Siena Cathedral Tickets: how to buy, prices and discounts

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption is, together with the Torre del Mangia and Palazzo Salimbeni, one of the main attractions of Siena and one of the most beautiful religious temples in Italy, especially for its architectural design that combines Gothic and Romanesque styles, but it is also one of the best museums in the city.

Located in the old part of the city, visiting the Cathedral is one of the best things you can see and do in Siena to discover the local history and also get to know some of the most outstanding works of art by Pinturicchio, Michelangelo, Raphael Sanzio and Amico Aspertini.

The answer will depend on the ticket you choose and the access it allows, as you can buy the ticket for the Siena Cathedral and for the museums of the complex or the ticket that only includes entrance to the exhibitions.

The approximate starting price for the full ticket is €21 for adults and €5 for children between 7 and 11 years old. Children under 6 years of age enter free of charge, provided they are accompanied by an adult.

Exclusive admission to the museums of the complex costs approximately 13 euros for adults and 2 euros for children between 7 and 11 years old. In this case, children under 6 years of age also get in free.

For all tickets, you can also access the audio-guided tour or sign up for excursions with an expert local guide, which is one of the best tours in Siena

You can buy tickets in advance online or directly at the ticket office at the time of your visit, although you should be aware that if you plan to visit Siena during the Christmas or summer months they may sell out or there may be long lines at the entrance.

If you still want to buy tickets at the ticket office you will have to enter from the left side of the Cathedral up to the gift store, where you can also book guided tours.

You can also buy tickets at the ticket office located in the crypt at the back of the Cathedral, next to the Baptistery of St. John. The approximate cost is the same as for online tickets.

The Siena Pass, which is a tourist card valid for 3 days, does not include the entrance to the Cathedral but it does include a 50% discount for the Duomo and also for the Baptistery, the Crypt, the Piccolomini Library and the Oratory of San Bernardino, so if you purchase it you can save money during your visits to the complex.

Note that with the Siena Pass you will also be able to enter the Cathedral without queuing, which in high season will be very beneficial, since the historic center of the city contains the most visited attractions.

The Siena Pass also includes discounts on admission to the Museo dell'Opera Metropolitana, which contains the city's largest and most famous art gallery.

Details of interest

• Price: The tourist card has an initial cost of approximately €21 per person.
• Duration: The Sienna Pass is valid for 3 days from the first use.

Tickets for the Siena Cathedral are discounted for children between the ages of 7 and 11. This means that the full tour ticket has an initial cost of approximately €5, while for adults the cost is €21.

For tickets that include the tour of the museums of the complex, but without access to the Cathedral, the ticket for children between 7 and 11 has an initial cost of approximately €2, while adults pay approximately €13, making it an excellent opportunity to combine a trip with children with a visit to the best museums in Siena.

Please note that children under the age of 6 enter free of charge and must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

With your ticket to the Siena Cathedral you can opt to take the free self-guided tour, which is available in 8 languages and can be requested at the ticket office located in the gift store on the left side of the main door of the Duomo.

You can take tours with an expert local guide through the Cathedral and the museums of the complex by joining a group at extra cost, although you should note that you can only sign up for the guided tour once you are at the entrance of the Duomo, so if you did not buy tickets in advance online, you may have to wait your turn and queue at the ticket office.

A guided tour is the best alternative to get to know the museum complex and the Cathedral because it will save you time and make your tour more effective, especially if you plan to make a quick trip to the city. If that is your case, here is a list of activities to get to know Siena in 1 day.

The Siena Cathedral is located in the heart of the historic center of the city, so by car you can only get to the parking lot of the Duomo and then you will have to walk 5 blocks to the entrance of the complex. But you can easily reach it by public transport.

If you combine bus lines 60N and 131 you can get from any point of the city to Piazza San Domenico, which is located in front of the Artemio Franchi stadium. From there you will have to walk 2 blocks to the entrance of the Cathedral.

