We are planning to be in Rome in early June. We arrive on Tuesday, June 2. We are thinking that we would like to go to the Vatican Museum etc. on Thursday. We know that we need to make a reservation for our time and day to be at the Vatican. I have several questions here: Should we plan to do the museum in the morning, later morning or early afternoon time?
We also wondered if we make the reservation time and arrive late will we still be admitted?
We are wondering if it is like a reservation at other places where you can't enter any earlier than what is on your reserve time?
We will plan our time around the Basilica and the Sistine Chapel after we set our time for the Vatican Museum.
Should we do the Dome tour as well?
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
The Sistine Chapel is in the Vatican Museum. Arrive 30 minutes early or they can give your booking away.
As far as time, the earlier the better.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
If you want to see the Sistine Chapel early, there are private/small group tours that begin at 7:30am, go directly to the Vatican, then to the rest of the Museums until about noon-1pm (refreshment break is in there somewhere), then take you through the short entrance to Saint Peter's Basilica where the tour ends about an hour later.
Posted by
1 posts
To purchase tickets to the Vatican Museum including the Sistine Chapel, go to www.vatician.va
I'm going in March for a guided tour for individuals. My cost for two people are 64 euros. Also, there are others tours available. Plus no waiting in line if you have your ticket in hand. Plan ahead because tour time schedules sell out fast.
Posted by
Cesena, Italy
791 posts
You don't NEED to have a reservation. We lined up for the museum shortly before it opened and were in in about 5 minutes. It was a Thurs morning also but in late Aug. The museum is HUGE so you may want to try and pre-plan what you want to see if possible. We climbed the dome. It was worth it. Nice views and great panoramic pics. A bit crowded but worth it to me.
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
Ron, you were very lucky. People usually line up an hour early in order to get inside the museums when they first open. The line is usually 1-2 hours long in the morning and tends to die down in the afternoon. It's very rare to have no line in the morning and I wouldn't suggest that it happens often.
Gerri, they don't give your reservation away at the Vatican museums. You don't need to be there a half hour early, 15 minutes is fine. If you miss the tour you can still use your tickets to enter the museums.
They give your reservation away at the Borghese gallery if you're not there at least 30 minutes prior.
Donna
Posted by
OP
Iowa, US
6 posts
Thank you to all for your responses. This is helpful. We are planning to make reservations and from the input we should plan an early in the morning time to start our day in this area. I also saw the tip on the arrival to the Borghese Museum before our entry time. Very helpful.