Early-morning or after-hours entrance into the Vatican Museums

I did a Through Eternity tour a couple of years ago, it lasted five hours (with a 30-minute break) because the guide was so enthusiastic! Tours are limited to fewer than ten people (ours had six).

We met at 7:15, got inside the Vatican Museums at 8, went directly to the Sistine Chapel and had a out 30-40 minutes there with about a hundred other early groups. I did not notice any individuals. When we walked back through later, it was jam packed. The floodgates open at 9.

I used to visit frequently, but I would never go during regular hours now.

Good luck.

Friday evenings? We did the late opening several years ago and though not empty the crowd was manageable. Reservations through the online system.

Friday evening openings give you the choice of taking a tour or going on your own. Not all of the galleries are open on Friday nights but the chapel is. They should release those dates soon as they don't do the Friday nights in the winter. They should resume in the spring.

Friday nights are great. They are not crowded at all. You cannot buy tickets for Friday nights at the site, they must be purchased in advance online. Be aware that the Friday night visits start at 7pm which is when the basilica closes so you'll need to visit the basilica first or on another day as you won't be able to visit it after the museums on Friday night.

Donna

I second friday evening. My itinerary hit Rome on a friday last year, so I followed RS guidebook advice and bought an online ticket before hand to hit the Vatican Museum in friday's after-hour special opening.

I arrived a few minutes before opening and there was quite a line outside the museum, but when it opened, the crowd moved really fast. After following RS's guidebook advices on how to move on quick once inside I literally rushed to the Sistine Chapel (a looongg way at the end of the building, even walking fast). The reward was that I had the Chapel almost for my own (only two guards and a small private group of six persons), for an hour maybe. I did RS's audioguide (which was excellent) and hang around some more time. It was an incredible experience.

At the end of it and when people start arriving at the Chapel, I left and returned toward the entrance taking a look on the other highlights. Great experience it was!

On Friday nights there is no need to rush to the chapel. We've done this several times, taking our time to go through the museums and still shared the chapel with 50 people or less when we got there. The crowds are much less in the evening so you won't need to rush through the museums in order to visit the chapel. We have always been able to find seats along the wall, something we've never been able to do during the regular daylight hours, when visiting during the evening. It really is a great time to go with none of the galleries being packed like sardines and no one rushing to get around.

Donna

Folks, thanks so much! This is exactly the information I needed. Friday night sounds wonderful, maybe combined with an early morning visit so I can have some quiet time in the pinacoteca. And Zoe, thanks so much for the info about Through Eternity tours; I've not use them, but they sound really good.

Keep in mind that the Jubilee year may affect the number of people and maybe what was once a "good time" to go may now be crowded.

Thanks Letizia. I expect that the Jubilee will increase crowds... in fact, I delayed my planned fall 2015 trip to spring 2016 once the Jubilee was announced.