Avoiding the Long Lines at the Coliseum and other Rome, Italy Things to Do Tips

Il Colosseo! Everything glorious, and many things despicable, about the Roman culture of 2000 years ago can be found in its history. What an astounding pummeling of feelings hit me the first time I saw it.

But first, how to avoid the lines.

1. Buy your ticket at the Palatine Hill entrance. A ticket allows you entrance to both the Palatine Hill and the Colosseum. The entrance to the Palatine is only about 200 meters southwest of the Coliseum. Just follow the path, around the Arch of Constantine, buy your ticket there. Then walk back, past the line at the entrance (the line should form on the right, but often snakes over to the left). Walk up to the turnstiles, place your ticket in the slot, and voila, you're in!

2. There are actually 2 lines at the Coliseum - one for tickets, one for tickets plus audio guide (an extra 4 euros). The audio guide line is always much shorter.

3. Buy the Rome Archeologia Card which costs 20 euros and will gain you entrance to a number of archeological sites including the Coliseum, Palatine Hill, Baths of Caracalla, the National Museum of Rome, etc. You can buy this ticket at any of these sites all of which have a shorter line (most likely, no line) than the Coliseum, then just bypass the line as above. It's valid for 7 days.

4. Make a reservation by phone: 39 06 3996 7700. But I would wait to see what the weather is like. There is a special ticket window to pick up your reserved ticket, so again, no waiting in line.

5. Make a reservation on the internet. (read the fine print): http://www.pierreci.it/do/show/list/20

6. Take a commercial tour. There are a some cheesy "guides" hawking tours outside the Coliseum. Better to go with a reputable company.

Leave a Comment

Phone: 39 06 3996 7700 reservations
Address: You CANNOT miss it!
Directions: Southeast end of the Roman Forum - next to Via dei Fori Imperiali
Website: http://www.pierreci.it/do/show/list/20 for reservations

The Pantheon, the temple to “all the gods,” was spared destruction because it was given to a religion with one god. Lucky for us.

Indeed, today, the Pantheon still functions as a Roman Catholic church, with masses celebrated on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings, just like any other local parish church in Rome. It is good to remember this when planning a visit. Although the building is usually open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., when services are being held you should refrain from walking around (though you can stand near the entrance). Entry is free through the massive, bronze doors, said to be “original” but having undergone significant restorations.

So many ironies, secrets, legends, art, politics, science, skill and history in one building.

To begin in the middle, (you already knew it was built by Emperor Hadrian in 118 AD to replace an earlier temple destroyed by fire, right?) the temple was closed in the 5th century as Christianity grew in power. Sometime between 607-9, it was given to Pope Boniface IV for use as a church by Emperor Phocas (Eastern Roman Empire). It was rechristened Santa Maria ad Martyres (St. Mary of the Martyrs). Twenty-eight wagonloads of Christian martyrs bones were moved from their graves and buried under the Pantheon, and the Pope proclaimed All Saints Day, a commemoration of all the martyrs. The church calendar had been getting more and more crowded, with not enough room to celebrate a day in honor of each saint.

Two years ago, the dirty and stained coffered ceiling underwent cleaning and restoration, resulting in this beautiful, pristine image of the oculus and the dark blue of an early evening sky. I've read that it used to be possible to write for permission to climb the dome from the outside, and look down, over the lip of the 9-meter wide (30 feet) oculus. Now THAT would be something!

Leave a Comment

Address: Piazza della Rotonda
Directions: In the middle of Rome's historical center, about a 5 minute walk east of Piazza Navona.

Update, Apr '08. New extended entry times at the Vatican! Your guidebook is probably out of date. Even better news! Lines may become a thing of the past. Starting June 1, tickets for the Vatican Museums will be available for purchase online at www.vaticanstate.va. WOW! If this is true, I am delighted.

The new hours: The museums are now open all year from 8:30 to 18:00 (6 pm) (last entry 16:00 (4 pm), including Saturdays!

