Beating the lines at major sites

I understand you're not inclined to guided tours, but one option to maximize your experience is to hire a tour guide for a half-day here or a half-day there. A knowledgable person explaining the art/ruins/monuments I am looking at greatly enriches my experience. Audio guides are nice, but they don't compare to a personal guide. Many guides will obtain tickets for you to save time.

I understand and I feel the same about audio tour. We are leaning that way especially in Venice. Rome we have done most of the big sites, but have never made it to the Borghese. Thank you for your suggestion. I love this forum, it really can help in planning. Karen

We went to Mass at St. Mark's Basilica. It is not a way to beat the lines, but we did see a part of the Basilica others did not. You must be willing to stay for the entire Mass ( about one hour) . Afterwards, you have about 10 -15 minutes to discretely look at the art work. The entrance is at the left hand side facing the Basilica.
My father is religious Catholic and so we do try and attend Mass on Sunday when possible when travelling. We have had some nice experiences . I have also attended evensong in Canterbury and York. Lovely

The friends we travel with are Catholic. We also make an effort to attend mass while in Italy. If you are staying in an area for a period of time it is a wonderful way to meet, mingle with local residents making a memorable exchange for all. I have seen the "Secret Treasure Doge Tour" which sounds intriguing. Wanting to purchase tickets in advance to avoid the lines just wandering what tours ( and tour companies) are the best, reliable and worth the price to get a more experiential knowledge.

Hi Katie,
The best information that you seek is in the Rick Steves Italy guide. It will give you recommendations on timing of your visits, value of tours, costs involved, email addresses if needed etc. All of us here are volunteer posters and don 't collectively have the correct/updated info that the book has. We've been to Italy twice and found RS guide superior to any other guidebooks we perused and the best investment we made for our trips.

Sorry, but "boots on the ground" info can be much more timely than a guidebook, which gets a final edit many months before it is available to the public. Of course, info from forum posters must be practical and not just opinion.

Get reservations IN ADVANCE for Borghese. It is very popular. I was there in early May and already had bought my ticket online a few weeks earlier. At that time, the next times available were about ten days later. It may be too early to get tickets now, but when you know what your schedule will be (maybe a couple of months in advance) go online and order tickets. You are sent a code, then you pick up your tickets at Borghese an hour or so before your entry time.