sistine chapel

I don't think so. The long long walk thru the impossibly crowded museum caused me not to appreciate the Sistine Chapel once we FINALLY got to it! If I'm wrong, someone will correct me.

In order to reach the Chapel, one must go through the rest of the museum (which is worthwhile in its own right). It is not possible to reserve just for the Chapel. I would not recommend attempting to visit the Chapel on your day of arrival. The Vatican museum is huge and can be crowded, although depending on the time of year/day, you might do better than the previous poster.

We just returned from Rome a couple of weeks ago and as my last visit to the Sistine Chapel was 30 years ago, I was STUNNED at how far it is to the Sistine from the beginning of the Vatican Museums labyrinth! Our tour guide at the Forum told us that there are 9 miles of corridors in the Vatican Museums - ! I would definitely not do it on an arrival day -- not fun for the jet-lagged. My best advice for the Musei Vaticani is to look at their website before you go and decide which things/galleries you really must see. Then when you arrive, be ruthlessly precise in finding these things and enjoying them. Otherwise, you will be completely overwhelmed by the mere quantity of items on display.

I agree with Janis -- it would be too strenous for most people on the day of arrival, and plan out what you most want to see and what you can skip. We were just there on Saturday, and speed walked through lots of the museum areas since the Sistine Chapel was really our goal. It's a long way, it's crowded, there are always large, bulky tour groups, and it's warm. Since the only way to the Sistine Chapel is through the museums, there's no way to break it up.

From my recent experience -- it was great! -- I'd suggest dressing lightly (but shoulders covered, etc.), eat something before you go in, bring a bottle of water, and by the way it's okay to take pictures everywhere but the Sistine Chapel itself.

We were at the Vatican the beginning of June and did a private tour with a woman named Fredrica D'Orazio. It was still crowded,but somehow she managed to guide us through to the highlights and we never felt that impacted by the crowds. We were there for over 3 hours and enjoyed every bit of it, not cheap, but worth every euro.

Good to know, Gail. We've reserved a tour with Federica for early July, after reading a lot of positive reviews of her tours; are you on your feet the entire time, is there a chance to sit for short breaks (any snack breaks allowed? :-)

Karen,
We only stopped to sit in the Sistine Chapel, but Fredrica is very low key and if you need to slow down I'm sure she won't mind. We only paid for 3 hours of her time and wanted to get as much out of the tour as we could. She is a gem. I'm sure you'll love it!

It is a half hour of brisk walking to get from the front of the museums to the Sistine Chapel. This is not even taking the crowds into consideration. There is no way to see the Chapel without going through the museums and if you went straight to the Chapel and came back another day to visit the museums you would end up paying twice.

The only way to visit the chapel only is with a private tour. These tours cost anywhere from 400 euros and up EACH.

I would do the museums and chapel on another day. The first day in Rome with jet lag is not the best time to see it and appreciate it.

Donna

And be forewarned that the Sistine Chapel is not a very spiritual experience, at least we didn't find it so. It's PACKED with a sea of people slowly flowing through and the acoustics are such that it's really, really loud until the guards yell over everyone to be quiet, which works for about 15 seconds. It's definitely worth seeing, but keep your expectations low.

We booked a tour to the Vatican and the museum in it's self is extrodinary. The Sistine chapel, I hate to say was probably my leats favorite of the whole vatican. Thousands of people standing looking up and talking in italian and taking pictures even thouh it is not allowed. Seeing it one time is okay, buy I would never go back to see it. It tools us about 3 hours to walk through the museum. The museum is much better than the chapel IMO.

I agree with Kerry & Michael. I was just there 2 weeks ago and, although I maintain that it is a "must-see", it was disappointing due to the massive crowds. I had arrived at the Museum around 3:00 and was surprised that there was no line to get inside to buy tickets...I walked right in! I paid my 15 Euro and headed inside. I soon realized that I had gotten my hopes up for nothing...it was packed with people, the entire way through! Once I got to the Sistine Chapel, I was actually ready to just leave! It is nearly impossible to just stand and marvel in it. I waited patiently for a spot to open up on a bench but no one budged. People were crammed together on the benches talking in above normal voices even though the guards were shouting for the crowd to "Shush!" All I can say is, "been there, done that". I think I would enjoy it more on a DVD tour. The line to get into St Peter's Basilica was half a mile long. Be sure to check the closing times on the day you plan to go.

All of your suggestions and comments are invaluable. Nothing better than the voice of experience!! THANK YOU!

Try not to go on Monday. Because it is closed on Sunday and many other museums are closed on Monday, it is usually very crowded.

We just completed a Mediterranean Cruise, had one day in Rome (6 free hours) and saw the Sistine Chapel. I agree with most of the advice that has been posted here already. There is no access to the Chapel without walking the museum part, but the museum part is remarkable and contains very interesting art along the way. The most important factor for us was booking the tickets ahead of time. This will save you hours of standing in the hot sun waiting for the ticket to get in. Even if you are not certain of the time you want you can change the time once after you make the reservation (but not the date) go to http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?action=booking for booking. Also be prepared with anti pick pocket tricks this was the most crowded stop for us in all of Spain or Italy. This is not for anyone with anxiety about crowds. Once you finally get to the Chapel it is an awesome sight.

anyone gone on the night tour of the Museums? I was thinking of doing that in September.

If you'll be there on a Friday before July 9, the museum is open at night http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?action=booking&codiceLivelloVisita=17&step=1 I went on a Friday night this month and it wasn't crowded at all.

I highly recommend reading a book on the Sistine/Michelangelo before you go -- you will see and understand so much more of the frescoes if you do. My library had a copy of the Sistine Chapel's official guidebook, with lots of close-up shots of the ceiling paintings (which are 65 feet up, BTW - bring binoculars!)
and commentary/description.

We had a much richer experience understanding what we were looking at in advance. And really - bring binoculars. I have a small pair that fit in a day bag easily and they're priceless.

I was just there last week and yes, it was crowded. However, walk to the back of the chapel and grab a seat on the benches. Then take out your iPod with your Rick Steves' Sistine Chapel tour and listen and absorb. Not only did I enjoy Rick and the other guide's comments, but it helped drown out the noise and made this a better experience.

And don't forget the RS tip about the secret tour group door in the far corner of the Sistine Chapel. Merge right in with one of the tour groups, and it's a short cut into St. Peter's - no waiting in line to get in. I put this tip right up there with the "check a bag to get into St. Mark's in Venice" for being worth the price of the RS books alone.