Best luck you've had avoiding major crowds at major sights.

Good tactics!

We arrived at the Vatican's Pinacoteca at opening one weekday and had the place to ourselves for almost an hour before a group of students showed up. Delightful!

In the much-maligned Cinque Terre, we have always visited in October and not on a weekend. We hike the higher trails, even using the buses in Manarola and Riomaggiore to get us up above the crowds to start out. The sanctuary trails were much less crowded.

I truly hope that the "luck" I had avoiding crowds on my last trip was a one-time "luck", and that none of you ever have the same "luck". I had long planned a 7-week trip to Italy for summer 2016. As it happened, the preceding fall/winter/spring saw some unpleasant terrorist events in Europe, so many people must have cancelled their trips. Wherever we went that summer, it was eerily quiet. In Cinque Terre, my friends and I got the 4 seats facing each other in every train car we got on. Every time. For 5 days. In Florence, we never dodged crowds or stood in lines, the piazza in front of the Duomo had only scattered groups here and there. In Rome, the only unbearable crowd was around the Trevi Fountain. I had pre-booked walking tours in both cities, many of which were cancelled for not reaching the minimum number of participants. I also visited some quieter places in Piemonte and Umbria, which are normally peaceful but this time were almost deserted. At the Sacra San Michele, for example, we saw 5 or 6 other people there during the entire afternoon we puttered around. Stresa and the Borromean islands, which were packed in 2013, were relatively empty in 2016. The line for Duomo entrance in Milan took only 10 minutes to get to the front. Turin, Pisa, Lucca, Todi, etc. Alone or with my friends, and wherever I/we went for all 7 weeks, there was a very noticeable lack of crowds.

I am just entering the phase of life where my kids' school vacations are irrelevant to me, so I will try the never-July-or-August method to avoid crowds. I also always mix the bigger cities with smaller places that appeal to me personally, and that helps with easing the crush periodically.

Another thing that has worked for me often, and which I've posted before, is to go to key sites late afternoon or evening. This was usually not planned, but happened because my then-teenagers were unshiftable in the mornings. We arrived at Versailles one afternoon at 4:00. All the tour buses were streaming out, and we were in the Hall of Mirrors with only a few dozen others. We went to the Louvre twice, both on the open evenings and throughly explored one wing each time and no more. After the Louvre, we went up the Arc de Triomphe for its last half hour and had the view to ourselves. We also did the candlelight tour of Vaux-le-Vicomte instead of the daytime tour and there was lots of breathing room and time to wander the gardens lit by thousands of candles. The advice to be first in line in the mornings didn't work for us, but this alternative was a consistent winner and gave us some great memories.

At Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin, we did not reserve tickets in advance, but arrived 5 minutes before opening on a weekday. We got right in and on the first tour. By the time we left, there was quite a long line.

I was on a business trip in London with very little free time, my first trip there, but wanted desperately to see the Churchill War Rooms. I arrived just before the museum opened on a Saturday and went right in, one of the first that day. By the time I left, maybe 2 hours later, the line by my estimate was at least 300 people deep just to get in!

In Prague, we wanted to see the Charles Bridge and the castle complex before they became inundated with tourists. We got up early so we could admire the bridge and its views, and caught an early mass (it was a Sunday) at the St. Vitus Cathedral. Even by the time we got out, the area around the castle was still relatively (by Prague standards) quiet. We enjoyed the rest of the morning there, had lunch near the Strahov Monastery, and as we were leaving, the crowds were really ramping up.

With the exception of my London business trip (late June), our other European adventures have been in May or September/October, so we usually dodge the worst of the crowds anyways.

Saunter into the Doge's Palace after 6:00 and the place is yours.

Some of it has been luck for us, too. Other things that helped:

In Spain last year, I had reserved & purchased on-line tickets for the major places we wanted to see, i.e. Royal Palace in Madrid, Alcazar at Seville, etc. We walked right in past a long-time of people waiting to purchase tickets at those places and were able to enjoy relatively empty rooms. I'm sure it also helped that I selected reservations at 3:00pm for most sites to avoid the day-time tour groups.

I like to stay overnight at locations vs. a day-trip which helps to be able to enjoy the busiest locations either early morning or late afternoon or evening.

