St. Peter's

https://rometoolkit.rgi.ticketbar.eu/en/ticketbar-rome/st-peters-basilica/

This is what we used in March. Paid 15 Euro online in advance, we set a time, went to an office on the perimeter of St. Peter's an hour before, got the tickets and a supposed audio app for our phone that didn't work. But if you're using Rick's app, all the better!

Yeah, at that time of year it probably saved us about 60-90 minutes of waiting in line. Well worth it.

THANK YOU! I had looked at this, but just wasn't sure if it was worth it! Appreciate the advice.

I am interested in Jay's experience. I have visited St. Peter's many times over the last 7 years but I have never seen a separate line for "ticket holders''. There is no charge or ticket for entry to the basilica and everyone has to go through the security check. Could you explain how your entry worked. Thanks

I'm interested to as I have been to St. Peters several times and there was never a ticket for entry. The only time I 'skipped' the security line was when going the Scavi tour about 20 years ago.

@Jay, Didn't you still have to go through security to get into the Basilica? All of my experience is that it is free to go in but no matter who you are, you must go through Security unless you are coming from the Museums with a guided tour, in which case you've gone through security for the Museums. I don't understand what you are paying 15 Euro for with Rome Toolkit.

My experience with the security line on Friday, Oct. 6 was that we joined the line at 4:30 p.m. and were through security at 5:15. But the portion of the church that was then roped off for 5:00 mass was about half of it, and the crypt closed. (If security had been quicker, we could have attended the mass, although that was not the original plan.) So I recommend going a couple of hours earlier.

I don't know about the offer that Jay linked, but he still had to go an hour early. Just maybe didn't spend that hour standing on stones in the piazza.

OK. From what I remember--I was sober since it was morning--we picked up our tickets at 9:15 (reading above post, we didn't have to go that early, I believe it said we had to be there 15 minutes early--but our bus got us there quicker from Campo de' Fiori than we anticipated) for a 10:15 entrance, and we picked them up at a little office on the perimeter of the oval. If facing St. Peter's Basilica was 12:00 on a clock, this was 7:00.

So we picked up the tickets, and also a set of cheap earbuds apiece, also a sheet of paper with instructions on how to download the audio tour app to our phones. I believe there were separate instructions for iPhones and for Androids.

Close to the designated time we were instructed to go to a separate security line much closer to the building farther to the right (seem to remember almost under the columns) than the normal line was. The normal line, at that time of day, on a Tuesday in early March, was easily 200 people long. Our line was about 20. I think we all went through the same entrance, but as I said in different lines.

Certainly, we went through security and within 5 minutes we were inside and pretty much left to our own devices. Speaking of devices, the download of the app went fine but typing in the password twice and then activating the audio was a real P.I.T.A. It worked on and off, and finally we just said screw it & wandered on our own. I am absolutely certain that Rick's podcast would have been a huge improvement over what this would have been.

For those who haven't been, it's absolutely spectacular, and I would advise doing as much advance homework on this as possible for perspective to what you're seeing. We traveled around the cathedral, starting on the right and going counter-clockwise around the perimeter. The anterooms are incredible. We spent about 2.5 hours before the sensory overload and sheer largesse got to be a bit much, and we left with about 10-15% more to see.

That's about all. Wish I could be a little more specific about the where's & how's of it all, but bottom line is that the 15 Euro apiece was money well spent just to bypass the line. With Rick's podcast it should be a stellar experience!

Useful information! Thank you!

Thank you Jay! Going tomorrow; with the Rome Took Kit skip the line...we will see what happens!