Hello! Newbie here although longtime fan of Rick Steves. I fell in love with traveling in Europe around age 5 when my dad got an intl assignment in London and our family came along for a yearlong stay. Then fast forward to college and went backpacking ALL over Europe for 3 months with my 2 best friends right after we graduated. So much fun! Do college grads still do this? OK, my questions. I'm planning a family trip (me, my husband, and our teenaged son) to Italy this summer and I'm curious how to most effectively plan a full day at the Vatican. We're planning to do the papal audience on a Weds morning. I understand that ends around 12 noon or 12:30pm. Is that correct? My questions are really more towards what order to see the highlights next on that same Weds afternoon and how best to order tickets. I'm thinking that after the papal audience, we'd do the Vatican Museums, followed by Sistine Chapel, and then the Basilica with a climb to the dome. Is that a good order? Also, is it better to buy tickets with a reserved time from the official Vatican websites or is it better to try to get a guided tour which might help skip or reduce times in lines? With this kind of day planned, how many waiting lines should we expect to encounter? And would we need to go through a security check line only once and for each venue within Vatican City? E.g., a security line for the Vatican Museums, a security line for the Basilica, etc? Sorry for so many questions. Thanks for the help!
Posted by
San Francisco, California, USA
213 posts
The Vatican Museums are a bit of a walk from St. Peters... about 15 mins... not at all the same entrance. So, yes, another security line.
I was there last September and spent most of the day touring the museums and the Basilica. Pretty much all day, as I recall. I already had my ticket for the Vatican Museums. I don't think you can pre-book the Basilica (if you could, I would have). I waited on a long line for the Basilica but it moved pretty quickly. As for the museums, as I said, I pre-booked and did the whole place on my own (aided by Rick's audio tour which was excellent). As you tour the museums it's pretty much a one-way street unless you want to swim upstream. The finale (and what a finale) is the Sistine Chapel (now restored) so don't worry about the order in which you go... it's pre-ordained (sorry for the pun). Just be sure your tummy's full before touring the museums (I had a good sandwich right across the street) because it's a LOT to endure. Honestly, all I recall right now is Raphael's The School of Athens (near the start) and the Sistine ceiling. Rick's guide book and the audio tour are more than enough for you to comprehend the ceiling but my binoculars really came in handy as well. They also came in handy in the church. Also a one way street, tour wise. Enjoy.
Posted by
Washington DC
29996 posts
It's now possible to pre-purchase an entry time for St. Peter's. That comes with an audio guide and gets you into a shorter, faster security line. The regular security line looks scarily long, but for all I know it may move rather fast--I took one look and said, "No way".
A fairly comprehensive visit to the Vatican Museums will take over half a day. If you primarily want to see the Sistine Chapel and intend to pause only briefly on the way there (it's a long walk), you will need much less time than that. You definitely should pre-book entry to the Vatican Museums. That line is long, and--unlike the line for St. Peter's, it doesn't move fast. There would be no telling how long you'd wait in that line, and if you only headed over there after the Papal audience and grabbing a snack somewhere, I'm not sure you'd get through that line before the Museums closed.
Including the Papal audience in the late morning sort of chops up the day and doesn't make it easy to see all the sights of the Vatican in a single day. I have no clue whether you are allowed to remain inside St. Peter's after the Papal audience concludes.