Borghese Gallery Rome
 

There appears to be a guided tour of the Borghese Gallery is this worth while? I understand I need a reservation, and that I can use the Roma Pass to pay for the entrance? How strict is the time allowed? We will be going in early July, any hints?

Thanks so much for help

The allowed time is very strict, and will probably even be a little less than the stated time. You should make a reservation ahead of time, even though you will have the Roma Pass, as the reservation is still needed.

As for the guided tour, I haven't taken it. I remember the audiophone is pretty good.

We hopped onto the guided tour at the last minute - we had a reservation for the museum but not for the tour - the ticket collector asked us if we'd be interested. It was a wonderful overview of an amazing gallery. We are not art experts so it gave us the context and an appreciation of what we were seeing.

The woman who did our tour had a very strong accent but even so, we all remember this as our favorite experience in Rome. She was very interesting and knowledgeable and was able to show us the highlights of the museum which I think would be hard to do on your own in the allotted 2 hours.

Since we didn't get the audio, I can't compare. A good audio really makes the difference for us, but a bad one can be frustrating...

Either way, I'm sure you'll enjoy the Borghese.

gruezi

I've done the guided tour twice and thought it was very worth while. You don't need a reservation for the tour. Pick up your tickets and walk into the room behind the entrance, where the audio guides are, to pay for your docent-led tour. The tour leaves from this area. Before you make your reservation for the museum check the times of the English tours as they are not given all day, only at specified times.

<How strict is the time allowed?>

If you do not leave the minute your time is up the guides will yell at you! That's how strict the time is. Everyone is escorted out the first floor entrance and down the staircase. You then re-enter the building to pick up your checked items. And you must check everything (except what you can stuff in your pockets).

Big hint - arrive a half hour before your reservation time to give you enough time to pick up your tickets and check all belongings. If there are 2 of you then split up - one picks up tickets and one checks personal items.

You all are amazing and so helpful, I am just amazed at the generosity of fodorites. Thanks.

We very much enjoyed our guided tour.

There was just one other couple on the English-speaking tour, so it was practically a private tour.

The guide was excellent--knowledgeable and witty.

Byrd

Hi, sgbargyle -

I thought the audio guide was very good, and liked the freedom to see what I wanted to see at my own pace.

Enjoy!

at your own pace but within your 2 hour window....

Yes, because the time limit is so severe, it was particularly important to me to be able to choose my own pace.

We had a reservation for a time slot on a Saturday morning last August. Unfortunately, we didn't give ourselves enough time to walk there from our hotel, Duca d'Alba, with a few stops along the way. We also entered the park at the entrance that was the farthest from the Gallery. So, we arrived about 10-15 minutes after our scheduled time. We figured we had lost our reservation, but luckily there was still room for us to enter the Gallery. We were surprised it wasn't more crowded. We were with our two children, ages 10 and 13, who were bored to tears, but loved the walk through the park (especially the much slower one after the Gallery visit).

A trick that worked for me-take the audio guide and start your tour on the upper floor. You get to see the paintings in deserted galleries and by the time you go downstairs, most people will be headed up!

I can't speak to the guided tour but the english explanations on the pamphlets in each room were quite good. I recall the museum being strict on arriving at the time of your reservation but no one chased us out.

Is the 2 hour limit just for your time in the gallery or does it include time spent in the park as well?

gayle,

just for the gallery...which is located in the park.

the park is quite large and open to the public.

gruezi

The Borghese was a top 3 highlight of my trip to Italy in 2006 & if we did not use Context Rome to take us through, the experience would have been a lot less for me. The 2 hour time limit is strictly enforced(in fact, they "guide" everyone out the rear exits a few minutes before the actual mark) so you need to be efficient in your walking around-if you can do 2 tours, spend the first downstairs w/the sculptures & the second upstairs w/the paintings-but the equally important thing is not to ignore the floors, ceilings & walls which in & of themselves are amazing and emphasize my point of using Context to point out these things. See other reviews to help you decide & good luck.

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