Florence Opera Duomo Complex: a full guided experience!

Falsely Advertised and Underwhelming for the Price

To start, our guide, Sandra, was very passionate and knowledgeable. She answered all of our questions throughout the experience and was able to adjust the plan due to long lines. While we were able to skip the line at the Duomo, she made it seem as though special effort was required to make that happen, despite the tour being advertised as “skip the line.” From the beginning, the experience felt somewhat rushed and unorganized. The meeting point was unclear, which caused unnecessary stress as we tried to coordinate with Sandra. Once we finally met, we reviewed the itinerary and were disappointed to learn that the dome climb would not be included. This was one of the main reasons we chose this more expensive tour over other options. According to the “Your Experience” section of the tour description, we expected to “look down on the entire Duomo complex from above after a guided dome climb.” Sandra explained that this was not part of the tour. Had we known this in advance, we would not have chosen to pay extra for this experience. Despite not being able to participate in the dome climb, Sandra provided a solid tour of the museum within the limited time available. We were particularly impressed by the baptistery doors and their interactive touchscreen display, as well as the statues by Donatello. We did enter the Duomo with minimal wait, but it was disappointing to view the dome from below, knowing we were missing the opportunity to explore it up close. Sandra also did a good job explaining how and when to line up for the Bell Tower before leaving us to explore the crypts independently. Overall, the art, architecture, and history of the complex were incredible. However, we felt that the price we paid was significantly higher than it should have been, especially given that the dome climb—one of the key features we expected—was not included.

Response from the operator: Dear Jessica, we are sorry to read about your disappointment. Our tour is right advertised: we do not promise any skip the lane, but you enter the cathedral from a reserved entrance, where some times are also long lines. So yes, Sandra was sincerely happy you have been lucky that day. As far as for the Dome is concerned, we do not provide any access to it, not even to the bell tower, so you were lucky also having the bell tower included. 2,5 hours tour is 30 minutes more than the regular duration of the tour. Sandra and all our guides are always available to go beyond the time, if necessary. Last but not least we explain why the prices of our tours are slighly higher than some other operators. 1) Our tours are MONOLINGUAL, we do not accept persons requiring different languages on the same tour, we build up a different group with a different guide for the different languages 2) Our groups are not real groups, we accept a max of 8 persons on each group. They are SEMI PRIVATE TOURS, not group tours. Some times it happens that on the tour just a couple or a family is partecipating, like it happened in your case. So you were lucky also for having had a PRIVATE TOUR at the price of a semiprivate!

via Viator

Best tour guide in Italy!

There are 3 of us, and we were the only people in our group. Our guide, Eleonora, spoke perfect English. She was extremely knowledgeable, and, since there were just the 3 of us, we could ask questions. The only downside was that all of the museums are closed on Mondays (which we didn't know when booking the tour), so lines were long! Eleonora used the time well, talking about what we were seeing on the outside & what we were about to see on the inside the whole time we were in the lines! She is by far the best tour guide I've ever had on any tour - ever! The Duomo complex is well worth your time! The building itself is amazing, and the artworks & artifacts are incredible. Some of the floors date back to a Roman times. Don't skip the museum!

via Viator

Duomo complex review

We got the Opera Duomo tour last week, it was so amazing and we very very enjoyed it. Our tour guide was fantastic, we really loved the way she explained us the Brunelleschi Masterpiece. We obviously recommend this tour :)

via Tripadvisor

Breathtaking views.

Giana, our guide, did a wonderful job both showing us the most interesting sights in/around the Duomo, but also mixed in stories to help bring medieval Florence to life. Her command of the English language was adequate, and she worked hard to ensure we understood her stories. The buildings were amazing and the views from the top of the dome are breathtaking.

via Viator

Saved a lot of time doing the tour!!!

Florence was so crowded Easter weekend that a taking a tour was the only way to get to the top of the Duomo. We loved the climb and the view - not bad at all. The lines would have been hours to get into the Duomo church as well - wrapping around the building. That said, even with the tour, we didn't have time to get into the Baptistery after standing in line with the guide for 30 minutes. The tour guide was good. Very knowledgeable and nice.

via Tripadvisor