Hello Brad. In the Travel Guide books on countries in Europe, written by Rick Steves, he provided information of how to reserve a ticket for admission at some of the major sights in Europe. At some of those sights, a ticket is for admission at a specific time, on a specific date. The ticket can be reserved in advance (two weeks before the date on the ticket, or earlier) via the internet website of that sight. I heard that reserving a ticket two weeks in advance is necessary for admission to some art galleries in ITALY. A ticket for admission to Neuschwanstein (in Bavaria in Germany) can be reserved in advance, at the internet website. The date and time of entry

to that palace is printed on the ticket. At London, persons wishing to walk through St. Paul's cathedral are advised to arrive at that church at 8:30 a.m., or an earlier time, to avoid being in a huge crowd of people there. At the castle Marksburg in Germany (Rhine river, east of Koblenz), and at the castle Burg Eltz (near the Mossel river in Germany) I recommend arriving there at the earliest possible time, to wait for a tour led by a guide talking in the English language. From my experiences of walking through both of those medieval castles, I think being with an English speaking guide is more important in Burg Eltz than in Marksburg.

I have lucked out at the Louvre twice & Versailles. With my museum pass I arrived in line about 50 minutes before opening, after heading in, I knew which Wing to head to for Mona Lisa. The first time there was about 10 of us in there for a bit, the second time it was only myself and my girlfriend for 5 minutes. We found ourselves in exhibit corridors with only ourselves & security, it was amazing to walk through 7 rooms in a row with only a few security around. Really enjoyed the exhibits. Versailles, I arrived about 50 minutes before opening, 3rd or 5th in line, followed the signs to the Hall of Mirrors, another lady followed me & both of us enjoyed the room with only 2 security personnel for about 10 minutes. We took pictures of each other with our cameras, then headed back to the entrance to enjoy a leisurely walk through the chateau. That same day I arrived at Marie Antoinette's Hamlet about 30min before opening, once it opened I new which way to head to the farm/Hamlet area, when I arrived it was only myself & a few gardeners. Great pictures of the whole area with only the structures & animals.

I tried to go to the Vasa Museum in Stockholm one day by turning up first thing. Massive queue already because the cruise ships were in town. Instead I strolled off to nearby Skansen, the open air historical village, and had a lovely morning. Not busy at all.

Then I returned to see Vasa around 2pm on the same day and walked straight in. The place was nearly empty.

So: if a cruise ship is in town, the big attraction will be HEAVING in the morning, it seems.

Reminded me of a couple.

2001 Oktoberfest. I was doing an exchange with the Luftwaffe on 9/11. Oktoberfest wasn't drastically crowded and there were lots of polizei teams with dogs and automatic weapons walking around. I think a lot of people were concerned about being in a big crowd.

Paris, Sept 2016, there was a car bomb left outside Notre Dame in the morning. Fortunately, it didn't detonate and the people were apprehended on a train leaving town. It didn't seem to hurt the crowds, however, I don't think most people realized it happened.

Burg Eltz, I enjoyed the walk through the forest to and from the castle more than the castle itself. Fortunately, a German tour was fine so I didn't wait long after I arrived.

Tower of London was another arrive early sight. We were in line early behind just one other couple and went straight to the Crown Jewels. It was weird walking through the empty que to the moving walkway that passes the jewels. Since no one was there, we were able to stay awhile and ask questions of the guard rather than rush through.

I'm not much of a reservation person, I value flexibility over a fixed agenda. I did call for reservations for Uffizi and Academia a couple days before arriving in Florence. Since I wasn't sure what day I'd arrive, I had no reservations for the Alhambra. Rick's book gave good options, so we ended up getting in at a good time. We had to pay for a multi-sight pass, but made good use of it.

These are my tried and true tips:

• start your day early and get places before they open
• alternately, go late in the afternoon when there is an hour or so left before closing.
• pre-purchase tickets whenever possible
• don't let less than perfect weather stop you. Many will let a little rain/cold stop them ... were layers and a hood
• if possible, when entering a building, museum, amusement park, go left... most people are conditioned to go right.
• eat early or late to miss the meal rush... this one isn't quite as easy in Europe though

IMHO the best way - which we have done twice is to arrive at Mt. St. Michel in the mid to late afternoon and spend the night. It's a whole different place after the crowds have gone, and you can tour the abbey either late afternoon or early morning without crowds.

We've also pre bought / booked tickets to the Academia in Florence, Neuschwanstein and I"m sure there are others...

I do agree that one thing very good about the RS guides is that he gives advice for avoiding the crowds.

Go early or go late. We actually like Paris in August, but we've found that being first in the morning or going later in the day is quieter. Last August the line for the Louvre at 11 looked like a busy day at Disney. By 3:00p.m. the path to the ticket window was clear.

