Climbing the Dome vs. Bell Tower in Florence: Which View is Best?

Planning a trip to Florence and wondering whether to climb its famous dome, its beautiful bell tower, or both when visiting the Duomo?

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After climbing both Brunelleschi’s Dome and Giotto’s Bell Tower, I walked away with a personal favorite… but also some notable pros and cons for each climb.

Here’s what to know about climbing the cupola vs the bell tower at the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore!

A Quick Note on the Names of the Dome and Bell Tower

Florence’s iconic dome and its gorgeous bell tower go by many names, and I’ve used a lot of them interchangeably in this blog post!

Here’s a quick rundown.

Florence’s Duomo (or in English, Cathedral) is named the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. It’s topped by Brunelleschi’s Dome, named for its legendary architect.

As a result, travelers will refer to climbing Brunelleschi’s Dome by its name, as “the dome”, as “the cupola”, or even simply as “climbing the Duomo”.

The detached bell tower of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore sits right next to it, at the southwest corner of the building.

The bell tower is named Giotto’s Bell Tower, for one of its architects, but it is often referred to simply as the bell tower or campanile (the word for bell tower in Italian).

Which climb has more steps, Florence’s Cupola or Campanile?

One of the top questions about climbing the Duomo vs. the bell tower in Florence is also the easiest to answer: the dome has more steps than the bell tower.

Brunelleschi’s Dome requires a climb of 463 steps to reach the top, while Giotto’s Bell Tower requires a mere 414 steps.

Considering how similar in height the climbs are, I wouldn’t let this be a deciding factor when debating whether to climb the campanile or the Duomo.

It is worth noting that the staircases you encounter when climbing the cupola can be a bit more, shall we say, interesting than the more standard climb up the bell tower, since you have to ascend the curve of the dome.

Prepare for steep, uneven steps and a bit of an angle during the final part of the climb!

Pros and Cons of Climbing Brunellschi’s Dome

The experience of climbing to the top of Florence’s Duomo is spectacular.

When it comes to magnificent cathedral climbs, there’s no doubt that climbing the Duomo in Florence is one of the best options in all of Italy.

While the climb famously delivers you to the top of the cupola with its incredible views of Florence, the way up is also memorable.

Most notably, you’ll have a chance to stand at the base of the interior of the dome, face-to-face with the Last Judgment fresco that occupies the dome’s interior, and you’ll get to climb between the slanted walls of the dome–out of sight of the “normal” Duomo visitors–as you approach the top (see the above photo for an example).

The experience is (literally) breathtaking, and offers visitors a whole new perspective on the iconic building.

I’ve stepped inside Florence’s Duomo more times than I can count, but there’s something special about climbing the cupola that can’t be replicated with any of the other attractions at the Cathedral Complex (though standing on the terraces might come close–more on that in a moment).

The view from the top of Brunelleschi’s Dome includes unobstructed, 360-degree views of Florence.

Unlike Giotto’s Bell Tower, the view from Florence’s cupola offers sweeping, 360-degree views of Florence that are relatively unobstructed to the human eye.

While there are safety barriers, of course, they’re shorter than the typical adult, leaving plenty of room for both admiring the view and for snapping photos of both the scenery and your group.

Climbing Brunelleschi’s Dome generally requires planning your visit in advance.

Official tickets to climb the Duomo regularly book out well in advance, especially during the high season but also well into the traditional shoulder seasons of spring and fall.

If you hope to make climbing the dome part of your trip to Florence, we recommend booking your tickets or tour as soon as possible.

If official tickets are sold out for your dates, you may still have luck with timed entry tickets via third-party sites like Get Your Guide, or by booking a tour (I loved this evening tour, and this popular tour offers a more traditional Duomo itinerary).

If you’d like to access the Duomo’s terraces, you’ll want to climb the dome.

The Duomo’s terraces, which run along the top of the Cathedral but at the base of the dome, offer a fantastic view of the exterior of the cupola, the baptistery, Piazza del Duomo, Piazza di San Giovanni, and of course the rooftops of Florence… with essentially no crowds.

The catch?

You can only visit the Duomo’s terraces on a guided tour that features a Duomo climb, like this one.

The Duomo tour that I loved included terrace access, and this daytime tour includes a visit as well.

If you don’t like tight spaces or heights, climbing Brunelleschi’s Dome might be a challenge.

As someone who is scared of heights, I avoided climbing the Duomo in Florence for years out of concern that it would be challenging for me (I’ve never had to turn back from a tower climb in Italy, but some of them are certainly intense).