For now, if not booking a tour, best to go around noon (winter) or later (as early as late March), when the line is shorter. I've taken the Vatican's own tour, and although you skip some collections, the tour was good. You can go back to see whatever you missed after the tour. Book a tour or check the schedule here: http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Info.html

The last Sunday of the month, it's free but packed! Mondays are crowded because most other museums are closed. See my tip here: Free Sundays at the Vatican.

Helpful, but not necessary to rent an audio guide; many exhibits have English signs. The Sistine Chapel is a long way from the entrance. If you rent an audio guide, you'll have to go all the way back to return it & retrieve your ID. Otherwise, you can exit right onto St. Peter's.

With your back to the altar in the Sistine Chapel, exit via the right hand door instead of the left.

On the way to the Sistine Chapel, you can visit several museum collections (Egyptian, Etruscan, the Raphael Rooms, etc.) or you can skip them. It's up to you. But these collections are truly wonderful. Note that the Painting Gallery, the Pinacoteca, is the opposite direction at the museum entrance.

The cafeteria has decent food at reasonable prices. Bathrooms are nearby and also near the Sistine Chapel.

Do yourself a favor with a bit of research on the Sistine Chapel before you go. Otherwise it's so overwhelming you won't know what you're looking at. Buy or borrow a book, or try a website like: http://www.christusrex.org/www1/sistine/0-Tour.html

Leave a Comment

Phone: 06 - 698 - 833 - 33
Address: Entrance on Viale Vatican near Via Santamaura
Directions: Vatican City, Metro stop Ottaviano Line A. Walkable from many locations, or take a taxi
Website: http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html

Or go VERY early.

It sounds tempting, doesn't it? The last Sunday of the month, the Vatican Museums are open - and free! Saves you 14 euros per person; if you have a large group, it can add up. Well, that's exactly what all other budget-minded tourists and locals are thinking, too.

Click on the photo and see what awaits you! My traveling companion had no other time but Sunday morning available to her. This is the Gallery of Maps around 11 a.m. on a Sunday, on the way to the Sistine Chapel. It is a RIVER of people. . . .no, a TORRENT of people headed to the Sistine Chapel. Occasionally you can work your way to an eddy on the edge so that you could actually stop and look at something, but it isn't easy. (The Egyptian Museum and Pio Clemente sculpture museum were a bit less crowded; the Etruscan Museum was virtually deserted.)

If you're still determined to go, here's my suggestion.

The Museums open at 8:45. Get in line by 7:30. No, I'm not kidding. I thought 8 a.m. would be early enough, but luckily Rome VT friend Abarbieri suggested earlier, and he was right. At 8, the line was huge, we couldn't see the end of it. At 7:30, we were only about 75 meters from the entrance. We actually got in around 9 and took two hours to see the other museums before I took the photo.

Leave a Comment

Phone: 06 - 698 - 833 - 33
Address: Entrance on Viale Vatican near Via Santamaura
Directions: Vatican City, Metro stop Ottaviano Line A, walk or take a taxi
Website: http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html

There are three museums in Rome that you REALLY, REALLY should go to.

THIS is one of them.

(The other two are the Vatican Musuems and the Galleria Borghese, but really, you should also see the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, part of the National Museum of Rome. Yes, of course, there are others - but this is a good start.)

Why the Capitoline Museums?

1. Because you'll see some of the most amazing ancient sculptures on the planet....iconic sculptures....sculptures you've seen all your life in books. Now is your chance to see them in person. The Dying Gaul, the Capitoline Venus, the original 5th century BC Etruscan bronze wolf, symbol of Rome, (often used to illustrate the legend of the she-wolf that nursed Romulus and Remus), the colossal pieces of the statue of the Emperor Constantine that originally stood in his basilica just a few hundred meters away in the Roman Forum, the charming and much copied "Spinario" (a small boy, seated, with much concentration, pulls a thorn from the bottom of his foot.) and so much more.

