Florence Cathedral and Brunelleschi's Dome

Florence's cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, with its marble façade of green, white and pink, and its huge red-brick dome by Filippo Brunelleschi, completed in 1436, an engineering marvel of the Renaissance. Climb the 463 steps up between the inner and outer shells of the dome, past the frescoes of the Last Judgement, to the lantern at the top.

The cathedral itself is free, but the dome climb, Giotto's bell tower, the baptistery and the museum need a combined ticket, with a booked time for the dome.