Is there a time of year when there would be 10 feet between me and anyone else on a Vatican tour?

Is there a time of year when there would be 10 feet between me and anyone else on a Vatican tour

I doubt there is any time, when open to the public, that you could have 300 sq ft all to yourself ( That is 3/4 the size of a 2 car garage)

I have photos of me in St Paul’s 15 years ago with very few people. Even took communion.

John Paul II was the Pope

Month was November. Weather was cool but not freezing. Little rain.

November has been by travel month since the early 90’s. My career deemed it so but even in retirement its my month to see Europe.

Things change.

Over the years it’s obvious that Rick Steves concept of Europe Through The Back Door generated more interest in European Travel.

Not sure there’s an off season anymore.

You might research to see if there’s a Vatican tour that takes place before the general public is allowed inside St Paul’s.

I know the RS tour of Florence I took 15 years ago went into the Academia before the museum opened to the public. We spent nearly a 1/2 hour with an art historian learning about Michelangelo as we stared at David.

As far as weather. Always a gamble. Rarely stops me from traveling.

10 feet is 3 meters.
Is there a reason why you need so much space between you and the next person? I'm not even sure it's possible to be 3 meters from someone else in any European city center, let alone inside St. Peter Basilica or the Vatican museums.

Circle of 20 feet diameter? Not a chance unless you know the Pope. Or maybe a mafia boss. Was there October 2022 and supposedly had pricey “before the crowd” private tour tickets at 7:30am. There was a line a block long to get in, crowds dispersed for the first few galleries, so okay, then by the Hall of Maps it was almost shoulder to shoulder. Sistine was jammed. At least we got the back door to the Basilica and avoided that line. A waste of time for us as we don’t like crowds.

Far better museums to see with timed tickets and minimal lines.

We went back a few days later at 5pm and all but walked right into St Peters. Timed it perfect for mass. Incense, choir ….. it was magical.

Is there a time of year when there would be 1 foot between me and anyone else on a Vatican tour?

We had an experience similar to yours a few years ago. I was miserable. This time I booked the Vatican after hours tour with wine and hors d’oeuvres and it was a much better experience. You don’t have control over what you see, but it was all good. The tour started shortly before closing and lasted about 2 hours. And we got an uninterrupted 25-30 minutes in the Sistine Chapel. Group size was 20 people. Enough wine and food to call it dinner. Everything was closed up tight when we were ready to leave, so security walked individuals to the restroom and out the door when they were ready to go. I don’t remember the exact cost but it was less than 100 euros for two. A bargain.

On the same trip as the miserable Vatican experience, in Florence’s monsoon season as I recall, November, we spent 20 minutes completely alone with David. Joined by a Japanese couple just as we were leaving. Maybe it was low season, or just dumb luck, but it was wonderful.

This sounds very reasonable. I will look into this.

Is there a time of year when there would be 10 feet between me and anyone else on a Vatican tour ?

Yes. That time would be about 6 decades ago. Just hop in your time machine and set the date for some random time before roughly 1960 (when trans-Atlantic commercial passenger jet flights started becoming common). You'll have plenty of breathing room.

I visited the Vatican Museums in early March of this year. I didn't have an early entry time. The Sistine Chapel was very crowded, but I could see that it could (and would) be worse later in the year. The entire experience wasn't like that. Some sections of the Museums were crowded, but other galleries (the Pinacoteca and the Contemporary Religious Art section) had very few visitors; I think they were avoidable if you just wanted to get to the Sistine Chapel as fast as possible, and most people chose to avoid them.

The Vatican Museums are making changes in entry procedures in January. I suppose the early-entry experience may be different in the future.

Low season for the Uffizi in Florence is from 10 January/ 20 Feb- 10 Nov/ 20 Dec.
Yes, I know that wasn't your question, but if the Uffizi do cheaper tickets during those times I would imagine it's safe to say it's low season everywhere from after the Christmas break (which finishes on 7th Jan in Italy) until Carnival, then November up to the long weekend around the public holiday on 8th December. First thing in the morning is also a good idea.

Thank you. This is the answer to what I was asking. Did not know about the dates for Christmas break nor Carnival but makes sense why these times would have less attendance.

I don’t remember the exact cost but it was less than 100 euros for two. A bargain.

Comment in regard to the Sistine Chapel extra time/happy hour tour - we just did it two weeks ago - you do have the Chapel all to yourself for almost 30 minutes - but the fee was close to USD 80 pp. Money well spent.

TBD is what will happen with the new hours starting in January.