Express Line, Rome
 

Only in Rome for 2 days prior to a cruise. How do we get to the front of the lines so we are not spending our limited time in lines?

Go to places with no lines. Those are the ones you've never heard of mostly, beyond the obvious. It means you have to do your homework to find those that interest you.

Well you buy timed-entry tickets in advance so you have a time slot to show up at the gate avoiding the long ticket queues. Usually the official web site is the best source though agents are many but tend to tack on some fees.

I think only a few major blockbuster sites would you want to pre-book - Colosseum; Vatican and Borghese - don't think you'll have much lines at other places and I am not sure if those three places book advance timed tickets but just about every major site in Europe does these days.

Thank you PalenQ I will look at the websites - should have thought of that! Yes, I do my homework and that is why I don't want to hire a guide. With limited time, we need to get into the Coliseum, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's without standing in line for hours. How busy is the line for the Coliseum at night?

"...we need to get into the Coliseum, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's..."

Now I know.

what about these websites that offer "Skip the Line" tickets. Does it work or does this just lead to another line?

what about these websites that offer "Skip the Line" tickets. Does it work or does this just lead to another line?>>

unless you post links to these websites we can't tell what they are or what they offer. But really they are unnecessary in Rome - if you want to see the Borghese you must book a particular time either by phone or on the website. If you buy tickets for the Vatican Museums, [the only way to see the Sistine Chapel] you will simply walk into the museums and show your tickets or collect them from the ticket office. to get into St Peter's without queuing, either take the "group exit' door at the back of the Sistine chapel and follow the stairs down into the Basilica, or get there by 9am.

your big problem is not queues but finding the time to do all these things in 2 days.

Good luck!

i should have clarified that I meant if you buy tickets for the Vatican museums through the Vatican website,....

there will be people hanging around all the most popular sites offering tours with immediate access but I have read reports by people who did this and ended up hanging around until they have attracted enough people to make it worthwhile for them.

"...I have read reports by people who did this and ended up hanging around until they have attracted enough people to make it worthwhile for them."

I did, in fact, go on one of these on-the-spot tours. We hung around probably a grand total of 5 minutes and the group was small and pleasant. If you are approached by one of these guides or their reps, ask how long you'll have to wait, if it's too long or becomes too long, leave. We didn't pay until the end except for the entry fee. This was at the Vatican - museum, Sistene Chapel and St. Peter's. I'd do exactly that again.

>>>what about these websites that offer "Skip the Line" tickets.<<<

They are resellers that mark up the prices. Why pay extra when you can book directly with the official sites and skip the lines?

The Borghese is reservation only for everyone and everyone stands in line to retrieve their tickets and again to check any purses/bags. They only allow each group in for 2 hours and then they boot you out.

Everyone stands in line for St. Peter's as there aren't any tickets, only security screening.

http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html

http://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm

http://www.galleriaborghese.it/prenota-en.htm

You stand in line for St. Peter's if you're just going to St. Peter's. If you take a tour, or otherwise, progress from the Vatican Museums to the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter's, you don't wait, you simply progress from one to the next. So if you want to see them all, or at least have a quick look at the museums on your way to the chapel and on to St. Peter's, it's best done together, one ticket (in my experience).

To get into the Colliseum very fast you book your tickets about 800m up the Via dei Fiori Imperiali which sells combinied tickets to the large area to your north and the Colliseum (the tickets are always combined) where there are seldom any queues, you then walk to the Colliseum and follow the "with ticket" signs into the Colliseum.

Easy

bilbo - the last time we did that, a few years ago admittedly, it was just after they had decided to charge for the entrance to the Forum as well as the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill; consequently the queue to buy tickets for the Forum was quite long and you couldn't get to the old ticket office for the Palatine without going through the forum, or so it seemed to us.

I'm not sure if they have sorted it out now; 18 months ago there was no queue at the entrance to the Forum which I think is along the Via di San Gregorio to the south of the Colosseum.

Thanks everyone, especially MmePerdu! I am going to buy one ticket and progress in the Vatican. I am going to buy a combo for the Forum & Coliseum. I will look for guides at entrances. Great advice from everyone!

ann, two years ago the Forum was a queue but nothing as bad as the Collesium, I guess it moves

>>>I am going to buy a combo for the Forum & Coliseum<<<

That's the only ticket sold (12€)and it's good for two days (one entry Colosseum and one Forum/Palantine).

>>>I am going to buy one ticket and progress in the Vatican<<<

You have to buy a combo tour which gives a limited time in the Vatican Museums. Might not be as much time as you want in the museums or go in the areas you want to visit. You can book tours with the Vatican (I posted the link above) or outside companies. The tours that cover both generally start with the museums and end in St. Peter's.

>>>I will look for guides at entrances.<<<

While that may work, it may or may not be a quality tour. You will also need to pay whatever price they are requesting.

For some price comparison:
A 2-day Colosseum/Forum/Palantine ticket is 12€ and the Colosseum's own tour is 5€. Audio guide rentals are 5€ and video guide rentals are 6€. Vatican Museum tickets are 16€ (entrance only) and audio guides are 7€. There are audio guides available for St. Peter's also, but it's a separate rental. The Vatican's combo tour is 37€.

if you don't buy a tour to the Vatican museums, but simply buy the entry tickets on line, you can spend as long as you like in the museums. you can hire an audio guide at the desk at the entrance, [upstairs] but if you do this, you have to come back there to return it.

therefore you won't be able to take the group exit at the back of the Sistine Chapel and thus you will miss out on the opportunity to get into St. Peter's without having to walk all the way back round the walls of the Vatican and queuing up to get past security.

The queue into St. Peter's can be long, but it moves quickly. Unlike the queue to the Vatican museums and Sistine chapel.

annhig there is nobody checking you or stopping you from taking that group exit even if you're not in a group. Everyone coming from the Vatican museums when we were there took that exit straight to St. Peter's.