Italy and Museums
 

I would appreciate any information that people may have from their experiences regarding the museums in Italy. I would like to know which museums would people recommend purchasing tickets in advance to avoid long lines? My family and I will be visiting Venice, Florence, Siena and Rome at the end of April and the beginning of May. I have read that it is best to purchase tickets to the Uffizi Gallery in advance but wondered, based on people's experience, if there were museums that it helped to have tickets purchased in advance. Thank you.

We just got home from Florence and Rome. I booked Uffizi and Academia in Florence and Colosseum (underground and 3rd ring) and Vatican and Gallery Borghese in Rome all ahead and glad we did. I booked in Janaury for late March/early April.

This has great info on it:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...ome_Lazio.html

And

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g1...m.Tickets.html

alerke:

Since you'll be visiting all these cities in two weeks, you need to get tickets for certain museums NOW, especially for the Uffizi and Borghese. Here's the Borghese website for tickets:

http://www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/en/edefault.htm

Do the Borghese tickets NOW. The link DebitNM has provided offers insight into Uffizi tickets. Another alternative is to ask your Florence hotel to book the Uffizi tickets for you. Many hotels will do that. As with the Borghese, act on the Uffizi tickets NOW.

As for the Accademia, I found that tickets aren't necessary. if you go later in the afternoon, you can usually get in after a brief wait. I just walked in, and I was there in early May. It doesn't hurt to get tickets in advance, but they're not vital.

As for the Accademia in Venice, I've been there three times in May, and I never needed advance tickets.

I spent eight days in Siena. i went to the various museums in May with no advance tickets. I don't think they're necessary.

In Rome, I strongly recommend going to the Galleria Doria Pamphili — a fantastic relatively small museum with major paintings by Velazquez and Caravaggio, among others. Excellent free audio guide. Again, no advance tickets are necessary.

For the Accademia and the Uffizi: Book the tix ahead of time using the international phone number. Don't use the website, as there's a service charge and you have to pay upfront. There's nothing to lose by booking via the phone. You get a timed entry -- no waiting in line -- and if you don't show up at your appointed time, there's no charge.

In Venice, we liked the Guggenheim. It's not the typical Italian art. We've never booked tix in advance, but check for which days it's closed.

alerke:

When I say you don't need reservations to either the Accademia in Florence or Venice, that doesn't mean you might want to get advance tickets. If you're prone to high anxiety, you might want to know without question that you can enter either museum at the appointed time because you have a reservation. Here, for example, is the Accademia in Venice website and acces to online booking:

http://www.gallerieaccademia.org/?lang=en

I was emphasizing in my earlier post the absolute need to get tickets for the Uffizi and Borghese ASAP.

By the way, a recent post in the Forum indicated that people can now take (no-flash) photos in the Borghese Gallery. When I went to the Galleria Doria Pamphili in Rome last year I learned that you could take no-flash photos there for an extra entrance fee.

"By the way, a recent post in the Forum indicated that people can now take (no-flash) photos in the Borghese Gallery"

:)

I think you should first decide which museums you really want to visit. In Florence, a lot of the great art is in churches, which have entry fees, but generally don't require advance reservations. The Uffizi is really a specialist's museum; I think that about 60% of the people who go there find it tedious and monotonous. They somehow have got the impression that you can't go to Florence without visiting it.

The same is true of the other cities. There are at least a dozen great museums in Rome. Everyone thinks they have to go to the Vatican Museums and the Borghese Gallery because they saw it on a "top ten" list somewhere. The Doria Pamphilj Gallery, mentioned above, is a great place to visit, as much as for the opulent Renaissance palazzo as for the art collection, which is a bit hit and miss. The art was collected over the centuries by the Doria Pamphilj family, who still own the palazzo and live in part of it. Other great museums in Rome, none of which require advance reservations, are the Capitoline Museums, the Barberini Gallery, the National Roman Museum at Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, the MAXXI, and the Corsini Gallery.

In Venice, if you are interested in Doge's Palace Secret Itineraries Tour in English, book a slot to avoid the ticket line and ensure a slot. This one does not have to be done super ahead of time, but they do sell out. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...ce_Veneto.html

Be aware that most museums in Italy are closed on Mondays and that admission is free on Sundays. Of course, that also means the museums are packed with visitors!