Hi everyone,

First off, a million thanks for all the wonderful advice provided here so freely - I finally managed to get my trip organized and will leave in 11 days time! Really looking forward to it.

Couple of last minute questions for the experts out there -

a) for Vatican City, do I need to make some reservations or bookings to get there on a Sat? Don't want to be locked out having gone so far...and where do I make the reservations if I need to? Anything particular I should know to do / not to do?

b) I have heard the Uffizi and Academia in Florence can get crowded too around this time of year - should I also make reservations too?

Thanks a million for your help!

Definitely make reservations whenever you can.

The time you would spend in line can be better used elsewhere.

Have a great trip!!!

The Vatican museums close early on Saturdays and they don't take reservations. If you don't want to stand in line(doesn't take as long as it appears), you could book a tour with one of the many tour companies. They will be able to bypass the lines for tickets.

http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-In...fo_Orario.html

make reservations fro the florence museums. this has been mentioned in several threads. the preferred way is by phone. if you seach for 'Uffizi reservations' you will probably find all the info you need.

Definitely get to the Vatican museums early on Saturday. As mentioned above, they close early. We got there at 2:00 p.m. and they were already closed. We've been to St. Peters numerous times, and our favorite was when we got there at about 8:00 a.m. We wanted to see it before our Scavi tour, and we got in before most of the tourists. We had the place almost to ourselves, and it was truly magical. Not that it isn't always magical, but to be able to enjoy it without the gobs of tourists made it that much better.

Have a great time!
Tracy

Yes on reservations. I just got back from Florence and it was mobbed.

We made our Uffizi and Academia reservations 2 months in advance. We only had one day on which we could visit, and the only time we could get for the Academia was 4 pm.

Definitely make the Florence reservations.

Re: the Vatican, if you want to do a Vatican guided tour (which we did and loved), you can make a reservation for it in advance and avoid standing in line. It costs a few euro more than admission, but definitely worth it!

I have to run off to work, so don't have time to search for the phone #s, but do a search and see if you can find them on this board. Otherwise, I'll be back tonight...

good luck!
dina

bookmarking

thanks all - will book accordingly

For Florence, your hotel should be able to arrange the museum tickets in advance for you. I did this recently by email per the recommendation of other fodorites. Most also recommend scheduling later in the afternoon.