Saturday Afternoon at the Vatican Museum?

We just returned from a 10 day trip to Rome, Assisi and Florence. While planning our sightseeing, we purposely chose to do outdoor things in the morning from about 9:00 to 12:00. That's when the day is the coolest. Then we'd take a lite lunch break and did indoor museums in the afternoon until about 4:00. At 4:00, we followed the Italians and took an afternoon nap. Then we were ready and refreshed for evening adventures.

We did the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's in the afternoon in late June. There were a lot of people in the museum, but less than I expected, and that was actually more frustrating than the heat. It is really difficult to see and there's so much talking from the tour groups. And I just think it's that way all the time in the popular museums. Still, for me, being in the blazing hot afternoon sun is just too much so we enjoyed cool shady and sometimes air conditioned museums. Free churches are also a peaceful, beautiful cool break from the heat.

Enjoy!

The Vatican Museum is always filled with visitors. If you don't reserve a tour that will allow you to skip the general queue the lines are longest in the morning. Visit in the afternoon when the entry lines are much shorter. Last entry is at 4p, the museum closes at 6p.

We were just at the Vatican Museum on Saturday, July 5th and we went in the afternoon around 2 PM. We had booked with a tour group just to enter with them and skip the queue. However, it was completely unnecessary. There was virtually no line for the museum at all, maybe 5-10 minutes tops! Ironically, we probably ended up waiting longer as we had to arrive early to check-in with the tour group, etc. The heat inside the Vatican didn't seem all that bad to me and it was scorching outside.

Jill - lines are way down from last year. Yesterday (Thursday) there was no line after 10:30 AM. Last night I had a tour owner over for dinner and he said his bookings are way down... about 35% off from last year. He blames the longer hours of operation this year at the VM, exchange rate, the price of gas in the US, the election this year, the US housing crunch, the war in Iraq... and especially the Europeans favorite target; GEORGE BUSH!

That said, you can get in pretty easily and although it's hot outside, it's not too bad if the Vatican Museum is not too crowded. I've not seen lines this short - EVER!

Ciao,
Ron

I'd appreciate some additional thoughts on the Vatican Museum, please.

We plan to visit on the last Saturday in August.

I read that the last Sunday of every month is free admission.

Do I dare to hope that most visitors will postpone visiting on Saturday, so they can enjoy the freebie on Sunday?

We were at the Vatican this past Tuesday and did an afternoon tour with Angel Tours. Hot outside for sure but most of the tour is inside and it wasn't hot at all. Lots of people but no lines. Enjoy!

The hours on the free Sundays are from 8:30 - 12:30 entry with a close at 2:30 PM I believe... so it's a very concentrated time with LOTS of people. Been once, wil never do it again. It was like a cattle run! If you want to "enjoy" the Vatican Museum, I do not recommend the free Sunday. Good luck!

Ciao,
Ron

Oh, I can't take advantage of the free Sunday anyway because we have to be on our way to Civitavecchia later that morning.

I'm just hoping that other people will go on that Sunday rather than the Saturday we plan to visit.
I can dream, can't I??? :-)

Be sure to check the hours ahead of time. The museum closes as early as 2:45 in the summer and 1:45 in late fall - winter. They are subject to change and it's easy to find you don't have enough time or that you've missed it altogether after a long wait in line.

We just returned from a trip where we visited the Vatican museums on Saturday, June 7. The line at 9 AM was only around one corner and kept moving at a good pace all the way in - no standing around. We saw a tour guide trying to drum up business for an entrance at 10AM. We got in at 9:35!

The weather was unseasonably cool the week we were in Rome. Mid to high 70s. Can't vouch for what it's like now though.

We had been on a guided tour 7 years ago and were surprised this time to discover that there are Egyptian and Etruscan wings in the museum that the tours skip. It was also very nice to see all these marvelous works at our own pace instead of being herded about. There are also many more halls to visit after the Sistine Chapel that the tours skip.

Gary makes a great point. If you take a guided tour, you will USUALLY take a hard left at the top of the escalator and make a beeline for the Sistine Chapel. There is SO MUCH else to see!

Ciao,
Ron

P.S. - Took friends Friday (2 days ago) and no line at 11:00 AM...