Time to tour vatican?

I like visiting the museums in the afternoon. It's still crowded but most of the tour groups and cruise groups are gone by the afternoon so you don't have those to deal with. The basilica is open until 7 so visiting it after the museums and chapel is a good idea. There is an audio guide you can rent for the museums and also the basilica. There are also some you can download online if you don't like the apps. Donna

If you go to the Vatican via Metropolitana (subway), the exit is closer to the Vatican Museums. So from the subway station the easier order is MUSEI VATICANI then ST. PETER'S BASILICA. With other means of transportation, you choose the order you prefer. Inside the museums there are a few itineraries colored marked on the floor. The shortest will take you about 2 hours and take you to the top art works. Just follow the colored stripes according to how much time you have. I'm not sure the museums will be that crowded at the end of October. I've always gone there in Winter and the crowds weren't bad at all. The Sistine Chapel is inside the Museum and all colored itineraries will include it. You could actually do the Vatican in your first day starting in the morning. I'd suggest to do everything at the Vatican in one day, because it's the only area which is a little out of the way from the rest of the sites. I'd suggest you take either subway or bus or taxi to the Vatican from the Centro Storico, because it's a walk. I don't have restaurants to suggest in the area, I rarely eat around the Vatican. The best strategy for a good restaurant downtown Rome is to ask a Roman young student, who are most likely to use reasonably priced restaurants downtown Rome. My strategy in youth when I lived in Italy was to ask the construction workers. They were the best informed about restaurants at good price. Times have changed however, and there are no Italian construction workers anymore (they all come from Eastern Europe).

I second Roberto's remark that it's a walk to the Museums (I visited once during a transportation strike and walked back to Termini from the Museums, I thought I should have gotten a medal and a parade). There's a restaurant called "Isola della Pizza" a few blocks from St. Peter's/Museums, they serve much more than pizza and it's excellent food at a very reasonable price. Last August I went there with friends after the Vatican/St. Peter's, and then we walked back to the Basilica to see it lit up at night (the police very politely asked us to leave at 11pm, when they close off the piazza).

The first time I visited, I went to the basilica from the Sistine Chapel and it was around sunset, didn't enjoy the Basilica, as it seemed very dark. If you want to climb up to the dome (GREAT views), you should do that early. There is limited space, so the line gets backed up and the later you go, the longer the wait could be. An alternative would be do visit the museums around midday, then see how much time you have left for the Basilica. You can always see it (and climb up to the dome) early on another day. It really isn't that far from other sights.

Tuesday is not the greatest day for good restaurants near the Vatican. Here are two that, according to their web sites (which may or may not be accurate), are closed on Tuesdays. But they are good and you may want to go to them on other days. In a separate post I'll suggest some other restaurants that would be worth a visit. Ristorante La Vittoria is very close to St. Peter's (directions below), the food is consistent, and depending on the time you go you will see lots of priests, seminarians, even bishops/cardinals there, not to mention Italians and tourists mixed together. The prices are quite good considering its location. link to Ristorante La Vittoria Getting there is very easy. If you are standing in St. Peter's Square looking at the Basilica, exit through the left side of the Colonnade onto the large crosswalk that heads towards a tunnel down the street a bit. Walk all the way through the tunnel till you come out on the other side of the main street it goes under. Immediately turn left at the exit of the tunnel, cross the street, and double back just a bit to get to Ristorante La Vittoria (you can see it as you exit the tunnel, but where the crosswalk is to cross is past it, hence you have to double back a bit). Do a Google Map on the address and between that and these directions it'll be a piece of cake. Another place to look at would be Da Roberto al Passetto di Borgo - it's on the famous street Borgo Pio (where a ton of religious article shops are located), and is a pretty consistent place as well. You'd also see priests, tourists, et al. there. Link for Da Roberto al Passetto More suggestions in another post...

Before I write more about restaurants, let me offer the following advice. You don't say how early you will be able to get to the Vatican that day. But a nice time to visit St. Peter's is between 7 and 8:30am, when it is open mainly for priests to celebrate Mass. (There will be priests celebrating Mass at many of the side altars.) So the tourist numbers are much lower at that time and you can actually enjoy it and experience it not only as a tourist attraction but also as a place of meditation and prayer. Whatever time you get there, I would do the Dome/Roof as early as possible, then visit the Basilica itself, then stop for lunch someplace (maybe on the Borgo Pio, which is sort of on the way around to the museums). Then after lunch I would go to the Old Bridge Gelateria, which is on the way to the Vatican Museum entrance. After enjoying a nice gelato, get an early afternoon entrance into the Vatican Museum, when the crowds are less insane (Tuesdays are better days anyhow). After all of that I would go back to my hotel and rest, then go find a good dinner. That brings me back to restaurants, and I'll post one more thing with some suggestions.

Since, as I said before, some of the better restaurants near the Vatican are apparently closed on Tuesdays, and since you will have spent the whole day there, here are some ideas for places that are near Piazza Navona, which is a great place to stroll in the evening and people watch, and it's not a long walk from the Vatican, so if you are staying up that way it's easy enough to walk back to your hotel after dinner. (That was a long sentence.) Near Piazza Navona - I have tried all these places The Old Bear Pub http://www.oldbear.it/ - good prices - Italian food plus stuff from other parts of Europe Taverna le Coppelle http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d1516542-Reviews-Taverna_Le_Coppelle-Rome_Lazio.html - no nonsense, lower prices - good pizza and other selections, checkered table cloths, plenty of Italians mixed in with the tourists, seating is a bit tight (not a lot of space between tables) Casa Coppelle http://www.casacoppelle.it/ - slightly higher (but not bad) prices - Italian and French food - nice ambience After eating at one of these places, stop at Della Palma for good gelato. http://www.dellapalma.it/en/ Then stroll down to the nearby Pantheon, before walking back to Piazza Navona. Enjoy your trip!