Vatican Garden and Museum Access

Posted by aislinnwalters on 04/02/25 07:16 AM

I am looking to buy tickets for the Vatican for two people in May, but I am confused about what some of the tickets include access to. I plan to either purchase the guided tour of the museums and Sistine Chapel, or the Garden Tour and Sistine Chapel. What I am unclear about is whether the garden tour gets me access to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel to explore at my own pace. I have read other posts that claim it "clearly states you get access to the Museo Vatico" but those were from 10 years ago and I am not seeing that posted on the booking site.

Typically I don't like guided tours, but I realize that is the only way to see the gardens. As long as I can see all the museums and not just limited to the Sistine Chapel, then that is fine.

I also am not Catholic but I am a huge history buff, so I am thinking that a guided tour of the museum might actually be highly educational in terms of the historical context.

For reference, the link I am using is this one, which I believe is the official booking site.
https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/organizza-visita/scegli-la-visita.html#lnav_info

Posted by Kathy

Minnesota 🎒

04/02/25 11:06 AM

16990 posts

It's been my understanding that while the tour officially ends at the Sistine, you are free after that point to explore more of the museums on your own....understanding that you will be 'swimming upstream' against the crowds in some places. There is a recent-enough description of the Vatican's tour in a TA review from last May; some of the text reads...

"We took the walking tour (there is a bus, but this didn`t appeal to us) which went through most of the gardens surrounding parts of the (Vatican) City....The tour ended with a visit to the overcrowded museums before were were left at the door of the Sistine Chapel to continue by ourselves. We were issued with earpieces, so even inside we could always hear the guide."

By "a visit to the overcrowded museums", the reviewer meant the described route to the Sistine through the Gallery of the Candelabras, the Gallery of the Geographical Maps and the Gallery of the Tapestries. That route is indeed the one pretty much all visitors and tours use to access the chapel so is crowded indeed.

As well, on the museum's website:
Q: Does the ticket for the guided tour of the Vatican Gardens include the Vatican Museums?
A: After the guided tour of the Vatican Gardens it is possible to visit the Vatican Museums with the same ticket. If you wish you may also rent an audio guide.
https://tickets.museivaticani.va/support

If you want further clarification, you can send them your question in the "How can we help you" box in the link included above.

Posted by aislinnwalters OP

04/02/25 05:01 PM

6 posts

I think we have decided to skip the gardens and just see St. Peters Basilica on our own followed by a guided tour of the museums and Sistine Chapel. So here is my follow-up question regarding timing.

I plan to try to get to the Vatican early and try to avoid these crazy lines into the Basilica and see it first. I am thinking of trying to be there around 7:30. The earliest guided tour options for the Museums and Sistine Chapel are at 9:00, 10:30 or 11:00.

I am leaning toward the 10:30 tour start, hoping it will give me 1.5 to 2 hours in the Basilica and then enough time for a little snack before starting our tour. For people who have been there, thoughts on that being too rushed? Should I opt for the 11:00? I have also heard that around 10:30 and 11:00 the museums get incredibly crowded, even when you are part of a tour.

Posted by jeff

04/02/25 07:43 PM

54 posts

I would give yourself more time and do the other way. Get a museum tour/ticket as early as you can, see the main parts (Sistine Chapel route) first before the crowds, then do the Pinacoteca and other parts of the museum if they interest you. Then get lunch and book an early afternoon entrance to St. Peter's

Posted by katie859

04/04/25 05:10 AM

7 posts

We were just there last fall. The crowds were brutal. We had first entry into the museums, 830, and the line was nuts. This was pretty much all pre-ticketed people. See the museum first. The line into St Peter's is long, but the crowd dissipates inside. People in the museum just keep getting packed in.

Although I kept encountering tours that claimed early entry, to the best of my knowledge, that doesn't exist anymore for either the museum or St. Peter's. I signed up and canceled several St Peter's tours who claimed to have early access, and buried in the fine print discovered that they had to wait in line with everyone else.

We found that in St Peter's Square there seemed to be multiple lines going in, although it was one general mass of people. We found a line that went much faster. We got in line about 1pm, when most people were at lunch.

I've found that most tours are more irritating than enlightening. Old fashioned, but give me a good guidebook or audio guide any day. Tours are always subject to the slowest person, the loudest person, and devolve from there. I bought a lengthy used Vatican museum guidebook (200+ pages) and went through it lovingly prior to our trip, so I knew exactly what I wanted to see and the approximate location. This helped quite a bit because the museum even at 830 was like salmon spawning. Going the wrong direction or changing direction was almost impossible.