Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Punctuality is critical (arriving late can mean forfeiting your reservation). You can try skip-
ping the ticket pickup line by paying with a credit card at one of the computer kiosks (but
they don't always work).
You can use a Roma Pass for entry, but you still need to make a reservation (by phone
only—not online; specify that you have the Roma Pass). If you don't have a reservation, try
arriving near the top of the hour, when the museum sells unclaimed tickets to those standing
by. Generally, out of 360 reservations, a few will fail to show (but more than a few may be
waiting to grab them). You're most likely to land a stand-by ticket at 9:00.
Getting There:
The museum is set idyllically but inconveniently in the vast Villa
Borghese Gardens. To avoid missing your appointment, allow yourself plenty of time to
find the place. A taxi drops you 100 yards from the museum. Your destination is the
Galleria Borghese (gah-leh-REE-ah bor-GAY-zay). Be sure
not
to tell the cabbie “Villa
Borghese”—which is the park, not the museum.
Bus #910 goes from Termini train station to the Via Pinciana stop (a few steps from the
villa). Coming from Campo de' Fiori or Via del Corso (at Via Minghetti), bus #116 drops
you off at the southern edge of the park. From Largo Argentina, bus #63 takes you to the US
Embassy on Via Veneto; walk uphill on Via Veneto to the southern edge of the park.
ByMetro,fromtheBarberiniMetrostop,walk10minutesupViaVeneto,enterthepark,
and turn right, following signs another 10 minutes to the Borghese Gallery.
Tours:
Guided English tours are offered at 9:10 and 11:10 (€6.50; may also be offered
on busy weekends at 13:10 and 15:10). You can't book a tour when you make your museum
reservation—sign up as soon as you arrive. Or consider the excellent 1.5-hour audioguide
tour (€5).
With Limited Time:
Focus on the ground-floor sculptures, especially Bernini.
Museum Strategy:
Visits are strictly limited to two hours. Budget most ofyourtime for
themoreinterestinggroundfloor,butsetaside30minutesforthepaintingsofthePinacoteca
upstairs (highlights are marked by the audioguide icons). Avoid the crowds by seeing the
Pinacotecafirst.Thefinebookshopandcafeteriaarebestvisitedoutsideyourtwo-hourentry
window (the bookshop closes 30 minutes before the gallery).
The fascinating Etruscan civilization thrived in Italy around 600
B.C.
, when Rome was an
Etruscan town. The Villa Giulia (a fine Renaissance palace in the Villa Borghese Gardens)
hosts a museum that tells the story. The displays are clean and bright, with good English in-
formation.
The star of the museum is the famous “husband and wife sarcophagus”—a dead couple
seemingtoenjoyaneverlastingbanquetfromatoptheirtomb(sixthcentury
B.C.
fromCerve-
teri). Historians also dig the gold sheets from Pyrgi, with inscriptions in two languages—the
