Duomo Cathedral is in my mind the 1st attraction in Milan. We had seen it in pictures and in an online video course we had taken, but when we first laid eyes on it, it took our breath away. The huge surrounding Plaza, and just the immense, gorgeous Cathedral itself - pictures definitely don't do it justice.
We took the easy way out for our visit and bought the ticket that includes the Cathedral roof and Museum. We visited the roof first, and with the ticket, it was a real timesaver. Instead of waiting in the long Duomo security line, you go around to the left of the Cathedral to a special roof line and there were only a handful of people ahead of us. From there an elevator whipped us up to the top of the roof (I had strained my knee a few weeks earlier and avoiding the steps was nonnegotiable!).
The roof is beautiful, allowing you to see many of the spires and carvings close up. However, you cannot go back down in the elevator you came up in. Instead, you must circumnavigate the entire roof to a down elevator on the opposite side. This is a slow process with the crowds, and includes some narrow passageways and stairs, promising to be a bit anxious for the claustrophobic. Then you will encounter a 15-20 minute wait for the down elevator which only takes a handful of people at a time.
After your roof visit, you can proceed directly into the Cathedral's interior from the elevator. Words cannot express the size and beauty of the fourth largest cathedral in the world. We wandered around for a good hour taking pictures and straining our necks looking upward! An audio tour is available for purchase.
A caution for tourists: be aware of scam artists in the Plaza. Aside from the typical pickpocket cautions, we saw the "free" rose and bracelet people at work (give you a free rose or bracelet for luck and then insistently demand payment). We didn't see the pigeon scammers (shove feed in your hands, pigeons surround you, they take a picture and demand money).
