I know in the summer the lines can be very long in front of St Peter's Basilica. If we go there super early in the morning, say arriving before 7am, how long would it take for us to get in, climb the dome, enjoy the Basilica, and come out? Trying to gauge if we can squeeze it into our schedule. (We will tour the Vatican museum on a separate day.)
Thanks!
Jenny, so you didn't book a combo Museums + Basilica tour as some of us had recommended in one of your previous posts? That would have eliminated standing in the queue outside the church plus having to return to the Vatican area a 2nd time.
No idea how long what you are proposing to do might take as some folks are OK with just a cursory look at the basilica and skipping the grottoes (crypt) entirely, and others can spend hours examining the details. Going at or before the opening hour (7:00) should help shorten the wait to get in.
I decided to take the super early tour with City Wonders (30 min earlier than Walks of Italy) just to avoid the crowd. Vatican does not seem to limit the number of their "exclusive deals" with tour companies, so every tour company now offers 8am tours.
However, if I buy the combined tour with City Wonders, they do not allow us any time to tour the museum. They would run us down the hall to the Sistine Chapel, and then send us off to the Basilica, at which point we cannot return. So we thought we could split the two sites into two early mornings. If it's not feasible, we'll think about other plans.
jenny-
I just wanted to say that the early entry tour will help with the crowds in Sistine chapel- whether that tour group really is the only group in there remains to be seen. I think I posted in your other thread- we did Pristine Sistine that includes the Basilica and were quite satisfied - yes there were a few other groups in the Chapel with us but it was still very enjoyable- going back thru the chapel after museums was frightening.
I liked that the Basilica was part of tour. We had time afterwards to ourselves there and it meant we only had to dedicate 1 morning/day to Vatican/St Peters area.
If you have a lot of days in Rome - maybe splitting those 2 works, we only had 5 mornings on our first trip and too many other things we wanted to see.
No matter which early tour you take you are still going to be in crowds in the Museum. I believe that is just unavoidable.
They open at 7, and there are short lines and NO barriers inside St. Peters' as you will see dozens of Priests led by Scarlet clad altar boys to the various Altars for Mass. It's quiet, uncrowded, and you can get into areas that would be closed when the crowds come. Then around 10 or so, you can take the elevator to the roof and then climb to the top of the dome. It's my favorite time in St. Peters' and I've had the privilege of taking 3 grandsons' over the years on the climb to the domef over the last 8 years.
JerryG
That sounds lovely
Putting on list for next visit
You said that City Wonders gets people in 30 minutes before other tours.
Their pages says 1.5 hours early.
Dark Rome's page also says 1.5 hours early.
I think City Wonders has used hyperbole to see their product.
Dark Rome and City Wonder are the same company.
JerryG: thanks for sharing your experience. Did you go in the summer? If we arrive before 7, do you think we can tour the Basilica and climb the dome before 9:30? We’ll be there in June.
Jenny,
The Basilica opens at 7:00, you will need to go thru security, the dome elevator (10 €) stairs (8€) 500+ ticket booth opens at 8:00.
Not available Wednesday morning if Papal Mass is held.
This is easily done on your own unless you need a guide for commentary.
Thanks gerri! We'll aim to arrive before 7. Hope the line is not too long!
Dark Rome and LivItaly "the same company" ?
different web sites
different phone numbers (the ones I checked)
Evan: I said Dark Rome and City Wonder are the same company, not Livitaly.
The museum opens at 9 to the public, opens at 8 to the tour groups, and opens at 7:30 to Dark Rome/City Wonder. At least that's how I read it. Many tour companies "start" at 7:30 by talking with the group for 30 minutes before entering the museum.
Jenny, I do not understand what you mean by your statement that if you buybthe "combined tour" from City Wonders they do not allow us time to tour the museum. You say they run you straight down the hall to the Sistine chapel and then send you off tomthe Basilica without seeing the Museum.
That is not how they describe the tour, nor was it our experience. We booked the Express Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museum with Dark Rome, which is a City Wonders "brand". As far as I know it is the same tour you are talking about, the one that enters the Vatican Muweum at 7:30 am. This:
https://darkrome.com/vatican-tours/sistine-chapel-early-access
They (City Wonders/Dark Rome) are indeed the first group allowed into the Sistine Chapel. You meet the tour at 7:20 on the steps and go through the Museum entrance at 7:30. I cannot speak to how fast they run you down the hall, because we were 3 minutes late to the meeting point and they already left. (It was Papal Audience Wednesday, and it took us much longer to get through the crowds in the plaza and around to the entrance than we had clocked the previous day). We found the Dark Rome coordinator and showed our tickets, and she said she would put us onnthe next available tour for entry. Which she did, putting us in the 8:00 group but with the caveat that we could not stay with them through the Museum because it was the guided tour which we did not pay for. That was fine with us, as we wanted to head tomthe Sistine Chapel first.
It was a long walk and we slowed a bit through the Map Room to admire the maps. When we got to the Sistine Chapel entrance we were admitted right away and found only about 20 other people there---presumably the group we missed, plus guides. We had the Chapel practically to ourselves for the next 10-15 minutes, before a few more people began dribbling in, and after another 10 minutes another group or two arrived ( by then the original group was leaving). We exited through the main exit into the museum and then were free to explore on our own, with no time limit.
I highly recommend that "Express" Tour if you want to experience the Sistine Chapel,in peace and quiet, without crowds. Just don't be late!
Yes, this is exactly the tour I booked.
Kathy suggested to take the combined tour with the Basilica so that we can use the special exit into the Basilica. That would be this one:
https://darkrome.com/vatican-tours/vatican-tour-sistine-chapel-st-peters-basilica
I communicated with Dark Rome. These two tours (your link and mine) take the same amount of time, so if I opt for Basilica, I will not have time to tour the museum.
Lola, I believe this is the tour she's talking about (copied from a previous one of her posts):
https://citywonders.com/vatican-tours/sistine-chapel-st-peters-basilica-tours
And it does virtually eliminate anything in the museums that isn't along the way.
The other 7:30 Dark Rome tour she was considering allowed more time in the museums but doesn't include the basilica nor does it allow entrance to it via the back passage from the Sistine (the company confirmed that fact).
https://citywonders.com/vatican-tours/sistine-chapel-early-access
Personally, I'm thinking that the whole 7:30-entry-before-other-early-groups thing is overcooked. There are 8:00 early-entrance tours that will still allow seeing the chapel in relative peace but include more of the museums plus the basilica. Doing the whole shootin' match at one time versus splitting museums and basilica into two separate days saves time and backtracking.
