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How early to St. Peters - mid Sept Saturday?

Posted by (washington state) on

We'll be doing the Rick Steves best South of Italy tour and we'll be in Rome a day earlier. We have been to Rome already, but we would like to visit St. Peters again.

Realistically, for a mid-Sept Saturday, how early is early enough? I know it opens at 7:00am, but if we arrive there at 8:30 do we expect to have 1-hour security lines?

Or maybe it's better to buy a skip-the-line tour? I'm aware that skip-the-line tours post covid were using the same security lines, but I've heard that recently they're may use a different path to St. Peters (although we do not want to do the museum again this time).

Posted by
6073 posts

This is a Jubilee year, and September is still high season, so yes, you can expect long lines. There is no such thing as a skip the line ticket. All lines must go through security. There are just different lines. There will be a dedicated line for pilgrims to enter through the Holy Doors. There shoul be a separate line for group tours using the regular entrance. And then there's a line for regular visitors. The latter 2 may be merged.

Posted by
111 posts

How about early St. Peters only tours? The only ones we can find so far are at 8:30am or later. My guess is that we would have long lines by then. Anything earlier?

Posted by
3487 posts

Your best bet is to get in line before or as close to 7 am as possible. Otherwise, expect a long line.

Posted by
23 posts

We've had good luck going in late afternoon/early evening when the lines seem to be less. But you never know. Plus sometimes St. Peters closes without warning for visiting dignitaries, etc. We have a tradition of going to St. Peters as soon as we get to Rome to make sure we get a visit in.

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