Nobody was in line at the Eiffel Tower and we went right up! It had been raining all afternoon, so all the tour bus groups had canceled their reservations. We went right up and enjoyed the sunset. My husband hadn’t been up since he was a kid. I'd never gone up before!

Lesson: if it's been rainy but is about to stop, head for the Tower because others will have canceled or been no-shows.

When we visited St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, we arrived very early. There were about twenty people in the queue ahead of us and we waited about ten minutes. By the time we had done a lap of the basilica and then climbed up onto the dome, the queue went one and a half times around the square below us, waiting time 4 hours or more.

It always pays to get to any major attraction nice and early.

Have had very good luck utilizing the night openings of museum. Louvre nobody in line for security, walked right in with Museum Pass Same thing with Musee D'Orsay, and Arch de Triomphe.

Best day was when our cruise ship stopped in Stockholm. The hop on hop off buses were all queuing up to take passengers around the city. The hop on hop boats were also there. One of the hop on hop off boat companies starts it's day going immediately to the Vasa, then starts its route. Got to the Vasa no line, nobody in the building. It was wonderful. By the time we got done, people were lined up two blocks waiting to get in.

Early mornings usually works almost everywhere. Most people on vacation don't like to get up early but are willing to stay up late. Another advantage of early morning is that is not hot yet. Nowadays with global warming is not hot only in southern Europe but in central Europe, too (in summer). It used to be exceptional but now it's almost rule.

In 2011, we were touring Croatia. We went to Plitvice Lakes Jezira (Park) on June 25. We didn't know it, but that is Croatian National Day. We got to the car park at 8:00 AM for the 8:30 opening. The plan was to take the bus (kind of an open-air tram) to the actual start of the park. By 8:25, there were probably 300 people there. The attendant kept saying "Everyone will get on the bus!" (still our little family laugh line), but it was pretty obvious that not everybody was gonna get on that dang bus. So, instead, we went counter traffic - most people would take the bus to one end and walk to the other, so we walked to the end point and toured backward. Very successful.

Lesson: sometimes traffic patterns are LAWS and sometimes they are SUGGESTIONS. If they are suggestions, going counter-traffic can be quite successful.

I agree with Ilja - getting up early is the best approach. I am not a sleeping-in person - I get up at 6, get to breakfast early, go first to the popular sites, beat the crowds. An alternative, suggested also by some, is waiting until the end of the day, to be the last. Often, if you get in just as they close the ticket box, you can still spend enough time to enjoy yourself, but no one else will be there.

Another one: We were at Neuschwanstein in June, and had no pre-arrival tickets. The lines are notorious there - you can wait 2 hours for the timed tickets. After a 1/2 hour, I asked my wife to wait, and I wandered around. I went into the "Museum of the Bavarian Kings". There was a ticket counter, with 1 person in line. I asked if we could buy tickets, and sure enough - you can get the tickets to the entire place there in the line with 1 other person. So, I bought them there.

Lesson: Look for alternative ticket windows.

Avoid free days at museums. On our first trip to Italy, in 1984, because of confusion about Saturday afternoon hours - - there were none - - we were left with no alternative time for the Uffizi, but the free Sunday. I’m short. Every time I tried to step back for a better view of a painting, someone would step in front of me. All my views of the art were from between other people’s bodies. Never tried free day again.

Time of year seems to be a big factor. We finally got to the D'Orsay last April and went on the night it was open. Barely a line and not crowded. We visited Mont St Michel 1st of Oct back in 2012...we didn't arrive until later in the afternoon (didn't realize how long the drive would be) and had to jog up to the abbey to get there before the last admission - there wasn't many others about - I think we were on our own for most of the walk thru, and the town itself was pretty empty.

Two key words: Shoulder Season

More key words: Reserve specific times (early/last) when necessary.

Advice for flexibility: If you have a reserved a pre-paid time, but arrive much earlier, DO NOT hesitate to VERY KINDLY explain that you are very early, and ask if there is the possibility of entering earlier. Mentioning you really did not want to miss the opportunity to visit, so you allowed extra time in case your flight was late, etc. is truthful and respectful. Worked for us with the Borghese (even though there was a sign [posted saying NO tickets were available until three days later) and also on a different trip to Rome with a Scavi Tour at the Vatican. Gatekeepers will generally help you, if you are kind and respectful.

In another thread, I wrote about Spain:

Alhambra: A pain in the butt buying and picking up tickets. Once inside, tour groups would fill the rooms and block the entrances. Their guides would shout over each other in multiple languages, while the tourists were more interested in taking selfies. Day and night tours made no difference. From a distance, the Alhambra did look magnificent.

