Less than 2 weeks to go and I keep singing "That's Amore" all the time ;-) I realize most of the places we are going will be crowded but if a sight is particularly bad that we need to work around or there's a particular time that is less crowded or if some place is out of this world at sunset or sunrise or whatever I'd like to note that and try to accommodate that in my plans wherever possible. We'll be going to Venice, Florence, Tuscany(2 nights Pienza, 1 night San G, 1 night Pisa), Cinque Terre and Rome. I spent this weekend going through 1000 threads in the Italy section and only made it back to 3/2/07! I've got 30 pages of notes in a Word doc that I need to consolidate and I'm still searching posts and reading guidebooks but I'd like to ask some questions about timing visits to minimize crowds and/or optimize a sight.

Venice:
St Mark's Basilica- if I have any say over reservation times, is there a better time to reserve this so we are free to hit something non-reserved at a good time?

Doge's Palace

When people say to see the Rialto Bridge early in the morning, are they talking about sunrise or 9:00?

I've seen many posts about towns getting quieter after the cruiseships or daytrippers leave. Does that time vary from town to town or is there a general time when most towns tend to settle down?

Florence:
We'll arrive Tues afternoon and stay 2 nights. We've got reservations at the Accademia at 4 PM Tues and the Uffizi 10:45 AM Wed. I read that you should climb the Duomo early. If we get there when it opens at 8:30, will we have time to climb it and make it to the Uffizi by 10:45? Is there a line at opening so that we'd need to be there even earlier?

We are spending one night at San G and going to Lucca the next day. I've read that Lucca is nice in the evening but we are spending the night in Pisa so we can drop off the rental car and still have a place to leave our bags while we see the Field of Miracles and the Leaning Tower first thing in the morning before catching the train to Cinque Terre.

When people comment that Siena, Lucca and San G are special at night, are they mainly referring to after sunset (~20:45 then) or just after the daytrippers leave? Lucca is pretty close to Pisa and I wanted to have dinner there. Will we be safe driving from there to Pisa after dark?

Vatican Museum:
Has anyone been there on their own since they made it tour only until 10 AM? We normally hit places early to avoid crowds but it sounds like that philosophy didn't work here even before they changed the hours for the general public. I'm planning to go either Thu or Fri, May 3rd or 4th and previous posts have said you can usually avoid crowds by going around 1:00 but that wasn't from experience after Jan 2007.

Also, are there long lines to get into St. Peter's Basilica and to climb the dome too or it is mainly the Vatican museum?

Other Rome sites: we will be arriving by train early Wed afternoon and leaving Sat AM. It sounds like Trevi fountain is better at night and should be avoided Friday. I don't know how much control I'll have over reservations at Borghese but does it make sense to try to hit that Wed afternoon and then try a reverse of Rick Steve's Night Walk from the Spanish Steps to Piazza Navona (or as far as we make it) afterwards?

Thanks for all your help.

>>Venice: St Mark's Basilica- is there a better time to reserve this?
I liked visiting mid-day on a sunny day for best lighth inside--also check on the inside illumination schedule inside.

>>When people say to see the Rialto Bridge early in the morning, are they talking about sunrise or 9:00?
I think they are referrring to perhaps 7-8AM, before the tourists arrive, while the food markets are setting up their wares.

>>I've seen many posts about towns getting quieter after the cruiseships or daytrippers leave. . . is there a general time when most towns tend to settle down?
Cruise ships tend to arrive in the morning and leave in the late afternoon, allowing cruisers a day in town.

>>Florence: If we get there [Duomo] when it opens at 8:30, will we have time to climb it and make it to the Uffizi by 10:45?
This is really difficult to predict. If I had an Uffizi appointment, I wouldn't add the Duomo climb into the mix.

>>When people comment that Siena, Lucca and San G are special at night, are they mainly referring to after sunset (~20:45 then) or just after the daytrippers leave?
It's the daytrippers . . .


>>Lucca is pretty close to Pisa and I wanted to have dinner there. Will we be safe driving from there to Pisa after dark?
Safe? that depends on your driving skill.

>>Vatican Museum: Also, are there long lines to get into St. Peter's Basilica and to climb the dome too or it is mainly the Vatican museum?
There's a possibly-long security line for St Peter's as you enter the piazza. After that, there's another possibly-long line to climb the dome.

>>It sounds like Trevi fountain is better at night and should be avoided Friday.
I like it at any time of day, but have found it particularly deserted at 9AM, crowded later in the day, packed at night.

>>does it make sense to try to hit [Borghese] that Wed afternoon and then try a reverse of Rick Steve's Night Walk from the Spanish Steps to Piazza Navona afterwards?
Yes, and easily done. if you walked this rout without stopping it might take 20-30 minutes.

First of all, I just know you're going to have a wonderful trip to Italy! We have been the first week of May to Rome & Tuscany for the past several years. Keep in mind, that with May 1 being a huge holiday, the crowds are particularly heavy that week in Rome. You're going to some of my favorite places - Rome, Pienza, San Gimignano

mdod, you've obviously done your homework. Your plans are well thought out. Crowd avoidance is always the biggest concern. The rule of thumb and key to travel bliss is arriving early morning or late afternoon/evening when tour buses and day trippers are gone.

Hi M,

Regarding the Vatican Museums and climbing the Dome, my experience was in mid-Sept 05. Did a Context Rome tour of the Vatican and that did NOT entitle use to cut lines. Our little group of 6 walked right up to the ticket window (for some reason the line disappeared at 1:00 pm) and went right in.

