Can you enter the Sistine Chapel directly without going through the Vatican Museums?

The poster clearly indicates that they want to revisit the chapel. That would seem to imply that it has been visited I’m not sure why we’re assuming they’ve never seen it.

I’ll be honest, while the Chapel was wonderful. My experience with the Vatican museum was so horrible that I guess I’ll never see it again because I’m not willing to ever pay for that experience again maybe it’s better now but…..

Yes, we had visited the Museums before, and my experience of the museum part of the visit is very mixed. First, it was a very long walk. Worst of all, we were in a great river of people that kept moving along, pushing us with it.. It was hard to stop and really look at the objects that interested us the most. Many things were blocked from view by the crowd. It is just totally overcrowded. The Sistine Chapel was magnificent; it really lives up to its reputation. Yes, it is also crowded, but thankfully, everything important is high above the people. You may have a hard time finding a place to sit, but you will be able to see everything.

I am not diminishing anyone's interest to see the Sistine Chapel one time or 100 times. But you might be interested in this website I found in planning my own trip to Rome this year.

https://www.througheternity.com/en/blog/art/5-amazing-ceiling-paintings-in-rome.html

Enjoy the planning!

Deborah, Laurie made a good point. I saw the Sistine both before restoration, in relative peace, and after, in crush of people with security barking "SILENCE" over the loudspeakers. I've no interest in repeating that experience.

As has already been said, there's no ticket/entrance just for the chapel BUT, per Deborah's link, there are some pretty awesome ceilings to be seen in some other places in Rome. For free, even. Gesù's, for example, is a masterful example of trompe l'oeil that draws you upwards into an apex of dazzling light. I think I spent as much time on that ceiling as on the Sistine's, plus they give you a big mirror for viewing it so that you don't kill your neck! Really, if you've already seen the Sistine and have no interest in the rest of the museums, I'd recommend exploring some other ceilings.

If you haven't been to Galleria Borghese yet, that one has some pretty wild ceilings/trompe l’oeil embellishments too.

The Vatican also has an amazing art collection and you can see it with the same ticket you buy for the overcrowded collection most people see. I saw this in 2016. You go into the same starting place but then go a different direction at the start, clearly marked, to the picture gallery. At the end you can then go into the Sistine Chapel. As I said it was years ago but you might be able to research it to see if it is still available/possible.

At that time which was the end of February, there were hardly any people in the art galleries. There’s the most amazing Caravaggio canvas in the collection I’ll never forget.

I have been to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel twice. Once before restoration and once after.

Both were amazing. I have been to 81 foreign countries and consider the Sistine Chapel my favorite art visit ever. It is simply amazing. The first time, I sat on the floor with my son that was almost 8 years old and went through a guidebook with and explained the frescoes in the Chapel. There was no time limit and I was even allowed to take photos with my SLR camera (no flash).

After restoration, the frescoes were even better, but we couldn't stay as long.

My opinion is DO NOT MISS the Sistine Chapel.

But at least our OP has already seen it once. This would be a re-visit.

Deborah, if you want to revisit the Sistine Chapel without crowds, you might be interested in our experience a couple of weeks ago. We bought 8:00 tickets to the museum (not difficult to do in advance for February visit). We arrived at 7:45 and got in line. We went through security and then headed straight to the Sistine Chapel. We were the 2nd couple to arrive. We could sit anywhere we wanted. We stayed for about an hour. Even by the time we left, we could sit where we wanted. It was a wonderful experience. We then went back to see the rest of the museum with the crowds.

So, it is possible to see the Sistine Chaoel without crowds, in February, at least. We did buy the full ticket and it was a long walk, so those problems still exist, although you might find a solution for the long walk if you look at accessibility accommodations on the Vatican website.