Mezquita: Free admission for the first morning hour, and no tour groups are allowed. What a great policy. With only a couple of dozen visitors, it was a wonderful experience. I went twice.

I'm with Patty on Paris in August. I'll never do it again because it was WAY too hot for me but....I headed to the Cite Metro stop, walked thru the Sunday bird market there and decided I would go over to see what the line looked like at Ste Chapelle. I really had no intention of going as I'd been for my 2 prior visits. When I got to the street there was no line so I crossed to see if it was even open. I got up to the door and asked the Security Guard if it was open - he motioned me in and there was no one but me for the security scanners. As I got around to the ticket booths there was a short line for ticket purchase but I had my Museum Pass and just walked on in. Amazing. You have to go with those things when you come across a short line! A plus for the Museum Pass and flexibility!

This was summer of 2016 and according to the taxi drivers, hotel folks and other hospitality industry folks I talked to, this was normal August combined with people were staying away due to the terrorist threats.

I'm of the get up early and get out but that's my M.O. wherever I travel, lol!!

Go very early or at the end of open hours, avoid free days and reserve if possible. Otherwise, just suck it up and accept (me, not happily) the reality of being part of the scrums.

Part of my strategy is to select those things that are worth a special entry ticket to see something without all the crowds. For my husband and me, that was the Pristine Sistine tour to see the Sistine Chapel before regular opening hours. As I stood in the middle of the chapel looking straight up at the Creation of Adam, I noted that I was one of only two people standing there. Others were sitting on the benches on the side looking up. It was perfect.

Another strategy is to consider alternatives. My husband and I went up the Eiffel Tower (no line because we went about 30 minutes before closing) and realized that we wanted to see Paris with the Eiffel Tower in it. Typically lines to go up the Eiffel Tower are very long, but if you go to the Arc De Triomphe - especially with a pass - the line isn't too bad and you have a stunning view of Paris with the Eiffel Tower in it.

Vasa worked out fairly well from a cruise. The cruise straddled July/August so we weren't shoulder season. We walked straight from our ship to the boat for Djurgarden, then to the Vasa museum. We didn't get there excessively early but beat most of the crowds by going there right away. The museum got crowded while we were there but we were almost ready to go before it got hard to get around. Vasa was my favorite sight in Stockholm.

For a cruise, we always go to where passengers depart the ship, stay out of the way but wait with a smallish group of people who are ready to disembark right away. The cruise excursions form up in a big space upstairs, so you're long gone before they're formed up and ready to leave the ship.

Going off season has saved us more than once. When we were in Sicily with RS in November, we had virtually no lines anywhere. There was very little competition from other travel groups.

At the Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel, we simply paid for an off hours tour. It was money well spent, and in that situation it was a case of making your own luck. But it really mattered to me to see this, so I was happy to pay what it cost to make that happen.

Another way to avoid the major crowds is to avoid the major sites. If you're traveling on a trip-of-a-lifetime, I realize that's not an option, but if it's a second or third trip in the region, there are so many other beautiful sites & locations to see. Many of our favorite memories are at locations that weren't on a Top 10 list in a city, and especially at less popular towns. Thinking back on those experiences, they weren't crowded and we interacted more with locals - two things that are special to us.

It happened by accident but the first time I was in Rome years ago happened to be the day the Pope was holding court in the piazza and it was absolutely packed with people. I thought it'd be cool to see him so I waited around a bit but eventually got bored standing there and decided to go do the Vatican Museum instead. There was no line at all, I walked right in and there were no crowds either so I guess everybody was in the piazza. I often recommend people try to find out which day Il Papa will be doing his thing and plan your Vatican Museum visit for that time.

Along the same lines, whenever I'm in Venice or Florence I always wake up very early, like 5 or 6 am and go walk around. Seeing those two cities at that time of morning when they are completely empty is nothing short of breathtaking.

1. Go off season — London’s popular tourist sights were blissfully uncrowded in January...Tower of London, St. Paul’s, Westminster Abbey, Churchill War Rooms, etc. Sure it’s dark at 430p but it’s a great time of year to enjoy theatre at reduced prices through the Get Into London Theatre promotion in Jan.

2. Arrive early at popular sights—as others have already described

3. Dumb luck — last October I visited the Royal Mews one morning and enjoyed a free guided tour by staff with only 4 other people. As I was leaving around noon, the queue to get in was horrendous. A staff person explained that the Changing of the Guard had just finished and that’s when the crowds descend on the Mews. If I ever re-visit the Mews I will definitely time it to be DURING the CofG.