Should I take the stairs or the elevator up the Duomo, and is it wheelchair accessible?
Quick answer
Take the stairs if you can manage about 250 steps in two flights; take the lift if you cannot, if it is above 30C, or if the climb would end the visit for someone in your group. The lift goes up only in normal operation, so everyone walks down the internal staircase, and the lift ticket still leaves a short flight of steps at the top. Wheelchair users reach the terrace level by the facade entrance, are limited to the Retrochoir area, and must be accompanied.
The count that matters is roughly 250 to 256 steps from street level to the lower terrace, taken in two flights with a landing between them, and the official terraces page describes two further steep stairways from the lower walkway up to the 45-metre level. Visitors who counted and posted the number on travel forums between 2023 and 2025 report figures from 250 to 259, which is the normal spread when people start counting at different doors. The stairway is narrow, spirals in sections, and has traffic in one direction only, so you cannot stop long. Most reasonably fit adults do it in eight to twelve minutes with one pause; forum posters describe a three to four minute climb at pace and a ten to fifteen minute wait for the lift on an ordinary day, which is why the stairs are often the faster option even for people who could afford the lift ticket.
How many steps and how hard is the climb?
About 250 steps, in two flights, with no seating on the way. The stairway is enclosed, unventilated and warm in summer, and the treads are worn marble that is slippery in trainers with hard soles. It is a short climb by cathedral standards, well under the Florence dome, but it is continuous, and the second half is the steeper part. Judge it on stairs at home rather than on distance: two flights of an ordinary stairwell, done fifteen times without stopping, is the right comparison. Once you reach the roof there are further steps between the lower walkway and the upper terrace, and the descent into the cathedral is by stairs whichever ticket you hold.
How the lift ticket actually works
The lift carries you from the north side of the cathedral to the first terrace level, around 31 metres up, and that is all it does. Article 2.8 of the official Rules of Conduct is explicit on both halves: the ascent to the second level, at 45 metres, is exclusively by stairs, and the descent from the Rooftops takes place exclusively by stairs. Every lift ticket on the official portal repeats it. So a lift ticket is not a step-free ticket, and riders also report a last short flight of about five steps after the doors open. On the official price list the lift costs €2 more on a terrace-only ticket, €18 against €16, and €4 more on the combined ticket, €26 against €22. The Fast-Track products use the South Lift, modernised and reopened on 11 April 2025 with shorter waits, and cost €28 for the terraces alone or €32 for the pass that adds the cathedral, museum, archaeological area and crypt.
Who should take the lift
Take the lift if any of these apply: knees or hips that object to stairs, a heart or lung condition, late pregnancy, a child small enough that you would end up carrying them, or a summer afternoon slot when the stairwell is hot. Take it too if the terraces are the only part of the visit that matters to someone in your group and you want them to arrive with energy left. Take the stairs if you are comfortable on stairs and want to see the structure: the stairway passes through the thickness of the wall and gives the only close look at how the buttresses are built. In April, May, September and December, when the lift queue is longest, the stairs also get you onto the roof sooner.
Wheelchair access and what the lift does not solve
Wheelchair users do not use the visitor lift. The official rules are specific: a visitor with a motor disability using the appropriate aids can reach the Rooftops, but only the Retrochoir area, entering via the facade, and access to the Rooftops and to the Baptistery requires an accompanying person. The upper terrace at 45 metres is reached by two steep stairways and is not accessible. The South Lift, modernised and reopened on 11 April 2025, serves Fast-Track lift tickets rather than wheelchair users. Visitors with a disability and one companion enter every area free, and a manual wheelchair can be borrowed against ID at the DuomoInfopoint, Piazza Duomo 14/A. Inside the cathedral the ground floor is level and the archaeological area under the square is reached by its own lift. Because the terrace lift schedule is narrower than the cathedral's own hours, an accessible visit has to be planned for the middle of the day rather than the first or last slot.
Which ticket to buy for each choice
If you want the stairs, the official Combo Stairs at €22 covers the cathedral, terraces, museum, archaeological area and San Gottardo. If you want the lift, the official Combo Lift is €26, and the booking partner's all-areas rooftop ticket is also €26 with the lift offered as an option at checkout, so the price is the same and the partner adds free cancellation up to 24 hours before the slot. Terrace-only tickets exist at €16 on foot and €18 by lift, but they do not include the cathedral, and most visitors regret buying them. If you decide the climb is not for you at all, the cathedral and museum ticket at €10 official, €12 through the partner, is the right buy.
Frequently asked questions
How many steps is the Duomo climb?
About 250 to 256 to the terrace level. Counts posted by visitors on travel forums range from 250 to 259 depending on where they start counting; three forum threads read for this page report numbers in that band.
Can you take the elevator down from the Duomo terraces?
Not in normal operation. The lift runs up only and every visitor descends by the internal staircase into the cathedral. Forum reports from 2023 to 2025 disagree only on whether staff make exceptions for visitors who become unwell.
Is the Duomo elevator worth the extra money?
It costs €2 more on a terrace-only ticket and €4 more on the combo. It is worth it if stairs are a genuine problem or the day is hot; it is not worth it purely to save time, because the lift queue is usually longer than the stair queue.
Is the Duomo wheelchair accessible?
The cathedral floor and the first terrace are. A visitor with a motor disability can reach the Rooftops through the facade entrance but only as far as the Retrochoir area, and must be accompanied; the upper terrace at 45 metres is stairs only. Visitors with a disability and one companion enter free.
How long does it take to climb the Duomo?
Eight to twelve minutes at a comfortable pace with one pause, or three to four minutes for a fit visitor who does not stop. Add the queue, which runs to ten or fifteen minutes for the lift in the middle of the day.
Can children do the stairs?
Children who walk confidently usually manage it, and the two-flight structure gives a natural break. The stairway is too narrow for a pushchair, so a carrier is the practical answer for toddlers, or take the lift up.
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