Reservations for Borghese in Rome and Accademie in Venice

Also, for the Borghese you are required to check all bags and cameras. Be sure to allow enough time to do that before your entry because the line gets long. We booked our reservations online and handing the printout to the cashier upon arrival made everything quick and easy. We probably spent 1 1/2 hours there but did not go upstairs. The audio tour, which is an additional 5 euros, was worth it. This is not a very large museum but it is packed full of exquisite treasures.

Reservations are mandatory at the Borghese.

Here's their website

Thanks Kent. Since we will be buying the Roma Pass when we arrive in Rome, I will call the Borghese and reserve via telephone per their website instructions.

Yes, for the Borghese the standard advice generally given is:

Reserve a minimum of a week ahead for weekend visits, and a minimum of several days in advance for a weekday visit.

For the Accademia in Venice, some travelers want to be assured of not wasting time in the sometimes crowded ticket line--those travelers generally make reservations, at least a day in advance, for an entry time.

However, it's not like the Borghese, reservations are not mandatory. Whether you do or not is a judgment call and matter of personal preference regarding the possibility of standing in a line.

Terry--for the Borghese, if you are staying in a hotel or B&B, ask your hosts to make the reservation for you. Ours were happy to do it at no charge and emailed us the confirmation paperwork. We just showed up with the confirmation and our Roma Pass and it was no hassle at all (except that the power went out so we couldn't go in til 30 minutes past our start time...)

Thanks to all for the replies. Any idea of the minimum amount of time we should plan on for visiting each of these museums? I think I will definitely email our hotel in Rome and ask them to make the reservations for us. That's what we did with the Uffizi and Accademia in Florence as well as the Secret Tour in Venice. Never thought to do it with the Borghese! Has anyone had the hotel do this for the Vatican as well?

Any idea of the minimum amount of time we should plan on for visiting each of these museums?

You asked for minimums: Rick advises to allot a maximum of about 2 hours for his tour of the Borghese (the tour given in his book).

And he advises 1 hour for his tour of the Accademia in Venice.

Art afficionados would probably take more time.

We reserved online ourselves for the Vatican, but I'm sure your hotel could help you there too. Never hurts to ask.

"You asked for minimums: Rick advises to allot a maximum of about 2 hours for his tour of the Borghese (the tour given in his book)."

This made me laugh, because you only get a 2 hour window. About 10 minutes from the end of it, an announcement comes on telling you that in 10 minutes you have to get out. Two hours really is about right if you're very into art. The Borghese is one of my favorites and the last time I went there, I think we did it in about an hour and half like the pother poster.

Just don't show up late for your reservation.

Terry - for more info on the Galleria Borghese (with pictures and screen shots of the new, FREE call-back feature) check out this link: Galleria Borghese

They really did start shepherding people out of the Borghese 10 min from the end-time.

Rick Steve recommends spending 30 minutes upstairs, but I think 1 hour downstairs and 50 min upstairs is better. The audioguide was really good and does a good job of timing.

Upstairs, there were two "wings" of rooms from the main staircase up, so get into the wing you haven't seen prior to 10-minutes before the end, or they won't let you go in.

We just visited the Accademie in Venice on Aug 3rd. There was no wait at all.We found that to be the case all across France and Italy.We also got into the Louvre on a Friday afternoon with no wait.We were very surprised.