Is it really necessary to get reservations in advance for musuems?
Jun 5th, 2002, 06:49 PM
#1
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Is it really necessary to get reservations in advance for musuems?
For Venice, Florence and Rome in late June do we need to do this before we leave the States? Can we make a reservation when we arrive, like the day before or will they be 'sold out'? Are the lines really that bad? <BR><BR>Also, we plan to slip in to see "David" close to 10:00pm when the museum closes to avoid crowds. Do people actually go to museums until 10pm? Is this a good idea?
Jun 5th, 2002, 07:43 PM
#2
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We were in Florence in Sept.20 last year. STILL plenty of tourists!<BR>The Accademia and David were a 5-minute wait at noon; the Bargello was walk-in. But, the Uffuzi was a 3-hour wait according to others at our hotel. There IS a lot more to see in there! We went there at noon, and the earliest reservations were 3PM the next day.<BR>We phoned for the Vasari corridor tour and the Cenacolo (Da Vinci's Last Supper, Milan) before we left Canada and even then, Vasari was very close to booked up. (Spring and fall only!) <BR>Vatican Museum we just showed up for, and I am VERY impressed how fast the line moved once the doors opened. We rushed past everyone to get to Sistine before most people. then carried on. The museums are several loops, so after the Sistine we were back at the entrance, to do a loop on the Pinoteca, then the various galleries back to the Sistine. By then it was very crowed, and the guards were much more officious about "no photos" and no video.<BR>So? The "big" stuff will probably be crowded, the not-as-big, not.
Jun 5th, 2002, 10:04 PM
#3
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We reserved everything we wished to see long before we left for Italy. We had a short wait in line at the Uffizi even with reservations, and the unreserved line was very, very long (this was in early May this year). Again a short wait even though reserved at the Accademia; unreserved line not quite so long.<BR><BR>You can't reserve for Vatican Museums or Sistine Chapel, but as noted above that line seems to move rather quickly. <BR><BR>IMO, no point wasting precious vacation time standing in line, thus I reserved.<BR><BR>j
Jun 6th, 2002, 06:29 AM
#4
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Hello J,<BR>I was in Italy in May. I only made reservations at Accademia before we left. There was a line, it looked long, but I can't say how long you would have to wait. I was glad we had our reservations. We showed up early and they let us right in anyway. We tried to Uffizi without reservations. There was an enormous line and says posted saying the next available reservation was Saturday at 3:00pm. It was Wednesday. The Bargello had absolutely no line.
Jun 6th, 2002, 06:30 AM
#5
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Hello J,<BR>I was in Italy in May. I only made reservations at Accademia before we left. There was a line, it looked long, but I can't say how long you would have to wait. I was glad we had our reservations. We showed up early and they let us right in anyway. We tried to Uffizi without reservations. There was an enormous line and says posted saying the next available reservation was Saturday at 3:00pm. It was Wednesday. The Bargello had absolutely no line.
Jun 6th, 2002, 06:37 AM
#6
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For what it's worth, this is my experience: At the Accademia in April 1999, we were first in line when it opened. Arrived about 15 min. prior. Returned around mid-day in October 2001 and found the line to be about three blocks long. We returned about half an hour before closing time and walked right in. At the Uffizi in April 1999, we joined a long line and waited about half an hour; the line in October appeared to be even longer.
