St. Pete's

As long as your shoulders are covered you are fine.

Are you referring to St. Peter's Basilica located in the Vatican City of Rome. According to Wikipedia, it is regarded as one of the holiest Christian sites. It has been described as "holding a unique position in the Christian world" and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom". When you are in Rome, I would suggest not asking people on the street "hey, how do I get to St. Pete's?"

I have read that it is free to enter the Basilica but can anyone tell me what the lines are like to get in? Is this an all day affair to get into the church or does it move fairly well? Thanks in adance..

My wife and I have been there several times, always wearing short sleeves (polo shirts, t-shirts, etc.). Sleeveless is a no go.
As for the lines, they're brutal in peak season, but still not an all day event. They can be several hours, though. The real problem is there is no order, all chaos. You have to sort of wiggle your way to the security check. My advice is to see the vatican museum first (much more organized line) and sneak out the back door of the Sistine chapel to get to St. Pete's

Thanks Darren,
here is my situation, I have tickets for the Vatican for 2pm..is there still time after that to do St. Peter's?

Joe, you'll have plenty of time after the museums to see the basilica. It stays open til 7ish. There is no need to "sneak" just go out the exit marked for tour guides. No one will stop you.

The line for the basilica is to go through the security check point, You won't have to do that if you go through the museums first. You go through security to get into the museums so if you go directly from the museums to the basilica they don't make you wait again.

Donna

Hi, all. Thanks for the info. We are going to Vatican Museums first, then sneaking out back door into St. Peter's. Decided to use the Steve's guide and go to Pinoceteca first. Will let you all know how it goes. I plan to wear a skirt b-low knees and a short sleeved nice shirt and sandals. Glad to know I will not need a shawl! Thanks, again.