We have booked a trip to Rome from 10/2 to 10/8. We have booked an audience with the Pope on Wed morning and I thought that we might book a skip the line tour for the Vatican in the afternoon. The tour company that I was looking to book with states that Saint Peter’s Basilica May be closed on Wednesday’s. Do you have any specific information about closures on Wednesday?
Posted by
343 posts
Consider doing the early morning tours with Walks of Italy. I've done the Pristine Sistine tour with them, which starts before 8 am, and it's so lovely to see the Sistine Chapel without all the people. There's still people...but not many at all. https://www.walksofitaly.com/vatican-tours/pristine-sistine-chapel-tour
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
You will miss the audience if you do an early morning museums tour, so I don't think that's what you want.
You can book through the official Vatican museums website for tours or entry tickets. Both will allow you to bypass the long ticket lines.
Yes, during and just after the audience the basilica is closed. It usually opens between 1-2 pm on audience days.
I suggest if you want to visit the museums you check to see if there will be Friday night visits during your stay. This will allow you to visit the museums and not be too bothered with the huge crowds.
Donna
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16700 posts
The tour company that I was looking to book with states that Saint
Peter’s Basilica May be closed on Wednesday’s.
Obviously you're not interested in a morning tour if you are attending a morning audience. I'm curious which tour company you were looking at? The basilica is not usually closed on Wed. afternoons but that depends on special services. Big events which may close the basilica are usually scheduled in advance, and a good tour company should have some idea when those will be.
Otherwise, you have allowed enough time in Rome to simply pick a different day for your tour of the museums/basilica.
Posted by
39 posts
Yes, the church is closed during and slightly after the audience. We did the audience and then waited in line on the right side of the stairs as you are facing the front of the church. We were the second ones in line, so when they let us in we basically had the place to ourselves for about 15 minutes, how cool was that?