You can also enter some parts of the old town by bike, especially on tours starting in Piazza del Campo, which is the epicenter of the best food tours in Siena.

The Cathedral of Siena is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site and, in addition to an architecture that is striking for harmoniously combining Gothic and Romanesque styles, has some of the most important works of the most prominent Italian artists, both in the pavement of the central nave and in the frescoes and sculptures inside.

The floor of the Cathedral is listed as the most beautiful in the world and has a Roman mosaic layout that was largely designed by Pinturicchio. The pulpit, which was made by the sculptor Nicola Pisano, is another of the Duomo's masterpieces and the two most famous sculptures inside the building are those of St. Peter and St. Paul, which were designed by Michelangelo.

In addition, you can also visit the Museo dell'Opera Metropolitana, which brings together some of the major Renaissance works of Tuscany, the Piccolomini Library, which was decorated by Raphael Sanzio, and if you visit Siena at night, you can also discover the illuminated front of the Crypt.

Note also that all the buildings of the complex respond to the same architectural style that evolved as a whole, so in addition to the museum displays and works of art that you will find inside the Cathedral you will also marvel at the facades, columns and constructions of all the buildings.

Touring the Cathedral and the museums of the complex will take you approximately 3 to 4 hours, although if you are planning a short stay in the city you can opt for a quick tour of the Duomo without visiting the exhibits, which will take you approximately 1.5 hours.

You can also choose to visit only the museums and in that case you will have to make a visit of about 2 hours, although I recommend that if you have the possibility to visit the historic center of Siena you reserve some time for the cathedral building.

If in addition to the Cathedral and the museums you also want to visit the other areas of the religious circuit of Siena such as the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta in San Gimignano, the complex of Sant'Agostino and the Benedictine Abbey of Sant'Antimo you should plan a half-day excursion.

Siena Cathedral is open to tourists every day from 10:30 am to 5:00 pm and tours are scheduled every half hour, with the 4:30 pm tour being the last one. The schedule of the museums of the complex follows the same schedule as that of the Duomo, although it is modified during holidays.

Masses in the Cathedral of Siena are celebrated every weekday at 9:30 a.m. and on holidays in four shifts, at 8:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 12:15 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.. In summer, the last mass of the last shift is at 6:30 pm.

In addition, in the summer season the closing time of the Cathedral is extended by 2 hours, until 7:30 pm, so you can make the most of your visit by taking a full day tour of Tuscany from Siena or other city tours and visit the Duomo in the last shifts.

Within the Siena Cathedral complex there are two main stores. One is located in the Museo dell'Opera Metropolitana and the other inside the Duomo and both offer souvenirs, themed gifts, ornaments, decorations, decorations and miniatures of Michelangelo's sculptures and the cathedral buildings.

The stores are open every day during the opening of the Cathedral and the museums, extending hours also in summer and with the limitations of public holidays. Hours may be altered during particular events taking place in the complex.

Inside the store you can also visit the Historical Archives, the Library and the Photo Library, where you can buy some of the best photographs and postcards of the city.

Please note that you can also find souvenirs and decorations in the nearby stores outside the Cathedral, which in some cases may have cheaper prices.

Details of interest

• Price: entrance to the store is free, although you must have purchased a ticket for the Cathedral or the museums of the complex to enter.
• Hours: daily from 10:30 am to 5:00 pm. Store opening hours are subject to change on public holidays.
• Location: Piazza del Duomo 8, Siena.

As it could not be otherwise, Siena maintains the tradition of Italian gastronomy, so in the area of the historic center, very close to the Cathedral and the museums of the complex, you can access some of the best restaurants and bars in the city.

Among the highlights you can visit Ristorante La Finestra and Taverna di San Giuseppe and Zest, which is also a winery that is usually included in the tours of the best wine tours in Siena.

You can make the most of your visit to the city by also visiting the Torre del Mangia, the bell tower in Piazza del Campo that offers from its top one of the most beautiful open views of the city and is ideal to visit after lunch, to wait for the sunset and enjoy the sunsets.