Travel for major exhibitions: booking, time selection and museum day

Gathering a painter's works scattered all over the world in a single hall for a few months is an opportunity that cannot be repeated. Such temporary exhibitions are a perfectly legitimate reason to travel; But it cannot be planned in the same way as an ordinary museum visit. Demand far exceeds the permanent collections, quotas are sold hour by hour, and tickets have become impossible to find in recent weeks.

This guide explains how exhibition tickets work, what time is really quiet, and how to set up a museum day.

Ticket: purchased before flight

Reverse the order for major exhibitions. Buy the exhibition ticket first, arrange the flight and hotel later. Flight is always found; There is no ten-thirty morning session on a particular day.

• Tickets usually go on sale 2-3 months before the opening of the exhibition and are opened on a date-based basis; Some museums open the following month for sale at the beginning of each month.
• There is a pre-sale window for museum members. Buying an annual membership even for a single exhibition is sometimes cheaper than a single ticket, as it provides both early access and discounts.
• A clocked entry determines the entry time; The duration of stay inside is usually unlimited. In other words, getting the earliest session means having a quiet trip and staying as long as you want.
• Don't give up if the exhibition is sold out: canceled tickets go back into the system, and museums often add nightly sessions in recent weeks.
• Guided tour tickets are sold individually and are available even after the exhibition is sold out; The price is high but it guarantees entry.

Do museum passes really work?

How many museums can be visited in one day?

Realistic answer: two large-scale museums or one large plus two smaller ones. By the third largest museum, attention is exhausted and the tour turns into rushing through the halls. Instead of trying to see the whole thing in large museums, choosing two or three sections gives a much more satisfying visit.

• Louvre Museum is the most visited museum in the world and exhibits 35 thousand works; It is physically impossible to see it all. The Mona Lisa hall gets completely clogged after 10:00, the most efficient start is to enter in the first session and go directly to that hall. Instead of the pyramid entrance, the entrance at the underground shopping gallery usually has shorter queues.
• Vatican Museums It's on a one-way route ending at the Sistine Chapel and there's no turning back; The difference in crowds between the first session of the morning and the afternoon is greater here than in all other museums. Photography is prohibited in the chapel and off-the-shoulder clothing is required.
• Rijksmuseum Main collection of the Dutch golden age; The Night Watch has been on display for years in a glass restoration cabinet open to the public, meaning you watch the painting as it is restored. The next door Van Gogh Museum displays more than 200 works in chronological order, and two of them are in the same square, this duo is worth a full day.
• Prado Museum One of the world's strongest classical painting museums with its Velázquez and Goya collection; Admission is free two hours before closing on most days, but the line will be long at that time.
• Metropolitan Museum of Art houses more than two million artifacts and has many different sections, from the Egyptian temple to the armor collection; It can't fit in less than three hours. The roof garden is open in season and offers views of Central Park.
• Museum Island Berlin brings five museums on one island and the combined ticket covers all of them; The bust of Nefertiti and the Ishtar Gate of Babylon are here. Pergamon Museum is under long-term restoration, check which sections are open before you go.

How to set up a museum day?

1. Save the first session of the day for the largest museum; The mind is freshest and the halls are emptiest at that hour.
2. Put a real break between two museums. A seated lunch after three hours standing determines the efficiency of the second museum.
3. Choose the second museum as small or single-themed. Two huge collections on the same day is the fastest way to lose them both.
4. Use the cloakroom. Walking around with a big bag is tiring and you are not allowed into the halls of most museums.
5. Leave the exhibition store for the end of the visit and if you are going to buy a catalogue, add its weight to the hand luggage limit.