Vatican: 9:45 or 1:30?

Advance tickets for the Vatican Museums sell out virtually every day of the year. The variation is in how far in advance they sell out and how many people show up without tickets to stand in the ticket-purchase line. That latter group will also be accompanying you through the museum as the VM folks feed them into the building.

I would think Wednesday afternoon might be more crowded than Thursday afternoon, but I'm only guessing. I don't remember any previous discussion about that.

A lot of folks prefer earlier entry times, but I doubt that 9:45 is early enough to be really helpful. Some others have felt later in the afternoon was a bit better than the middle of the day, but I don't think 1:30 really qualifies as late.

Unfortunately, these days the Vatican Museums are a zoo during general entry periods no matter what time slot you have. Would the late hours on Friday be a possibility for you?

thank you. No limited to Wed afternoon or Thursday.

I would pick the 9:45, but try to show up early and see if they let you in. We had 9am tickets and showed up at 8:30am and they waved us right in.

Thanks, I booked a 9:45 tour thru Walks. Hoping early Sept is a bit less crowded than Aug.

It will be shoulder to shoulder cattle chute crowded, even in September. Prepare yourself mentally for this.