I will be in Italy in August and would like to reserve tickets from home for the Uffizi, Vatican, Pompeii tour, Accadamia. How would I go about doing this? Thanks for your help.

Some websites for you, Heather. <BR> <BR>www.waf.it/museires.htm is a site for getting tickets to the museums in Florence (uffizi, Accademia, Bargello) <BR> <BR>As far as Iknow there is no way to get advance tickets for the Vatican, I think you have to wait in line. However, if you want a guided tour you could check out www.scalareale.org. They're not cheap, but they come highly recommended by several folks on this site. I think they offer a day trip to Pompeii too. <BR> <BR>Another possibility for tours in Rome, or Pompeii is at www.initaly.com. I haven't heard any references for these folks, but they look pretty good. Both of these sites specialize in small tours (2-6 people, I think). You'll pay for the privilege, but it seems to me a great way to go. <BR> <BR>If you decide you'd rather see Pompeii on your own, you should do a search. Several people posted incredibly helpful, and very long messages about how to take the trains and make best use of your day at Pompeii. But this was quite a few months ago, so you may have to wade through a bit.

We used the www.waf.it/museires.htm site to get reserved tickets for Galleria dell'Accademia in late June and the result was wonderful. When we arrived at 9:40 for our 10am appointment, the entry lines stretched far out of sight. As instructed, we went to the Exit door and after a tour group found their proper line, we went right in. It seems that getting tickets via the Internet is a well-kept secret ... at least for now.

For previous postings on Pompeii, check out these two: <BR>Day trip to Pompeii (original question 4/22/99) <BR>Details of Train Rome-Pompeii (original question 5/7/99)

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Just returnd from Italy last week. Advanced tickets to the Uffizi and Accademia are a must and well worth the small surcharge on the internet. As another poster mentioned, I don't think you can get advanced tickets to the Vatican (as a side note, the entrance to the Vatican Museums is not through St. Peter's but a several block walk around the Vatican Wall). As far as tours, each of these places offer tours using a CD "walkman" that you can rent at the gate. These have information about most of the major pieces of art found in these places as well as the frescos and architechture. Cost was typically $4- $10 USD. To save money you can get only one unit and listen to the description twice. <BR>

You can obtain tickets for the Vatican in advance by contacting www.santasusanna.org/html/Audience/html. <BR>Audiences are given on Wednesdays. Hope this helps.