Getting to and from Galleria Borghese

I am quite confused about this. Some people say you need to call them to reserve your time but I see some sketchy (Italian?) websites that have them for 15 euros. There's also a walks of italy tour for 60 dollars but I'm already doing two expensive tours and not sure I'd want to do another one.

I bought the tickets at www.tosc.it. It wasn’t sketchy at all. I opted to print the tickets at home rather than picking them up at the site when we arrived.

If it were me I would get a taxi since it will be night. My tour group hired several taxis to bring us all back to our restaurant for that evening.

There are some apps you can use to arrange a taxi to meet you. The last time I used them was in 2018 though so things may be different now. The app I used is now called Free Now.

Others may have more current information on using taxi-calling apps.

Yes. I have heard of the Free Now app. If I call a taxi, where would I tell them to pick us up as I believe there are no vehicles allowed in the park?

There is a taxi stand on Via Pinciana, right outside the gates nearest the museum. Google up Via Pinciana 31 on google maps street view and you'll see the orange sign; you'll have to rotate the picture a little to bring it into view. That is likely where a taxi would drop you off as well. The museum's website also notes this stand in their "How to get here" info. No firsthand experience, as we walked to the museum through the park, but it's there.

Oh, and in the picture you can see one side of the museum through the gates. 8:00 PM on May 7 will still have daylight (sunset is at 8:15) so I wouldn't worry about it being dark.

Thanks so much, Kathy.

You're welcome, Mary. Hope you enjoy the Borghese as much as we did! :O)

Hi Kathy,

Thanks. Yes I know sunset will be 8:15 but if we took public transport back it would be dark or getting dark by the time we got to the hotel. I googled taxi ranks near the museum but didn’t see that one on Via Pinciana so your reply was very helpful. Edited to add. The Borghese Gallery was one thing we missed on our last trip to Rome 21 years ago so it is high on our must see list for this visit.

Years ago, I got a standard city bus that stopped (on an avenue touching the Villa Borghese park, not "inside" the park), maybe 50 yards from the Galleria Borghese. That said, it's important to understand that a bus with "Villa Borghese" on its destination sign could be going anywhere within a mile of the ART GALLERY. "Villa Borghese" is a VAST park, not a single building.

There are transit suggestions on their website:
https://galleriaborghese.beniculturali.it/en/visita/

You MUST get there early to check in for your limited, assigned, un-changeable 2-hr time slot, after which you have to exit the art galleries. I would not count on the gift shop being open when the galleries close at 7PM. Have they told you whether you are only getting 1 hour in the vast galleries? I would concentrate on the sculpture in that case.

Thanks, Tim. I think the best way to get there and back is by taxi. We are not shoppers so the gift shop being open or not is not a concern.

Tim, we have two hours (6 to 8). Per RS suggestion we will give the first floor gallery the most time and then the rest will get about 1/2 an hour.

Mary, in case you're worried...
The historic center of Rome is very safe, even after dark. In fact, the evenings are great times for walkabouts as lots of people will be out and about, and piazzas and a lot of the wonderful fountains and buildings are all lit up! Enjoy!

1. 8 PM is not "night", it's dinner time. Early dinner time by Roman standards. In May it won't be dark, either.
2. It's a 6 minutes walk from Hotel Smeraldo to Arenula/Cairoli bus stop. (10 minutes walk from Hotel Smeraldo to the Ara Coeli/Piazza Venezia stop)
3. From Arenula/Cairoli bus stop you'd take bus #63 for 13 stops. From Piazza Venezia bus #83 for 12.
4. Get off at Pinciana/Museo Borghese stop and walk for 3 minutes to the entrance of the Gallery

I am not an expert of Roman buses, I discovered it on Google Maps changing to 5 PM the departure hour.

At 8 PM I'd just walk back for 40 minutes, to dine along the way and see Via Veneto, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and Largo Argentina by night. It may be the most beautiful night walk in the history of night walks.

Thanks, Dario and Kathy. Depending on the weather and how tired we are walking back is still an option. We walked all over Rome the last time we were there. It is really the best way to see Rome or any city for that matter.

We took buses a lot in Rome in December last year and thought they were great (it's all relative, right? We almost never take the bus in St. Paul). It was very helpful while on the bus to follow along on Google Maps so that you can see when you are getting close to your stop, and also if you overshoot the correct stop for some reason, you can see that and get off right away at the next stop. We used Google Maps to plan all of our bus trips --- it will tell you where the beginning bus stop is, which bus routes stop there, which number bus to take, when it is supposed to arrive, how long the trip is, and where to stop.

Thanks, Nancy. We don’t take buses here but have taken plenty of public transportation in other places. I just found the public transport system in Rome a bit confusing to say the least. I will get Google maps on my phone.

Mary, referring back to Tim's comment about the gift shop? Even if not a shopper, while waiting to be let into the museums, we purchased an English-language guidebook covering the highlights of the collection and were very glad that we did. In addition to using it during our visit, books from our favorite museums/attractions have been the very best sort of souvenirs, and I've since referenced it many times after the trip. Just a thought? If they still have it, it's called "The Galleria Borghese; The Masterpieces" and is a softcover so not a great big, very heavy thing.

Thanks, Kathy. Buying books is something we do as well. They are nice souvenirs.

I went in the fall and took the bus there from the Piazza Navona area. It looks like bus 63 would be the best option in your case as it lets off very close to the museum. After our visit, we walked through the park for a bit, then down the Spanish steps and back to our hotel. We ended up having dinner at a restaurant called Otello on the way (it was around 7, so early by Italian standards and they were able to fit us in) and it was fantastic! It was dark when we left the Galleria as well, but I felt completely safe walking around in the park and on the streets.

Thanks, Andrea. We will look into that restaurant that you recommended. Our plan is to walk back from the Borghese and have dinner later.

As Dario says, the walk back could be magical, it is also downhill or flat.

Thanks, Todd.

You can take the Metro to the Spagna station (Spanish Step). Walk back through the pedestrian tunnel toward Via Veneto. There are exits along the way or you can come out on Via Veneto (near Harry's Bar) and walk from there. It's not a bad walk. There is also a tram stop on the west end of the gardens. Either way it's fairly easy to get there.