Brunelleschi Pass

The Brunelleschi Pass is the most expensive of the three passes that open Florence's cathedral precinct, and the only complete one. It is also the only pass that includes the climb up Brunelleschi's dome: there is no single ticket for the climb, and the only other way to the top is the Opera's own guided dome tour. This guide sets out what the pass covers, how the time slot for the climb works, where to buy it properly, and what is left once the official slots have gone.

What the Brunelleschi Pass covers

The pass is a combined ticket issued by the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, the works administration that has looked after the cathedral complex since 1296. It covers five sites around the Piazza del Duomo, each once, within three calendar days:

• Brunelleschi's dome - the climb between the two shells of the cupola, past Vasari's frescoes of the Last Judgement, up to the lantern. 463 steps, no lift, roughly 45 minutes.
• Giotto's campanile - the free-standing bell tower with its own viewing terrace. 414 steps, again no lift.
• Baptistery of San Giovanni - the octagonal baptistery with Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise.
• Museo dell'Opera del Duomo - 28 rooms on three floors holding the originals from the facade, the choir lofts and the bronze doors, reached by stairs or lifts.
• Santa Reparata - the excavated remains of the earlier church beneath the cathedral.

The nave of the cathedral itself is free and not part of the pass. One practical detail the Opera states explicitly: visitors heading for Santa Reparata enter through the Porta Campanile on the south side, and that entrance also serves for a visit to the nave.

The three passes compared

Since the ticketing system was rebuilt, the Opera sells only passes, no single admissions. Which one fits comes down to a single question: do you want to climb the dome?

Children under seven pay nothing but still need a ticket of their own. As of September 2026, prices from the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore.

Two details most comparisons leave out. The Brunelleschi Pass is the only one that drops the time slot for the bell tower: with it you simply turn up within the three days, while Giotto Pass holders are tied to their chosen hour. Santa Reparata, by contrast, is open without a set time to Brunelleschi and Giotto holders alike; only the Ghiberti Pass needs a slot there. And if you are climbing purely for the view, the Giotto Pass is no worse a deal, because the campanile puts the dome itself in the picture and the dome does not.

The time slot everything else hangs on

When you buy, you choose the date and start time for the dome climb. That slot always falls on the first day of validity, and the three-day clock starts with it. The rules around it are strict:

• The reservation cannot be changed, cancelled or refunded. Date and time are therefore the most consequential decision in the whole purchase.
• Five minutes' lateness is tolerated; after that the admission lapses.
• The other four sites are open to you without a fixed time during the three days, including before your dome slot as long as it is the same day. The day before does not count.
• In the booking calendar a day shows green even when individual times have gone. A grey 0 next to a time means that slot is sold out; times in blue are available.
• The Brunelleschi Pass is personal. First name, surname and nationality of every user are recorded at purchase, and an order holds at most ten passes.

What the climb demands

The way up the dome is no stroll, and the Opera says so unusually plainly. 463 steps with no lift, narrow and steep in places between the two shells. The climb is explicitly discouraged for anyone with cardiovascular or respiratory conditions, vertigo or claustrophobia, and during pregnancy. Minors may only go up accompanied by an adult.

Practical points for the day itself:

• The entrance to the dome is the Porta della Mandorla on the north side of the cathedral. The name on the ticket is checked and photo ID is mandatory (a rule in force since 1 March 2025).
• Large bags, backpacks and suitcases must go into the luggage storage at Piazza del Duomo 38/r beforehand. Turn up with them at the entrance and you will not get in.
• Dress code in the cathedral and the Baptistery: no flip-flops, shoulders covered, legs covered above the knee. It does not apply to the dome, the campanile or the museum.
• Time needed: about 45 minutes for the dome, 45 for the campanile, 90 for the museum and 30 each for the Baptistery and Santa Reparata. For the whole complex, reckon on half a day to a full day, ideally split across two mornings.

Where to buy, and why "skip the line" means nothing here

The original price exists only in the Opera's official ticket shop (tickets.duomo.firenze.it). The shop requires registration and runs in English and Italian only, which is the one genuine drawback next to the resellers.

Two statements from the Opera are worth knowing before you book anywhere:

• There is no "skip the line" product for the cathedral complex, and according to the Opera there never will be, because the booked time slot already does that job. Anyone selling you "priority entry" to the dome is selling a service that does not exist.
• Tickets are not transferable. Only agencies that have signed an agreement with the Opera may resell them, and the Opera publishes the list of these authorised partners in its own FAQ. Anything outside that list is not an official channel, however official the website may look.

Offers from authorised partners, with prices updated daily, appear in the booking panel on this page. They cost more than the Opera's €30 - in exchange, dates are often still available there when the official calendar has long since closed.

When the official time slots are sold out

The Brunelleschi Pass is the bottleneck of the cathedral precinct, because each dome slot takes only a small number of people. One thing matters above all: what is no longer bookable online is not available at the ticket office either. The Opera states explicitly that the availability shown online is final. Four routes remain, in this order:

1. A different day or time. Early morning and late afternoon free up more often, and a day marked green may still hold individual slots.
2. The Opera's guided dome tour (€50.00, reduced €30.00, in Italian and English) runs on its own allocation and is the second official way to the top.
3. Authorised resellers - more expensive, but with allocations of their own. Their offers are in the booking panel above.
4. Plan without the dome. The Giotto Pass covers everything else, and the campanile is the better platform for photographs.

One special case at the lower end: if the regular Ghiberti Pass is sold out too, the ticket office at Piazza San Giovanni 7 sells the Ghiberti Pass "On-site" for the museum and the Baptistery, with no time slot and with luggage storage included. It is not available online.

Opening hours, closures and building work in 2026

• Dome: Mon-Fri 8:15-18:45, Sat 8:15-16:30, Sun and public holidays 12:45-16:30 (last time slot in each case).
• Campanile: daily 8:15-18:45. Baptistery: daily 8:30-19:30, closing at 13:30 on the first Sunday of the month. Museum: daily 8:30-19:00, closed on the first Tuesday of the month. Santa Reparata: Mon-Sat 10:15-16:00, Sun and religious holidays 13:30-16:00.
• Cathedral: Mon-Sat 10:15-15:45, closed to visitors on Sundays and religious holidays.
• Maintenance in 2026: the campanile is closed from 9 to 13 November, the dome from 16 to 20 November.
• Building work: the campanile is undergoing major restoration. The top terrace stays open, but the view is partly obstructed. The mosaics in the vault of the Baptistery are not visible while they are restored. According to the Opera's FAQ, access has been through the south door rather than the usual north door on Via Martelli since 10 September 2026; the Opera's own monument pages still name the north door, so follow the signs on site.
• Fully closed: the complex shuts on 25 December, 1 January and Easter Sunday.

As of September 2026. Times and slots change at short notice, and the binding version is the Opera's own booking calendar. For how the pass sits alongside the city's museum tickets, see Is the Firenze Card worth it?; every other booking route is gathered in Tickets in Florence.