2. Because of the new exhibition space, the original gilded bronze of Marcus Aurelius on horseback can finally be seen from every angle. (Previously it was "caged" behind a glass wall, only allowing a front-on view.) It is a wonderful space, giving full emotional power to the works displayed. Plus you get to see the foundations of the original Temple of Jupiter, which was MUCH larger than I had imagined.

3. For the vista over the Roman Forum from the Tabularium, especially at dusk

4. For the lovely view of Rome from the terrace of the cafe'.

5. And I haven't even MENTIONED the Caravaggio's!

Please, just go! Closed on Monday, but open from 9-8 p.m. I've never seen a line of more than a few people. Many rooms/displays are well signed in English.

Leave a Comment

Phone: 39 06 - 8205 9127
Address: The Piazza Campidoglio
Directions: Northwest end of the Roman Forum, just behind the big white monument to Vittorio Emmanuele. Main entrance is off Via del Teatro di Marcello
Website: http://www.museicapitolini.org/en/index_msie.htm

UPDATE, March 2006

With most people heading off to the Vatican museums or the Borghese, this museum doesn't get seen often enough. It is one of several sites of the National Museum of Rome. It is filled with great sculpture (like the famous "Discuss Thower") but it's main claim to fame is its fabulous collection of mosaics and frescos, taken from villas in and around Rome. There are several entire rooms which have been preserved with all the original frescos, so you can step into and see exactly what the rooms looked like 2000 years ago. The mosaics collection is incredible.

When you buy your ticket, ask for a reservation for the next tour of the mosaics and frescos (it's included in the price of the ticket). You aren't allowed to visit them by yourself. An English speaking guide gives the tour in both English and Italian. Your ticket will show the time of your tour.

UPDATE March 2006: No tour. You get to see the frescos and mosaics on your own, whenever you like, for as long as you like.

The mosaics and frescoes are found on the top floor (this is the "second" floor in Italy, while Americans would call it the "third" floor. In the US, the ground floor is called the first floor, but in Italy, it is called "piantereno." The first floor above ground is called the first floor or "primo piano," and so on.)

There is a very nice gift shop.

Leave a Comment

Phone: 39-06-481-4144
Address: Largo di Villa Peretti, 1
Directions: Near the train station (Roma Termini). Find Via Viminale, and follow it toward the Piazza Cinquecentro, and you find the Palazzo Massimo. Not far from the Diocletian Baths.
Website: http://www.museionline.com/eng/cerca/default.htm

They spent more than 10 years restoring the Galleria Borghese, and it was worth it! It is one of the most splendid museums in the world. Some of Bernini's most masterful sculptures are here. When you see his "Daphne and Apollo," you will wonder how a human being could possible have created it out of stone. The curators say that when they cleaned it, every leaf rang like crystal! There are several Caravaggio's, Botticelli's "Sacred and Profane Love," Canova's scandalous (at the time) scupture of Pauline Bonaparte Borghese as "Venus Victorious," etc.

Make a reservation via phone or fax (see the museum website below). When they say arrive a half hour before, they mean it, especially in busy times. This will give you time to get your ticket, rent an audio guide or tour guide, check any backpacks or packages (required), maybe browse the museum shop or have an espresso at the small cafe in the half-basement, where the ticket office is located. Then go outside and up the steps for entry at your appointed hour. They will actually kick you out after two hours. Since everyone heads for the first room first, it's not a bad idea to forge ahead a few rooms. All the better to see things more quietly, then return and see the first rooms later.

There are two floors to the museum. Be sure to save time for the second floor which houses most of the paintings. The stairway to the second floor isn't obvious, so ask if you don't see it..

