Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi

Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi

Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi
4
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
This is the most extensive archaeological museum in Sicily, with its wide collection of fossils and figures of Ancient Siracusa including the famous statue "Venus Anadiomene," in which Venus rises from the sea.
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  • lklein2011 aka LarryK
    Paris, France109 contributions
    Very well designed archeological museum.
    I resist archeological museums, because I hate their dusty exhibits and overly detailed explanations to read. This one is a cut above. Exhibits are arranged in an easily understood chronological order and are well-lit. It's easy to follow a path through time as you tour the museum without a guide or an audio guide. It was an excellent sequel to our visit to the Archeological Park (Greek Theater and Roman Amphitheater.)
    Visited March 2023
    Written March 13, 2023
  • TwoSheds57
    Melbourne, Australia8,111 contributions
    Fantastic, unmissable
    An incredible place. It’s not to be missed. The range is almost overwhelming it’s that comprehensive. The archaeological riches of the area are incredible and they are covered superbly here. There’s awe and beauty in pretty much every spot you see in this museum. The range of Greek treasures is incredible. There are very good Italian and English explanations. Your choice is whether you spend a few hours or a few days here. But whatever you do, don’t miss it.
    Visited May 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written May 4, 2023
  • Michelle
    6 contributions
    Lots of information
    The museum has a vast amount of information and items to see. It gives a good description of how past people have populated the island. It is definitely worth a visit but allow three hours. The basement houses a safe room with recovered coins and jewelry which is also very interesting.
    Visited June 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written June 24, 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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4.0
986 reviews
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CheltenhamPaul
CheltenhamPaul154 contributions
Mar 2022
There are lots of great museums and galleries in Italy and sometimes even if the exhibits don't all excite you, they are displayed well in an often beautiful building. Not in this case. There is one room of pots after another. Pots, pot, pots. This appears to be a depository or storage space for every pot that has been found in Sicily. Why could they not take a few key exhibits and display them in an interesting way and explain their significance? Building itself feels shabby and unloved.
Written March 31, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Michelle
6 contributions
Jun 2023 • Couples
The museum has a vast amount of information and items to see. It gives a good description of how past people have populated the island. It is definitely worth a visit but allow three hours. The basement houses a safe room with recovered coins and jewelry which is also very interesting.
Written June 24, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kai-ji
Washington DC, DC135 contributions
Oct 2021
You can visit as part of a combined ticket to the Necroplis. Very detailed and extensive findings from southeast Sicily from pre-history to Bronze Age. Interesting building designed in a circle with 3 “wings” of different eras.
Given that it is 2021 did not appreciate the sexist language of many exhibits; surely it is time to use “humankind” instead of “mankind”. One remarkakable,pre-history exhibit noted that “it is thought men did hunting etc. and women did domestic work.” “It is thought” is not scientific language and has no place in a museum. We know nothing about how pre-historic people’s organized their lives. This term used nowhere else in the exhibits where more accurate science based language was use.
Written October 23, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Leslie W
Poughkeepsie, NY888 contributions
Oct 2022
This is a must-see when in Siracusa, highlighting both the Greek and Roman roots of the city. One can spend a few hours if one is ambitious enough to try to see it all. The brochure offers three possible paths for exploration; unfortunately, the brochure's map is hard to decipher and the site itself isn't as clearly marked as it might be. We ended up seeing only a small portion and being frustrated by not being able to figure out how to get to some of the parts we were most interested in.
Written October 18, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TwoSheds57
Melbourne, Australia8,111 contributions
May 2023 • Couples
An incredible place. It’s not to be missed. The range is almost overwhelming it’s that comprehensive. The archaeological riches of the area are incredible and they are covered superbly here. There’s awe and beauty in pretty much every spot you see in this museum. The range of Greek treasures is incredible. There are very good Italian and English explanations. Your choice is whether you spend a few hours or a few days here. But whatever you do, don’t miss it.
Written May 4, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

WAW-YMX-YUL
Montreal73 contributions
Feb 2018 • Solo
A great museum that offers a wealth of artifacts to see. The visit starts in the park where several roman statues, sarcophagus and other interesting exhibits are present. Take a stroll immediately right of the main entrance and admire the objects as you walk towards the beautiful Renaissance building (not the museum) with its fountain, then head towards the entrance of the museum (modern building).

