Indigo5

Hi,
My husband and I are on a three day trip to Rome this May and plan to visit the Borghese gallery in Rome. We will reach Rome by train at 10.15 am and the English guided tour of the gallery begins at 11.10 am. So, I'm hoping to get some helpful suggestions in this Forum regarding the following:
1. Do trains in Italy (Eurostar train in our case) run on time? Or do they frequently arrive later than indicated in the time table?
2. Since we don't have too much time, what's the best thing to do with our luggage - probably 2 small suitcases? Does the cloak room at the gallery have facilities to keep suitcases too? or only backpacks and the like.
3. If the cloakroom is unlikely to provide space, then should we use the left luggage services at the train station? Is it safe?
Would appreciate any pointers.

bilboburgler

1) Italian trains run on time or are even early
3) left luggage is safe and much better than taking it to Borghese

Zerlina

I wouldn't risk going to the Galleria Borghese from the train. They will not store luggage, and luggage storage at Termini is time-consuming. If you've already reserved the 11 am slot at the Borghese, count on taking a taxi there from Termini.

Indigo5

Thanks for the info. I hope the process involved in using the left luggage services is not too long and I also hope a long queue is not the usual scenario.

Indigo5

Oops, I just posted my reply before seeing Zerlina's reply. Thanks for your input. So, if the termini option is time consuming, I'm wondering if I should take a taxi from termini, go straight to our hotel near the pantheon, drop it off ( not waste time checking in just yet) and proceed in the same taxi to Borghese.

Zerlina

The second option would have the advantage of not having to return to Termini for your luggage and might be faster. You do realize that they ask you to pick up Galleria tickets 30 minutes in advance and have the option of selling them to people without reservations if you don't?

Can you take an earlier train to Rome?

Indigo5

The earlier train from Florence is a slow express and we will have to leave Florence at 6.30 am and travel for 2 hours, 45 mins!
The reason I'm trying to fit Borghese in the very first day is because the next 2 days we have too many things lined up through the day. 11.10 is the only English tour the gallery organizes.
I am planning to book Borghese tkts online and make a reservation over phone before hand. Do I still have to be there 30 mins in advance?

kybourbon

>>>Italian trains run on time or are even early<<<

Except when they run late. My last train Florence/Rome was 1 1/2 hours late.

>>>The earlier train from Florence is a slow express and we will have to leave Florence at 6.30 am and travel for 2 hours, 45 mins!<<<

There are multiple earlier fast trains. One departing 7 am and one departing 8:10 am.

Zerlina

Except on Sunday, there's a fast train at 8:10 that gets in at 9:45.

I suggest you reserve both the 11 am entry and the 11:10 tour by phone and ask them to make a note on the ticket reservation that you can't be there 30 minutes in advance. They might do it, they might not.

Indigo5

Oh! When I tried booking on Trenitalia.com, the earlier 7am and 8.10 am trains didn't showup at all! Why is that?

sacc

As Zerlina says, if you're late picking up the tickets the gallery very well might sell them to last-minute walk-ins.

You might consider booking a later entry and using one of their audiosets rather than the formal tour. The audio commentary is good, you can replay if you've missed a point, and you then can visit at your own pace.

Indigo5

Hey, thanks all of you. From all your advise, I really think it's not worth the tension of cutting things fine. I should book a later ticket and take the audio guide. Thanks again all of you for your inputs. This is why I love this forum.

ellenem

If you were looking at train schedules after mid-June, the summer schedules are not yet loaded. Check schedules for the same day this week to see the possibilities.

Ackislander

You came to a wise conclusion.

Stuff happens.

You don't want to sit on a delayed train (or in a delayed taxi) wondering whether your reservation has been sold to someone else, especially because you probably would not get a refund.

Indigo5

Asolutely! Thanks again.