Leave a Comment

Phone: Info: 011-39-06-841-3979
Address: Piazzale Museo Borghese, 5, Villa Borghese park
Directions: Walk down Via Veneto toward the Porta Pinciana gate in the Aurelian walls next to the Villa Borghese. Enter the park, and turn right down the lovely pedestrian Viale Borghese to the magnificant Galleria.
Website: http://www.galleriaborghese.it
Other Contact: Reservations: 011-39-06-328-10

While Rome has many wonderful areas, perhaps the heart of the historical center is here, Piazza Navona. Night life until 2-3 in the morning - mimes, artists, beggers, restaurants, bars, famous ice cream, wonderful shops, musicians, a gorgeous church, and three fabulous fountains! Yes, maybe the food and drinks are overpriced - but sitting in the piazza watching the world go by is so lovely, how can you complain?

If spending extra for the view and scene offends you, see my tip on the neaby but almost hidden restaurant LaFocaccia where you can spend less but eat well.

The oval (but small) shape of the piazza follows the curves of the original stadium, built by Domitian. Originally called the Piazza "in Agone" for the contests he staged here ("agone" were classical Greek nude atheletic contests), the name was corrupted over the years from "in agone" to Navona.

However, the name of the beautiful Church, St. Agnes in Agone, remained unchanged. It's still being restored, but is now open to visitors.

Take a closer look at my photo of a detail of Bernini's Fountain of Four Rivers, which is in the center of the piazza. A bit of trivia with which you can amaze your friends (or not): the drain for the fountain is hidden in the mouth of the fish! Check it out for yourself.

Leave a Comment

Campo dei Fiori (it translates Field of Flowers, but don't expect a pastoral setting -- it was paved over in the 15th century) is another lively hub in the historic center of Rome. Best known for its morning market of flowers and vegetables which have replaced a former horse market. (I think the prices are great, especially considering the quality of the produce.) In the afternoon and evening, the vendors leave the square to the bars and restaurants. The piazza has a colorful history -- murders as well as executions. You'll find a statue in the piazza raised in memory of Giordano Bruno, a philosopher, who was burned at the stake in 1600 for "heresies" against the Catholic Church.

It was also here that the painter Caravaggio supposedly killed a tennis-game opponent after an argument, leading to his four-year flight from Rome on murder charges.

From here you should wander the wonderful small streets of the local neighborhood - it's the perfect area to get lost in and make your own discoveries.

Leave a Comment

Directions: South of Piazza Navona and Corse Vittorio Emanuele, near the Piazza Farnese.

The Spanish Steps -- that incredibly sweep of architecture, lifting you from the Piazza di Spagna up, up to the extraordinary silhouette of the twin towers of Trinita' dei Monti (Trinity of the Mountains) and one of the 12 Egyptian obelisks you'll find in Rome (plus one more in the Vatican).

A twist of fate and nomenclature that they are named the Spanish Steps. Actually, it was the French who built them, to ease the way up to the French Church. But the Spanish Embassy used to reside at the bottom, hence the Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps. I never tire of walking up or down the steps (really!). They are beautiful at all times of day, all weather, even a cold rainy evening in February. Notice the three wide landings - reflective of the church they ascend to.

At the bottom, the famous fountain, La Barcaccia -- translation, sort of an old, ugly or useless boat -- by Bernini, either the dad, the son, Gian Lorenzo, or both. See how it seems to be sinking? Brilliant use of available resources, as the aquifer which is the source for the fountain delivers very little water pressure -- so no chance of a showy spray like the Trevi. Note the coat of arms - The Pope's hat (or rather, the crown, I guess) and Barberini bee of Pope Urban VIII.

At the top of the steps you'll have a wonderful view, but you are just a few minutes away from an even more spectacular view from the Pincio Hill at a far corner of the Villa Borghese. As you are facing the church, turn left. As you approach the park, take the ramp up to the prominent overlook (overlooking Piazza del Popolo, but so much more!)

Leave a Comment

Address: Piazza di Spagna
Directions: the northeast corner of the Historical Center of Rome