Doing what: Skip The Line: Best of Florence Walking Tour including Accademia Gallery and Duomo
I thought that this tour was just "okay". A lot of the sights that were visited could have easily been done on my own. The "Skip the Line" was misleading in my opinion because our group ended up having to wait 15 minutes to enter the Accademia Gallery. There was also a wait to enter the Duomo, but you do not need a ticke to enter the Duomo. If interested in seeing David at the Accademia, I would recommend some type of ticket in advance, but the other sights visited on this tour can easily be done on your own.
Review by Nadia, August 2011
Doing what: Skip The Line: Best of Florence Walking Tour including Accademia Gallery and Duomo
Our guide very knowledgeable and showed us some interesting sites and illustrated with facts. Only dissappointed was not to be able to go to the Duomo (last minute change we were told) and spending 30 minutes to get to the Accademia when you pay money for the visit to go a bit faster. Amazing to see the David so close!
Review by Pam J, USA, August 2011
Doing what: Skip The Line: Best of Florence Walking Tour including Accademia Gallery and Duomo
Our guide always pointed out what the people of Florence disliked about their city. I would have rather her focused on the beauty and history. Informed everyone that no one new how the dome of the Duomo was constructed. Funny thing - it was explained very clearly on the series "Engineering an Empire. Perhaps your guides need to do a little more home work.
Review by Sobhag S S, August 2011
Doing what: Florence City Hop-on Hop-off Tour
Most places can be reached on foot. Generally, most announcements were in Italian when reaching any points of interest. Ufizi gallery and Duomo were never mentioned as places of interest. We discovered them on a map provided by our hotel.
Review by Keith B, July 2011
Doing what: Florence City Hop-on Hop-off Tour
This was terrible. The bus driver acted as though he could not wait to get to the end of the loop. What was meant to be an hour tour, started out with the driver's cigarrette break followed by the scruffy conductor incoherently speaking into the microphone which stops we zoomed by, as we therefore missed all of the commentary and 2 of the stops on the map (apparently the driver and conductor could not be bothered to stop at two of the most important stops - the Duomo and the Ponte de Vecchio). All of the passengers on the top deck of the bus were smacked in the face by tree branches as this seemed an amusing sport for both the conductor and the driver. When we reached the end of the loop, the driver pulled the bus over for approx. 5 minutes so he could chat with a friend, have another cigarrette, and refuse passengers exit from the bus (we were across the street from the end/start of the loop). We had booked a 48 hour pass, but this appalling 45 minutes was all we could handle. We strongly advise anyone from using this tour. Instead, walk around the Uffizi and Duomo area to get a true feeling of what Florence has to offer. We love the hop-on-hop-off tour experience and have used this tour many times in many cities but this was by far the most horrendous experience we've had.
Review by Jared A, July 2011
Doing what: Skip The Line: Best of Florence Walking Tour including Accademia Gallery and Duomo
We didn't go into the Duomo as it was a Sunday, I feel that this was most misleading and a tour that includes the Duomo should not run on a day that it is closed! We would not have booked this tour with this knowledge. The Academy part was okay, although the tour guide was not as informative as a tour we took several years ago through a different company,
Review by DEEPAK P, February 2011
Doing what: Florence City Hop-on Hop-off Tour
I don't recommend this tour to others. Especially if you are in centre of Florence and can walk around Duomo. The main tourist spots are quite walking distance and easy to go around with the map in hand.
Review by Gina Y, November 2010
Doing what: Skip The Line: Best of Florence Walking Tour including Accademia Gallery and Duomo
All of the trips we booked with Viator were definitely worth it! We learned so much from our guides and saw so much that we would have missed without them. This "Skip The Line: Best of Florence Walking Tour including Accademia Gallery and Duomo" was great and very informative. The Duomo was gorgeous but I think the outside was more beautiful than the inside. You have to go to the Accademia Gallery to see The David! Our guide was so intriguing in the way she walked us through the sculpture and it made me appreciate art on a whole new level. The "Skip the Line" was definitely faster than waiting in the regular lines but basically you still have to wait in the group line (which does move quickly). The price per person was definitely worth the money to skip the line because we had very little precious time in Florence. The only way to improve this tour would be less people. A group of 20 was quite larger but the head phones to hear the guide helped to make up for that.
Review by TERI W, November 2010
Doing what: Skip The Line: Best of Florence Walking Tour including Accademia Gallery and Duomo
Our guide was awesome! He had so much art history knowledge and great perspectives on everything we saw. Don't try to tour the Academia Gallery and Duomo on your own- you will get so much more out of it with a knowledgeable tour guide. I highly recommend this tours.
Review by Ross M, Australia, August 2010
Doing what: Skip The Line: Best of Florence Walking Tour including Accademia Gallery and Duomo
Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and pleasant & we enjoyed the tour of the city. The skip the line for the Accademia & Duomo are very well worth the additional cost.
Review by Cristy L, Canada, August 2010
Doing what: Skip The Line: Best of Florence Walking Tour including Accademia Gallery and Duomo
A nice way to quickly see Florence. There was a bit of waiting time for people to use the washroom and lines for the Duomo and the Gallery. We did get to skip the four hour line up though!
Review by Anonymous, May 2010
Doing what: Skip The Line: Best of Florence Walking Tour including Accademia Gallery and Duomo
The tour was very well organized but it was on easters day and we couldn't go inside the Duomo, it would've been better if we knew it when booking.
Review by Anonymous, April 2010
Doing what: Skip The Line: Best of Florence Walking Tour including Accademia Gallery and Duomo
Mary Grace was a wonderful tour guide, and she was both knowledgeable and funny --- very dramatic and Italian. Her English was excellent, so we learned much about the city. We were able to hit the highlights, see the Duomo and view David at the Accademia, as promised. Because of her recommendations, after the tour we hiked the hills overlooking Florence to see the spectacular view and listen to the monks at a church at the top of the hills. What a great experience!
Review by Paul F, United Arab Emirates, April 2010
Doing what: Skip The Line: Best of Florence Walking Tour including Accademia Gallery and Duomo
Excellent tour, due partly to the balanced itinerary and inclusions which brought Florence alive for us, but also to our wonderful guide who was highly informative and entertaining in her descriptions of the city, the Duomo, significant architects and artists, and the art in the gallery. It was also a bonus having the tour finish in the Accademia Gallery so that you can spend more time on your own in the gallery if you wish. Would recommend doing this tour as early as possible in your stay in Florence. And the gelato shop the guide took us to was outstanding, best we've ever had and we are avid enthusiasts. We noted its location and went back there twice during our stay!
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