Papal audience question

I never attended a Papal Audience (too much trouble) so I talk only from hearsay, but I once worked in the organization of a Papal Mass at a sport stadium so I think I am not too off. First, there are about 6000 seats and you are advised to be there 2 and half hours in advance - this means 7.30am - as there will be security controls. Even if you have a ticket, if you arrive too late you won't be able to enter. Actually the Pope will likely begin going around the piazza at 9.30am. Once the piazza is full, the management is turned to security that will likely block accesses. I do not think it will be rude to leave early, I am afraid it will be impossible at all till the audience is over. Too much crowds to cope with. I suspect the only way to leave a vantage point would be faking a sudden illness and asking for an ambulance :-)

Tickets to the museums are time specific and if you miss your time they will make you wait in the regular line, you lose the right to bypass the ticket line so if you book entry tickets for 10:15 and show up at 11am they will send you to the end of the hours long line and you'll wait your turn to get inside. Your entry ticket will still be good but not the skip the line part of it. If you wish to do the papal audience and the museums just book museum tickets for later in the afternoon. I would book for about 3pm or so. This will give everyone going to the audience and then the museums time to clear out a little before you get there. You'll be able to get some lunch and maybe visit some other sites in the area.

I agree that you'll need to get there 2-3 hours prior to the audience if you wish to get a seat.

Donna

Thank you so much for the responses. Sounds like the late tour is the ticket. One more question: If we need to get there 2-3 hours early, would it be possible for me to go that early and hold a seat and have my daughter come an hour early and meet me?

How do expect her to find you? I think the both of you should go find your seats together. It's sort of inconsiderate to 'save' a seat when other devotees have gotten there early and patiently waited their turn.

You do not HAVE to get there 2.5 hours early unless you want a really good seat.By that I mean the people who arrive early get up-in-front or along the barricades where they have a better chance of seeing Papa Francesco. Do arrive together. It is a madhouse and finding one another even with cell phones will be, to say the least, a challenge.

You won't be able to hold a seat for your daughter, they won't allow it. Once the seats are filled the guards won't let anymore people inside the seating area, plus the fact that she won't be able to find you.

If you wish to see the Pope up close then both of you need to be there early. If not, just get there a half hour before and watch him on the giant monitors then go to lunch before your museums tour.

Donna

Regarding saving seats: We just returned from a expedition with National Geographic/Lindblad and their motto is "if your seat is not in the seat it is not your seat"!!!!!

I assume you are referring to the General Audience in St. Peter's Square. I have attended two General Audiences and cannot imagine leaving early. This is a very special event. There will be thousands of people hoping to get a glimpse of the Pope. You are fortunate to have secured two tickets. My advice is to get there early, enjoy the experience in its entirety and do a later tour (or do the tour on another day, if possible). The time on the tour ticket is the time of admission. It is very unlikely you can go later and still skip the line. As I recall, the Audience ends around noon. Be sure to bring some kind of sunhat and sunglasses, as the sun can get very hot during the outdoor Audience. Check the weather, just in case. We were there in late October and the weather was like a hot, summer day. Our second audience was in late September and it poured most of the time, followed by lots of sun. Seeing the Pope is exciting, even for people who are not Catholic. With luck, you will find seats that will enable you to see the Pope from close (near an aisle). If not, you will still see him televised on a large screen. We actually made eye contact with Pope Benedict as he traveled through the crowd in his vehicle, but we were less successful with Pope Francis. Regarding arriving in shifts and saving a seat....Not only is it unfair to others seeking a seat, it is pretty much impossible. Remember, there will be thousands of people there. Have fun!

We just returned from Italy and attended the Papal audience last week. You certainly can leave the audience early, but I'll give you my two cents on why I think the later time would be better. We got to St. Peter's square a little before 8 am and there was already a decent line for security, but it went fast and we were able to find good seats...good seats really being anywhere along a fence, it doesn't really matter how close to the front you are because there are screens. The Pope comes out and drives along the aisles created by the fences and there were plenty of people who left after that. So you certainly could, but I would do the later times mainly because it gives you time to go get some coffee and lunch. The museums cafes have pretty terrible options(in my opinion) and the museums are exhausting. So if you wake up early to get to the audience and then rush to the museums, I think it's going to create an extremely exhausting day for you. Obviously this is just my two cents, I don't know how pressed for time you are and what your priorities are.