As it turns out, my fear of heights didn’t get in my way as much as I feared.

That’s mainly thanks to the barrier that reaches far above the height of the average person when passing the narrow walkway along the interior of the base of the dome, which is the part I was worried about–there’s not much room at all, but there’s also no chance of falling when admiring the Last Judgment fresco.

While the top of the dome is certainly high up, there’s more space to spread out up there as well, and you don’t need to stand right at the edge of the platform unless you want to.

Now, for those who are uncomfortable in tight spaces on the other hand… let’s just say that there are some very narrow spaces with curving walls as you climb up and down that might test you.

If you need to wait for another group to pass (quite likely), there’s a good chance you’ll end up standing still for a bit, pressed against both thick stone walls and other people as you do.

At least one person in our group expressed anxiety about it out loud, but ultimately everyone said they were glad that they completed the climb.

Pros and Cons of Climbing Giotto’s Bell Tower

Climbing Giotto’s Bell Tower is cheaper than climbing Brunelleschi’s Dome.

The most straightforward advantage of climbing the bell tower in Florence vs the cupola is simply that it’s cheaper and faster to do so.

The Ghiotto Pass Duomo ticket requires you to commit to a reserved time slot for climbing the bell tower (while the more expensive Brunelleschi Pass allows you to climb it at any time), but you’ll save a bit of money on the base price as well–10 Euro as of the time of writing.

It’s much easier to get tickets to climb the bell tower vs the Duomo.

… and money and scheduling quite aside, there’s another factor that may be the trump card, so to speak, when debating whether to climb the dome or the bell tower: you can almost always get same-day or next-day tickets to climb Giotto’s Bell Tower in Florence.

Brunelleschi’s Dome, on the other hand?

Unless you’re willing to shell out for a tour (and in high season, sometimes not even then), there’s a very good chance you won’t be able to get tickets at the last minute.

The view of Brunelleschi’s Dome from the top of the bell tower is spectacular.

There is no better place to appreciate the majesty of the exterior of Brunelleschi’s Dome than from the top of Giotto’s Bell Tower.

Truly, the view of the dome alone is worth the 414-step climb!

… but unfortunately, the view is impeded by metal fencing.

The downside of that spectacular view? It’s heavily impeded by fencing.

In order to get the photos of the dome in all its glory that you see taken from the top of the bell tower, you have to shove your camera lens right up to the fencing (and depending on your lens/phone, sometimes still crop out fencing along the edges).

To the human eye, it’s still a magnificent view–but there’s no doubt that the fencing, while completely understandable from a safety perspective, takes away from it.

The winner of the cupola vs. bell tower debate is…

Having personally climbed both Florence’s dome and bell tower, I believe that the Brunelleschi’s Dome climb is the winner of this debate.

Climbing the Duomo instead of the bell tower means experiencing better views of Florence, and offers the benefit of seeing the interior of the Cathedral from above, the phenomenal Last Judgment painting on the interior of the dome up close, and is generally an exciting experience.

However, I do have to add that the view of the dome from Giotto’s Bell Tower is one of my favorites that I’ve ever experienced in Florence, so it does come in a fairly close second (and the fact that it’s generally easier and/or cheaper to access for travelers booking at the last minute is a major advantage, too).

Should you climb both the Duomo and the Campanile in Florence?

If you climb the Duomo in Florence, you’ll–by default–end up with a ticket to Giotto’s Bell Tower.

And if that’s the case, I absolutely recommend climbing both if you have time!

While Brunelleschi’s Dome is my favorite of the two climbs, there’s no doubt that getting to admire a close view of the dome from the bell tower is also a spectacular experience.

Unless fitting it into your schedule requires skipping something else that you’re particularly excited to do in Florence, odds are high that you’ll find it worth the effort.

Looking for the best views of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore?

This blog post is all about the two Florence viewpoints that you access from the Duomo Complex… but what if you’re looking to admire the church from a bit of a greater distance?

Thanks to the city’s skyline being dominated by the building most of the best views in Florence include a view of the Duomo–but there are a few standouts!

Piazzale Michelangelo (ridiculously crowded these days, but offering amazing views) and the Boboli Gardens are both popular options, and the Arnolfo Tower at Palazzo Vecchio is my personal favorite view of the Duomo from outside the complex!

Here are 11 of the best viewpoints in Florence!

Read More About Visiting Florence, Italy and Beyond

If you found this blog post useful, we’d love to keep helping you plan your trip to Tuscany!

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