Afterwards, about 4:30pm I climbed the Dome and there was no line at all. The views were fantastic!

Buon viaggio!

The drive from Lucca to Pisa is perfectly safe but why don't you drive to Pisa from San G, drop off your bags and car, and then take the train to and from Lucca? You could either have dinner in Lucca and take the train back to Pisa, or have a drink or gelato at the Baluardo San Colombo (at the wall near Lucca's train station) and then catch a train back to Pisa for dinner. It's about a half hour ride.

Hi, we were at the vatican last wednesday (2 days before good friday). Granted I know there are more people in rome because of easter, however our tour guide said that the line to get into the museum was always long. Luckily we had a reservation so were able to get in.

However, when leaving we walked around to St. Peter's square (where we saw the pope giving his papal audience). The Line for the Museum went from the entrance ALL THE WAY to St. Peter's square. If you know the area that is close to 1/2 mile long, and that is not back to back people that is 10 people wide.

So if you want to go to the museum get there EARLY.

While it's been several years since I've visited Italy in May (our last two visits were at end of Sept-beg of Oct), and while there will be crowds, I think you can notch down the crowd concern a little, generally speaking. The Trevi fountain, for example. There's always a crowd around it, but I'll bet you'll be past there more than once during your time in Rome, if there are too many people just wait until the next time. And a crowd around the fountain is part of the fun!

Generally speaking, in terms of places like San G., I would say the crowds start to lessen at 5-6 pm. And at any time of day, the further you go away from the one main street, the fewer tourists you'll see. If you're an early riser, take a walk on the path that circles San G. on the outside of the walls - it's beautiful any time, but in the morning, with the mist rising from the countryside, it's magical. If you want to visit the tower without other people, I think we were there last time at about 9:15 or 9:30, and there were only two other individuals taking photos with tripod cameras.

In October, my husband got fantastic pictures of San Marco's Square (Venice) at about 8 or 8:30, no people, no pigeons, just some atmospheric fog. We decided not to make San Marco reservations, so as not to be pinned down. We waited about 20 min. to get in, right as they opened. I felt the 20 min. was worth the added flexibility.

Siena - I'm fine with crowds in Siena; the people-watching in the Campo is great any time of day. In San G., evening, night (walk around with a gelato in hand), morning, any of those are special.

We were in Rome last week and of course the lines for the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's were terrible.
Waited 90 min to buy tickets for the museum and another hour walking to reach the Sistine Chapel.
I have heard that between noon and 1 pm is a good time to go.
The Trevi Fountain was quite in the afternoon but very busy at night.
Again we were there during Holy Week, so I don't know if that helps you.
Have fun!

you're going to have a great time, and I am SO jealous!

We were in the Vatican/St. Peter's about three weeks ago, with a guide that was exclusive to the three of us. Our entry was about 1pm, and I was very pleasantly surprised at how NOT crowded it was, Sistine aside, which was pretty full.

We had 5pm reservations at the Bourghese and walked back to our apratment on the edge of the Jewish Ghetto using no particular walk, just my own meanderings and stopped at the Spanish Steps and then Trevi fountain--yes, very nice at night and yes, very crowded. But people do step back so you can take your photos. Watch for pickpockets, of course, with all the jostling.

Note that the Baptistry doors in Florence may still be under renovation and thus be covered (though they are supposed to be done "soon&quot and that the central fountain at Piazza Navona is still under wraps. Turtle fountain has recently finished being cleaned and is a delightful little surprise, just five minutes from the Pantheon.

Enjoy your trip and don't worry too much--things somehow always seem to work out for the best in the end.

whoops. I would most certainly book reservations online for the Borghese. They were sold out the day we were there. Remember to get there early so you can wander the park and also pick up your tickets 30 minutes ahead of time.

Thanks for all the tips. They help a lot. We're usually pretty early risers and find that we see more from 8-10 AM than we fit in the rest of the day. I'm not sure how quickly we'll adjust to the time change. I generally try to avoid reservations because they take control over everything else you're doing but there's some places like Borghese that are a must.

While I'm here, does anyone have any idea how far out of the way the Testachio section of Rome is? I realized after we got an apt there that I had it confused it with apt that I was looking at near the Circus Maximus subway stop. I thought I had found another one but they emailed 4 days later that it wasn't available even though the website said it was ;-(
I've sent emails to some other places to see if anything is available closer but haven't heard back yet. Juts wondering how hard I should work to find something closer. My deadline for cancelling my original reservation is running out.

One thing that I've found is much more difficult and time consuming in planning this trip over previous trips is that many websites don't show availability in real time online and it frequently takes days to get response.

I'm not sure exactly how far Testacchio, but I think it's a ways; it would take a while to walk from there to the Pantheon/Piazza Navona area. I don't remember offhand about the subway lines, so I don't know if that would be an option. For walking time, use mappy.com and input your apt address and Piazza Navona, and check the pedestrian route option.

I just got confirmation for B&B Francesco House at Via Cavour 160 for 100 EU/night. It's on the 4 th floor with no lift (yikes!) but Rome is at the end of our trip and after Cinque Terre so we should be used to stairs by then. It's close to Termini, Santa Maria Maggiore and a subway stop so I think it will give us better access. The main complaint in reviews at Venere was about breakfast. They have prepackaged cereal and roll and a mini-fridge in the room with milk and OJ but that actually works for us. More often than not, we're already out and about before breakfast is served at B&B's so at least we'll get something and the fridge will be nice.

hi, mdod,

the Testacchio area is by the piramide metro stop, which - if you are coming back from ostia antica - you could detour round on the way back.

regards, ann