Two churches in Florence. Santa Croce has 7 tickets and tours to book; Florence Cathedral has 67 tickets and tours to book. The table and the two notes below put them side by side; the full pages have what to see, the ticket and the timing for each.
One ticket covers the church, the chapels, the cloisters, the Pazzi Chapel and the museum in the old refectory, and it is bought at the door or online for a small saving in queueing. Booking matters only in high summer. An audio guide is available and useful, since the chapels are numerous and the labels are brief. Guided tours with an art historian cost several times the ticket and are worth it if the Giotto frescoes are your reason for coming, because the two chapels in question are behind a rail and need pointing out.
The cathedral nave is free to enter, and the queue for it moves steadily along the north side of the building. Everything else in the complex is sold as one pass rather than piecemeal: dome, bell tower, baptistery, crypt and the cathedral museum are covered by a single ticket valid for several days. There are two versions. The cheaper one leaves out Brunelleschi's dome, which is the reason most people come; the full pass includes it with a compulsory timed slot that you must reserve when you buy, and slots go first thing.