The museum staff is generally very low-key and friendly. The welcome desk guy is multilingual and helpful. The lady in charge of the numismatic collection is a warm, colorful but knowledgeable character (speaks Italian, French and some English... perhaps Spanish too, I'm not sure). Information panels throughout the museum are useful and very interesting (Italian and English). I scheduled 4 hours for the museum but ended up spending 3 hours just in the coins and jewelry section! There is so much beautiful and interesting artifacts to see!

One last thing: contrary to some other opinions, I loved the museum. However, do not expect a dumbed-down poor excuse for a museum for short-attention span immature adults and kids who constantly need to be stimulated and entertained by gimmicks, visuals, buzz, activities and "stuff". This is a museum, yes rooms full of inanimate objects, artifacts and information. Although there are some interactive screens with virtual "guides" that tell you about the history of the region, you won't find much more in terms of gimmicks, hands-on experiences and other ways to capture the 10-second attention span of some people. If you can't focus, read, think, admire and stand still, this may be a challenging experience. It is a museum.

Tips: If you're interested by the subject matter (history of Sicily, archeology, Greco-Roman artifacts), schedule at least 2-3 hours to visit the museum without rushing too much. There is a lot to see!
Start your visit in the basement (Numismatic Collection) as it closes around 1pm. You will probably need to ring a bell to be admitted into the coins section; it's normal procedure as the area is permanently locked.
Buying a combined ticket (Museum + Archeological Park nearby) offers a better deal. Feel free to take photos (no flash); you CAN leave the museum and re-enter on the same day!
Tickets are purchased inside the museum building (don't let the kiosk by the gate mislead you) and credit cards are accepted.

If you found my review or tips useful, feel free to click the button below and thank me! :-)
Written March 8, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SallyCalifornia
San Francisco119 contributions
Aug 2013 • Couples
We are museum goers, and we travel worldwide. We thought we had seen the best collections the world has to offer, until we went here. We spent almost a whole day visiting. It was still not enough time. The collection is breathtaking!! It is well curated, and beautifully displayed. And, they have a coin collection that is unreal. Highest possible recommendation, we will visit again.
Written September 15, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Steph H
Bristol, UK42 contributions
Oct 2019
We purchased a combi ticket for the museum and Parco Archeologico della Neapolis as it saved a couple of euros. We first went downstairs into the vault to see the vast coin collection which was really interesting and the curator was really welcoming. The rest of the museum included thousands of historic artifacts from around Sicily so make sure that you allow at least a couple of hour to be able to take most of it in. We ended up missing some bits as we didn't allow sufficient time for both the museum and the archaeological park. It is a short walk away from the archaeological park so very easy to combine the two in one day.
Written November 20, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brettsue
Invercargill, New Zealand177 contributions
Sep 2019 • Couples
This museum exceeded our expectations. It was large, well laid out and interesting with English explanations everywhere. The collection of ancient coins was truly outstanding. I would recommend this museum to anyone who has an interest in the history of Sicily. NB: if you have he entrance fee to here included in your ticket from the archaeological Parc, it needs to be redeemed within 3 days. (We went on the 4th day and were made to pay a second fee, which seemed awfully picky).
Written September 12, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

sionna20
Semey, Kazakhstan36 contributions
Jun 2019 • Family
This is a must visit museum, and plan to spend there a couple of hours, its really amazing and worth visiting. Unfortunately I didn't manage my time and had only about 40-50 minutes there, which nothing for this museum with its vast collection of artifacts, so many in great condition, I guess I will visit it again with my son when he grows older.
Written June 30, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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