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How easy is it to get tickets for the Vatican these days?

The last time I visited the Vatican it was pretty mobbed. I only saw the Sistine and St. Peter's. How easy is it to get tickets these days? Is it still really crowded (especially in the afternoon)?

Posted by
459 posts

Thanks both of you, Aimee and Kathy.

I'm feeling overwhelmed with the choices available as well as the fact that I'm planning 20 days in Rome. Even scouring RS "Rome" guidebook, I'm still unclear as what parts of the Vatican are open and what tickets you need to have.

I studied Italian art history (Renaissance but now interested more in Baroque), so I think I owe myself a good "turn" here.

Still trying to decide whether I should rent an apartment in Prati, not far from the Vatican (entrance to colonnade, that is). It depends on (1) how many days I want to spend at the Vatican; (2) my feelings about being in the Prati neighborhood, which of course I only know by what I've read ("it's nice").

I understand the Gardens at the Vatican require a separate ticket (??).

I would very much like to see Castel Angelo (Ponte Cast'Angelo especially).

Posted by
15678 posts

Denny, with so many riches to experience in Rome, it's easy to be overwhelmed with choice! But please ask away if you have questions? Between all of the Rome lovers in the RS "village", i'm sure you can get squared away.

OK, the Vatican.... As far as I know ALL the parts which are accessible to the public are open, although maybe on different days and during different hours. Yes, individual parts can require different tickets...or at least the parts which requires a ticket to visit, anyway The gardens are one of those parts, and ticketing for those is here; click the tab for "Vatican Gardens" in the menu bar in the middle of the page:

https://tickets.museivaticani.va/home

There are two options: one which explores the gardens on foot, with a guide, and includes the Sistine. Description is as follows:

"A proposal intended for groups (up to 30 participants) interested in taking part in a tour of the Vatican Gardens and the Sistine Chapel as well. The guided tour is conducted by an authorized educational Guide. Vatican Museums Admission Ticket is included.
Full price ticket: € 39,00
Reduced ticket: € 30,00
Duration of the tour: about 3 hours
The tour follows an itinerary which includes: the Vatican Gardens, the Gallery of the Candelabras, the Gallery of the Geographical Maps, the Gallery of the Tapestries (Renaissance art) and the Sistine Chapel"

The second option is a guided tour via open bus, and included tickets to the museums. Description as follows:

"Get in our shuttle bus and enjoy the beauties of the Vatican Gardens. During the bus ride a multi-lingual audio guide (available in Italian, English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Russian) will let you discover the architectural wonders of the Vatican Gardens.The ticket includes admission (non guided) to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel at the end of the tour of the Gardens.
Full price ticket: € 37,00
Reduced ticket: € 23,00
Duration of the tour: about 45 minutes (there are no stop-offs along the Minibus itinerary)"

I did a dummy booking for both and it appears that these tours are only being booked through the 31st of January; very likely a COVID thing. I'm sure they'll become available for March at a later date. Oh, and the gardens can only be accessed with a tour; you can't explore them independently.

For other available tickets and tours, click on this:
https://tickets.museivaticani.va/home/fromtag/1/1643608800000/Open-Bus

The Open Bus tour appears at the top (it was my search page for that tour) but underneath is a list of everything else that is available. You'll see that some of the choices are non-bookable for the solo traveler but no problem; you won't miss out if booking what is available to you. :O)

What else can we help you with? So exciting that you'll be in the Eternal City for nearly 3 weeks! I am totally jealous!

Posted by
15678 posts

Oops, clicked "post" too soon.

Prati: we've stayed in that area and liked it very much. It is sort of off the tourist grid - which is not a bad thing - and felt a little more residential (very NICE residential). Our hotel was at the far east end of the rione - near the river - so we were a short-ish hop on foot to Villa Borghese and Piazza del Popolo. We are big walkers and trekked all over the city on foot from there but you can use the buses/metro if wanting to save some shoe leather. You may also be looking at locating closer to the Vatican than we were, although we enjoyed the walk from where we were.

Ponte Sant'Angelo? Yep, my favorite bridge; we crossed it as often as possible, even when not staying in Prati. Be sure to go that way some evening when the angels and castel are illuminated! This appears to be the online ticketing site for Castel Sant'Angelo:

https://www.tosc.it/en/artist/museo-nazionale-castel-sant-angelo/

Posted by
459 posts

What else can we help you with? So exciting that you'll be in the Eternal City for nearly 3 weeks! I am totally jealous!

Thanks so much everyone. I've got probably over a dozen and a half books on Rome but nothing beats actually "meeting up" with those of who are "eye witnesses," "on the ground and running" in the Eternal City.

This is such a special time in history...and I'm not sure if I will ever come back...

All roads to lead to Rome, though, right?

I'm not a Big City person, I find Paris overwhelming and oftentimes unpleasant. Florence or Boston are more my style (but is as crowded if not more than Rome). I think it's the Roman light, the colors...coming from gray, drizzly, windy, cool Seattle, it's such a breath of fresh air.

I'm starting out five days in a monastery near the Campo di Fiore, then north to just east of the Galleria Borghese for 7-8 days and then the last 7 days either in the Aventine or in Prati. The You tube videos make it look like the Upper East Side or the Alphabet District in Portland. I had an image of it as being dowdy.

At one point I thought of staying in an airbnb near the Piazza di Spagna (my Italian is negligible) but I'm not into what the French call "bling bling," i.e., high end shopping, restaurants, etc.

The one time I took the Rome Metro was the station near the Piazza del Populo. I felt this wave of agoraphobia well up in me, which I felt in the multi-level Metro stations in Lisbon last October as well.

It's a question of selecting a good Rome base, as I'm not as much of a walker as I wish I were (bad knees and feet, good aerobic capacity). So I had to cross off Travestere (too hip, too many bars, too young...) as a place to stay, as well as Testacicio...the Aventino sounds like a bit of, or a lot of, rest after the vespas, crowds, boutiques, roar of Centro Storico. I think I'll completely skip the Coliseum, being acrophobic. I don't need to hit all the major tourist sites.

So glad to be doing this solo, though. I'll survive...and enjoy it more this time 'round!

Posted by
459 posts

Just updating to say when we were in the Sistine Chapel, there was maybe 50 people total. Maybe. The rest was a handful at a time.

Thanks for the update, Aimee. A dream come true!

Posted by
459 posts

Prati: we've stayed in that area and liked it very much. It is sort of off the tourist grid - which is not a bad thing - and felt a little more residential (very NICE residential). Our hotel was at the far east end of the rione - near the river - so we were a short-ish hop on foot to Villa Borghese and Piazza del Popolo.

Thanks for your overall take on Prati, Kathy.

I hadn't really realized how much there is to see how at the Vatican, because I wanted in some ways to get away because it was crawling with people. I like the smaller churches, museums, not the amusement park-scale places. But I really only had 1-2 hours at the Vatican, there's a lot there, even if one has to pay separate admissions to see the Gardens, etc.

I know the Galleria Borghese has timed admission and you can only stay no more than 2 hours. At least the Vatican has a cluster of different sites, and the Prati itself sounds like it's comfortable to stroll around, without the high-end ostentatiousness of the Piazza da Spagna or via Corso, etc.

Also what has recently piqued my interest is the HBO series, "Young Pope" with Jude Law, Diane Keaton.

Posted by
549 posts

The Young Pope is a great series! A friend of mine here in Rome had a minor role in it and loved the experience.

If you want to meet up with an expat for coffee or apertivo while visiting, just DM me.
Cynthia