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Free Sunday at Borghese or Colosseum

My daughter and her husband are meeting us in Rome the after noon of 4 July, 2015. Our plan was to walk around a bit in the neighborhood of the apartment we rented near Piazza Navona, go to dinner, then call it a night. Sunday, we had planned to take a tour of the Colosseum including the 3rd tier and underground, and the ancient area, and Monday we have an early tour of the Vatican, and then will leave for Florence. We will be back later for a day from our cruise, and were planning to spend the day in North Rome, visiting the Villa Borghese, and the Galleria Borghese for a leisurely day. The problem is that July 5th is a "First Sunday" free day at the Colosseum and the Borghese among others. It appears that here are NO tours of the colosseum available on that day, and we fear that the lines will be too horrendous to even get in. We could be at the colosseum at 7:30 if that would help.

My questions: Has anyone ever been to either of these places on a free day? Do we have a hope of getting into one or the other without waiting in line for hours? Is there any way to get a tour of the colosseum on that day? What do they do at the Borghese that day? Would it make sense to swap our plans and go to the Borghese on the 5th and the colosseum on our later day? Our itinerary is set -- we have pre-paid apartments and tours -- and those cannot change. Any other ideas? Thank you in advance for your help!

Posted by
795 posts

We steer clear of those places (and others in other countries) on free days. They are impossible to properly enjoy because you will have herds of locals who take advantage of such days as well as herds of tourists. They both will be seriously crowded though perhaps the Borghese might be very slightly less crowded due to the fame and popularity of the Colosseum. Yes, do swap your plans. Good idea!

Posted by
15678 posts

Jan, I'm reading that reservations for 2-hour time slots are needed to the Borghese even for free Sundays as they simply can't let everyone and their brother in at one time: the museum is too small//fragile to handle it. If that's true, it's very good news as it would mean that crowds wouldn't be any heavier than on any other day.

The bad news is that there may have been a run on free tickets/reservations for July 5th. I would try to book a time slot on their website or call them to see if there are slots remaining.

Posted by
11613 posts

Kathy is correct, the Galleria Borghese will only let in a certain number of people every two hours, even on free days, and still requires reservations.

Posted by
191 posts

When I looked at the official Borghese ticket site, it did not yet have July available, so I will try every day until it is posted. I wondered how they would manage the crowds for that day. Thank you for your input. We can easily switch days.

Jan

Posted by
191 posts

I just spoke with a ticket agent at the Borghese, and she told me that July will open for reservations, on the first of May. That sounds late to me, so I will try again on the first of April just in case!

Posted by
11613 posts

Jan, the agent was probably right. Many museums open booking times 60 days in advance. You may be able to get tickets further in advance from a broker at something like double the cost.

Posted by
693 posts

The Colosseum will most likely be a nightmare. We were there last week (so far from peak season). We arrived early and quickly got through the security check with the tickets we bought online. However, by 1030am the queue to get through security was taking nearly 50 minutes (even if you had prepaid tickets). The situation was not helped by there only being 2 police officers carrying out the checks!! So my advice, don't go on a day that will be incredubly busy and get there early whatever day you go.

Posted by
16893 posts

If you could really be in line for the Colosseum at 7:30, one hour before opening, then this office thinks that's a good plan. Someone in your party can run to the Metro station for coffee. July is not necessarily as busy in Rome as June or Easter. Since you can't get a local tour, you can download Rick's free Audio Tour to take on a mobile listening device.

Posted by
82 posts

My family are also interested in visiting the Galleria Borghese on Sunday, July 5. I have been calling once a week for several weeks now trying to reserve tickets on this "First Sunday" free day, and each time I've been told to call back in a few weeks as reservations cannot be made yet. I just tried a few minutes ago and was told to call back at the end of May.

Has anyone had success with reserving a free Sunday during the summer? We'd really like to tour this gallery and July 5th is our only option - we would gladly pay for the reservation, but unfortunately that does not seem to be an option.

Thanks for any tips on this!

Suzette

Posted by
4152 posts

They only book 60 days out so you're still a little too early to book for free Sunday.

Donna

Posted by
82 posts

Quick update...after numerous calls over s month or so, I am pleased to report I was able to book a free reservation for that Sunday. Success!