The Sistine Chapel was awful. It’s a chapel with no seating. You stand shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of people. I was so happy finally sit down on the steps outside, only to be reprimanded by a security guard.
We had a early hours tour of the Sistine Chapel in the middle of November. We stayed for 45 minutes because the guide said that’s it’s never this uncrowded as it was that day. 45 minutes of blissful peaceful gorgeous chapel. We knew how lucky we got.
We were crowded in the Sistine chapel…still loved it.
We were almost alone in the Sistine Chapel too. We went in early March. The city was deserted. That said, it was really cold!
I’ll add Positano, the Amalfi coast, and Capri. Beautiful, but just so crowded and hard to get around. And we were there in early October! H and I decided never to go back, but lately he’s been wavering. Not that we’re planning a trip or anything but I think his memories are getting rosier.
For me it was like - I’m going to tell myself to never forget this resolution to not come back. Like the pain of childbirth, nature has a way of making us forget these things unless we make strong resolutions!
As for the Grand Canyon - yes, April is very crowded. The second half of August is much easier and might even be cooler. Drive down towards the ends and there will always be people but it won’t be too crazy.
Rome, Venice and Florence in November and January. Not crowded and not that cold. Warmer than Boston at that time of year.
For the Amalfi coast, you need to walk up the slopes. It’s beautiful, and crowds disappear very fast!
I read a lot about the horrendous lines and crowds in France and Italy in the summer. I’m trying to figure out why anyone would even go in the summer between the heat and the crowds. I can understand families with school kids, but the empty nesters should stay away 
I’m not sure that it is totally because of vacation rentals or Air Bnb. I think it is because of the changing economies in Asia and other world areas. Airline costs are going down from some places and going to Europe for vacation is becoming feasible from previously under developed economies. Also, younger generations like to travel a lot more than most of our parents or grand parents ever did. And, when our parents or grand parents traveled, they generally went on ‘tours’.
My D and her generation seem to have elevated the art of sleeping on the floor, couch surfing or staying in a cheap shared Air bnb just to be able to travel.
Some tourists seem mostly interested in taking selfies at iconic spots. Eventhough the Prado in Madrid wasn’t crowded when we were there (May), I was hit in the head by d@** selfie stick. Except for the Alhambra’s Nasrid Palace, most sights in Spain were not too crowded. We had some rooms in El Escorial practically to ourselves, for example.
Now that our girls are launched and in their careers we prefer to vacation in the off season whenever possible especially when we go to Europe. Next summer is going to be an exception as we are doing a family trip to Italy and since D1 is a teacher we have to wait until school ends for her. That means we are going around June 15th for 2 1/2 weeks. Since we live in San Diego we don’t have to go on vacation for the weather. Last March we had a wonderful trip to Ireland, London and Prague without the crowds!
For some of the places mentioned, timing is everything. In Venice, St. Marks Square is peaceful in the early morning. And we had the Mona Lisa all to ourselves just before closing time.
We went to the Sistine Chapel in August 2003 and I passed out there. Was on nasty daily chemo at the time, Some kind Filipino nuns gave me breath mints (sugar) and their water.
Now that we don’t live on a school schedule, April/May and September/October are glorious times to visit places. Better weather for me, fewer crowds.
When we visited Yellowstone, Yosemite and Grand Canyon, we made sure to get out and see things before the tour buses got going. Since we were camping, it was not hard to get up with the sun. Old Faithful at 7:30 am is beautiful and not crowded.
We are mulling Alaska, but hate the idea of the summer tourist rush and the prices are staggering.
The joy of S2 living in Eastern Europe is that so much of it is not yet “discovered,” which makes visiting places less stressful. Having S2 as a translator and guide was also a magnificent experience – he was so glad to show us this part of the world that fascinates him so much. The exchange rates were quite favorable, and the prices were most excellent until we got to the touristy areas at the very end of our trip.
@yucca10 - we walked along the Path of the Gods and there were many people there too. Not throngs, but a lot more than you would expect in October.
Timing can definitely make a huge difference. I did Death Valley, Zion, Bryce, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and Grand Canyon with varying family members (different spring breaks for different kids) last spring and Zion was starting to get crowded even then (hour long waits for the shuttle in the morning, but we were still able to park at the visitor center before getting in line, and we did the Narrows hike without being around tons of other people). The other parks weren’t too bad, except GC right at the central visitor center area /main parking lot. Bryce was really empty … also still below freezing overnight with a little snow on the ground in the upper elevations. Antelope we booked in advance but only maybe 2 weeks out. There were people in line that day begging for tickets being turned away. I guess there’s another, less popular slot canyon that doesn’t sell out ahead… maybe they don’t advertise online as much… that the ticket booth people were directing these folks to.
On another continent, partial convo I had 3 years ago with a tour guide in London - me ‘has it been a busy summer for you?’ him - 'oh it’s busy all the time now. London has grown so much the past few years, there are just so many people here now all the time. Me - ‘you should see Tokyo’.
The worst crowding I experienced was at the Hermitage State Museum in St Petersburg. We’re talking perhaps three or four tour guides with their troops in one room. There were so many people it was hard to breathe, it felt oppressive and it was really hard to appreciate the art pieces. All in all, very sressful.
Our guide helpfully told us that there were fewer people after October, because it got really cold.
We nearly always travel off season. Even our annual trip to Maine is timed for late June/early July. Rome in January has been great. My first trip was an August and I swore you can’t cross a street. Need to wait for a nun, cross with her. They’ll run you over but not a nun.
The one exception is we’ve gone to NYC anytime, even the Fri after Thanksgiving. Crowds are part of the scene there, for us.
I have found that many of the tourist sites in Europe are only moderately crowded or not crowded at all in the off-season. The month of March seems to work pretty well. You may still need a coat outdoors but the snow and really cold weather are over. I’ve been to many of the popular sites in Venice, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, London, Vienna, Brussels, Paris, Geneva, and Marseille in and around March in various years, and in all cases the crowds were manageable.
…and it’s true there are usually jostling crowds around the Mona Lisa, but just a few feet away in the same gallery there are several other fabulous Da Vinci paintings that no one is looking at…
I disagree with most of the posters here. We just got back from the Amalfi Coast a couple of days ago, and while Amalfi and Positano are crowded, it’s really only the main walkways and a few satellite streets. Once you’re off the main thoroughfares, you’ll see typical pedestrian traffic. We had no problem with dinner reservations and the big crowds in the piazzas added to the festive atmosphere and were a minor inconvenience.
We went on a four hour hike of the Riserva Statale Valle delle Ferriere and saw ONE person - in the middle of August. Summer is the most beautiful time of the year in these places, at least for me, someone who loves warm weather. I’m not willing to go to Amalfi in November to beat the crowds.
Last weekend the Trevi Fountain was packed, but we still got some great pictures - everyone was polite and it was a fun atmosphere. The Capitoline Museums a few blocks away were almost empty, so if you want to see some of the most magnificent artwork and artifacts in Rome, go there and you’ll be alone in the room with Bernini’s Medusa or the famous Lupa. From the balcony, the view of the Forum, with the Colosseum in the distance, is the best in Rome.
It’s really a shame that tourists crowd into Room 6 at the Louvre and never look at the two Titian paintings or The Wedding at Cana. But they checked the Mona Lisa off their bucket list.