In Rick Steves book, it states to go to St Peter's Basilica before 10am to avoid crowds.
Also, in the book, it states to go to the Vatican Museum after 14:00 to avoid crowds.
So, would it be best to go to the Basilica first thing in the morning, maybe 8am. Tour around inside and walk up to the roof, etc.
Then, book online a ticket to the Museum for sometime after 14:00?
Maybe we could get lunch somewhere close in between both of these?
Any suggestions?
Thanks.
Posted by
Wilmington, DE, USA
1046 posts
You don't tell us when you are traveling which makes a difference when talking about crowds and options. Early morning for St. Peter's is a good idea anytime. Have you considered going to the Vatican Museums on a Friday night? Check out their website (museivaticani.va), on Fridays starting at 7 o'clock you can enjoy the museum, have a cold buffet dinner, enjoy a concert and have a drink. For 4 hours you have a quite relaxed and uncrowded atmosphere (including the cooler evening breezes through the open windows). And the guards are not pushing you to keep moving.
Posted by
OP
Phoenix, AZ, USA
144 posts
Oops. We arrive in Rome on Sat, June 8th about 12noon. We leave on Tues, June 11th in the morning. We were planning to do the Vatican on Mon, the 10th, since it recommended not to go there on a Sunday.
Posted by
Charlotte, NC
238 posts
Just be prepared for the Vatican Museum to be a little more crowded on Mondays and not just because they are closed on Sundays.
State run museums in Rome are closed on Mondays.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
6013 posts
Consider booking an early entry tour
We thought the Walks of Italy Pristine Sistine tour was worth a very penny
Posted by
5 posts
Based on a suggestion in another Forum question about visiting the Vatican, I just booked an Early Entry Breakfast and Museums tour. Entry for breakfast is at 7:15 am. Ticket price include cost of breakfast buffet. Then you are allowed to enter the museums (including the Sistine Chapel) at 8:00 with a headset for audio guide. I believe the normal opening time for the museums is 9:00 am.
The price was 68 EUR for 1 adult. (Less for children and students with student ID)
I just checked the Vatican website, and they have tickets available for your day in June if you're interested.
Use Rick's link to the Official Vatican website.
Note: I could NOT get my tickets processed using my Visa card yesterday. I contacted my credit card company today, and I just had to say "Vatican, ticket purchase denied" -- and the CC rep knew the situation. (Evidently the Vatican has added another level of security for Visa reservations.) They connected me to a Visa rep who validated the CC info, and then marked the account so that I could book the ticket at the Vatican site for the next 24 hours. It did indeed work when I tried it within the 24 hours.
Posted by
OP
Phoenix, AZ, USA
144 posts
klcastner
What website did you go to to book your morning tour?
Posted by
5 posts
I started by using this 'Official' link to the Vatican ticket site on Rick's site here....
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/italy/vatican-museums-st-peters-reservation-information
There is an embedded link to the ticketing site.
Look for Breakfast at the Museums link, and then the Early Breakfast link when you click the 'Breakfast' link.
-OR-
You can go to the Vatican Site (instead of being dropped right into ticketing like the link on the page reference above does.
http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en.html
Then I searched for 'Early Breakfast' and found a link that way. After you read about the tour, you can then start your order process.
-OR-
Use this URL to go directly to the page:
http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/visita-i-musei/scegli-la-visita/musei-e-collezioni/colazione-ai-musei-vaticani/ingresso-anticipato-ai-musei---colazione.html
Hope that helps! :-)