Europe … the next frontier for our family. Our boys are at the age now where going to Europe will be something that they will enjoy and be old enough to remember. We are starting our planning process – of course a cruise will be in the mix but we also have to decide on how much time we want to spend on land. Do we take Adventures by Disney or Globus Family land tour? Do we wing it? Do we just spend a few days pre or post cruise? The options are almost endless. I hope this does not become a bad version of the Griswold’s European vacation! Over the year I will be sharing our planning process and one of the first items I came across is how to cut the lines in Europe … we of course knew some of these tips but others were new to us and will be helpful to pass along to our clients.
There are two types of travelers: those who line up ... and those who don't. If you plan ahead, you can avoid nearly every line that tourists suffer through (except for security checks).
Many museums are free one day a month - a great deal for locals. But for visitors, it's generally worth paying the entrance fee on a different day to avoid the hordes on a museum's free day. The Sistine Chapel is very crowded when it's open and free on the last Sunday of the month.
At popular sights, it can help to arrive early or go late. At St. Peter's Basilica at 7 a.m., it's heavenly to see Michelangelo's Pieta, free of the crowds vying for photos. Even at the most packed sights, there's often a strategy or shortcut that can break you out of the herd, whether it's a side entrance with a shorter wait, a guided tour that includes last-minute reservations, a better place in town to pick up your ticket, or a pass with line-skipping privileges. Grand as the Louvre's main entrance is, that glass pyramid stops looking impressive as you wait - and wait - to get through security. Lines are shorter if you go in through the less crowded underground entrance.
At St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, you can either snake slowly through an endless line, or go instead to a nearby church to check a large bag - then walk right to the front of the basilica's line, show your bag-claim tag, and head on in (go figure).
Fortunately, many popular sights sell reserved tickets with entry times (often with a small booking fee that's well worth it). A reservation system helps blockbuster sights handle a huge volume of visitors efficiently by spreading the crowds throughout the day. For example, Granada's Alhambra in Spain smoothly admits nearly 8,000 visitors daily. Some sights even require reservations, such as the Reichstag in Berlin, Leonardo's Last Supper in Milan, and the Borghese Gallery in Rome.
Reservations are especially helpful at places popular with cruise excursions and big-bus tour groups, such as Germany's fairy-tale Neuschwanstein Castle. If you arrive without a reservation, you'll wait in line, find that tickets are sold out, or both. Those who've booked ahead can just show up at their reserved entry time and breeze right in. It's worth giving up some spontaneity in order to save time.
Some sights are notorious for grueling waits. These include the Eiffel Tower, Rome's Vatican Museum and Florence's famous galleries - the Accademia (Michelangelo's David) and the Uffizi (the showcase for Italian Renaissance art). At these places, lines are completely avoidable by making advance reservations, usually online or sometimes also by phone. After learning how simple this is and seeing hundreds of annoyed tourists waiting in lines without a reservation, it's hard not to be amazed at their cluelessness. As soon as you're ready to commit to a certain date, book it.
Many tourist destinations offer a city-wide sightseeing pass (or "tourist card"), which includes free or discounted entrance to many or most sights - and sometimes covers public transit as well - for a certain amount of time (usually intervals of 24 hours). These passes along with some ‘combo attraction’ tickets are almost always worthwhile if they allow you to bypass long admission lines.
Whether you have a combo-ticket or pass, never wait at the back of the line if there's any chance you can skip it. Don't be shy: March straight to the front and wave your pass or ticket. If you really do have to wait with everyone else, they'll let you know.
Be a smart traveler. If there's a line, there's usually a way to avoid it.
Happy Cruising!!
So I do not get sued for plagiarism! …. Some excerpts taken from Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) who writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio.
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