I have reservations for the Vatican Garden Tour and noticed that the ticket was also good for a non-guided tour of the museum. My questions are:
1-Does the garden tour end in the museum or do I have to wait in the museum line outside?
2-Is the short cut to St. Peter's from the Sistine Chapel still usable?
Thanks.
That's a question for a Roma specialist, you can go here http://www.roninrome.com/ and e-mail Ron to see if he knows.The Vatican Garden Tour has gotten mixed reviews on this forum, actually, the garden has gotten bad reviews here. What people have said is that, given their expectations, they were disappointed and, if they had it to do over again, would choose to spend their precious time seeing everything else in the Vatican except the garden.
I have been to the Vatican several times before and while climbing to the top of the dome always wanted to see the gardens in the back. I think, as you say, many people have been disappointed because the tour did not meet their expectations. My expectations are to just walk around down there.
I have read on other forums that one of the main problems with the tour is the quality of the guides is hit or miss. So hopefully, we get a good guide. If not, I will survive. Since it includes entrance tot the museums too, I don't consider it a big expense.
Just wanted to say that the tour was great. Five of us went, ages 7, 47, 48, 65 and 74. There was something for all of us. Our guide (can't remember her name) was very good. She not only told us about the history of the gardens and the Vatican, but also something about some of the Popes and how they related to the gardens. Some of the stories were quite funny. She pointed out some of the unusual plants and told us about some of the sculptures.
The tour does end at the museum so no waiting in line. Our guide gave is directions on where to go once inside so we didn't have to wander around and waste time.
There is a lot of walking on the tour, no sitting but you can rest in the shade while the guide talks. We brought water bottles and we kept them filled at the fountains in the garden. If you go in the summer be sure to wear a sun hat.
