Italian Cultural Week, similar?

Hi! I just posted a question regarding the Cultural Week. We'll be there this year during that time. So glad I saw your entry. <br> Are there any specific museums that aren't free? <br> What about Pompeii?
<br> Did you find that the lines were long? Sorry, unfortunately I don't know the answer to your question but I'm sure the internet does =)

In France there are the Journées du Patrimoine ("Heritage Days") which are held on the 3rd weekend in September. As in Italy museums etc are free, and places which are normally closed to the public (such as the Elysée Palace) are open to visits. I believe there are equivalent things in several European countries.

Hi Meredith, The exact dates change every year. In 2011 its April 9-17. This is what I found re culture ministry website: "During the event all state-run museums, galleries, monuments and archaeological sites across the country are open to the public free of charge and numerous exhibitions, performances, guided tours and other initiatives have also been organised for the occasion."
This is a country wide event so it does include special events, and many museums and historical sites in Pompei. For a full list of events by region go to the website of the Italian Culture Ministry www.beniculturali.it. In Rome, city-owned museums also participate, and the Roma Pass Web site has a list of state and city museums: www.romapass.it In Venice the museums did not participate for some reason. The Vatican Museums, since they belong not to Italy but to Vatican City, do not participate. In Rome the lines were very short. At the Colosseo the only real line was to rent the audio guides that my friends wanted. Without ticket lines we pretty much just walked up and went in. I know that at the Galleria Borghese (which you have to pre-book ahead of time) they still charged the reservation fee and at the Capitoline Museum there was a "special exhibit" fee. (4.50E) The only long line we stood in was getting into the Uffizi in Florence (which we could have pre-booked). That line was probably an hour. At mant places they do not allow pre-booking during this week. I'm still trying to find info on similar free / discounted events in Europe. We are catching up on some other countries the next few trips so it may be as much as a year before we go to Italy again. Enjoy your trip!

I don't know if it is similar, but in Frankfurt every year on the last weekend in August, they have the Museum Riverbank Fest. All you need to buy is a badge for 4 euro and then all the museums are open to you all weekend, they have all kinds of workshops and free tours, and the entire riverbank is filled with about 600 stands selling artwork, crafts and foods. I think there were 20 stages last year offering everything from a wide variety of music, to dance groups from dozens of countries and demonstrations of martial arts, falconry shows, etc. The past 2 years, either the Romans or the Franks set up camp here and demonstrated their skills. A lot of the extra stuff is in German, but it is still a lot of fun. The Fest usually draws about 3 million visitors for the weekend, making it the premier event for Germany.