I'm curious. We typically don't do guided tours of art galleries. Quite a few people here talk about tours, but I don't know if those are people who always take guided tours or those who did it specially for this venue. I did read some comments here that the docent guided tour was better than the headsets (we do frequently rent these). Or, are we okay with just an in-depth guidebook if we like art but aren't truly into learning about all the symbolism and history involved each piece. Just carefully looking and observing the art is frequently plenty for us. Tanks for your comments.

I generally don't take guided tours in museums, but I love art and knew that my time in Rome would be once in a lifetime. I took Context Rome's tour of the Borghese and was very glad that I did. The guide was very knowledgeable and built the tour around what interested **me**. When you sign up with Context you tell them what your interests are too, and she makes the comparisons, draws in the similarities and differences, all based on what you disclosed. It was phenomenal. I also learned things from her about the Berninis there that I hadn't read anywhere else, and I actually did quite a bit of reading before I got there. I wasn't just getting what I could have heard on audioguides or read in books.

I guess it depends on what you want to get out of your time in the museum. I didn't do it for all the museums I visited, but I wanted the Borghese to be special and to make the most of my two hours there, and I think I did.

Hi, julies -

I didn't take a docent tour of the Borghese, so I can't comment on the experience - I'm sure there are benefits. I did rent the audio guide, and found it informative (even though I already knew quite a bit about what I was seeing).

Hope that helps!

Since your time is limited in the museum and it is filled with artistic gems, every minute with a tour will prove to be worthwhile. The Borghese was our first guided tour, chosen only because my mother was with us and we were worried that she wouldn't know what she was seeing. We booked the less costly guided tour in English through the gallery and were very satisfied. It wasn't boring, and because of the inherent time limit, it was fairly fast-paced.

--Annie

We also used the audio guide and found it very informative. As I am not an art history expert or even novice for that matter, I usually do the audio guides in museums and on occasion go for a guided tour (particularly in the large museums which can be overwhelming).

We took the uided tour in English through the gallery and LOVED it. You just pay a few euro extra per person and it's a great value. I would highly recommend doing so.
Have a great trip, julies!

dina

I did a audio guide and found it to be really helpful. I am not a great lover of museums but Borghese Gallery was very enjoyable.

Hi julies
(Aren't you in Rome right now?) We rented the audio and it was fine, but I was an art major and I'd studied Bernini (my favorite.) I thought the audio was especially good at this gallery.

One tip, if you rent the audio: go through the gallery with the crowds, and as everyone is leaving, go back to the rooms on the main floor with the Bernini's. That way you'll have them all to yourself to study and gaze at. They are breathtaking! Eventually they kick you out