Vatican Museum Exit (at Night)

I went to the Vatican on a Friday night last June. I'm not sure you have a choice about where you exit - I seem to recall being streamed to a specific exit and it was where we came in and not near the Sistine Chape. In any event, it's Rome on a Friday night so there were lots of folks out on the streets, the gelato place and all the cafes were crowded etc. So things will be lit up once you hit the main streets and it was very safe to walk. We had to walk back to Piazza Risorgimento to catch a taxi (long line up), and all the restaurants etc around the piazza were full.

Excellent. Thanks for the response! I wonder if they allow you to enter and head straight for the Sistine and work your way back towards the entrance (exit). I'd like to do it that way so I know that I'll have enough time to see the Sistine... 4 hours doesn't seem like enough to see it all and I'd hate to get kicked out before I made it there because I didn't pace myself correctly.

They don't let you use the "tour door" to the basilica because the basilica is closed at that time of night. You go back to the beginning of the museums. donna

It's hard to answer your question because the museum decides which galleries are open in the evening. For example, the night I went, the painting gallery was closed so I couldn't go into that part of the museum. My recollection is that during the evening opening it might be difficult to "swim upstream" so to speak. I recall wallking through a slightly different route to the Sistine Chapel from the time I went previously (which had been only a few weeks before). It was busy with visitors. We had preselected some specific things we wanted to see along with the Sistine Chapel and focused on making sure we saw those. One person has said that it takes 20 minutes just to get to the Sistine Chapel without stopping to look at anything. You won't be able to see everything - that's for sure. I would suggest planning out a list of things you want to see and focusing on those things as well as just the experience.

I am also curious as to the order of things in the evening as we also booked Friday night tickets. We have 7 pm (19:00) tickets and the night we go the sun sets at 8:30 (20:30). I would love to be able to bee line for the Sistine Chapel and take in the frescoes in the soft evening light, and then work my way back. Is this possible?

We are doing Under the Stars. Is this the same that you are? I thought it was a tour.

If I'm reading their brochure correctly, you can buy a regular ticket for €19 (includes €4 reservation fee) and if you'd like you can request a guided tour on top of that. We just went with the regular ticket and plan to wander on our own. Here's a link to the brochure if you'd like to take a look at it...
http://mv.vatican.va/1_CommonFiles/pdf/aperture_notturne_2012_en.pdf

You can book tickets or take a tour. You don't need to be on a tour to see the Vatican under the Stars. I don't think you'll be able to "swim upstream" by going directly to the chapel and then backtracking. You should follow the exit to the front of the museums and just re-enter. Donna

Maybe it's different at night, or maybe I missed something, but I entered the Sistine Chapel through a door at the "Last Judgement" end and exited at the opposite end (left for tours to St Peter's or right to return to the museums). The route back through the museums is NOT a retracing of the galleries you walk through to the Sistine Chapel. It takes you through other galleries. You would be making 2 complete cirles through the museums if you went first to the Sistine Chapel. That's a lot of wasted time just walking.