Hubby and I are visiting Rome for first time in March. We have tickets for Necropolis tour for March 9 at 1:30. Trying to plan for when to tour Vatican Museums and St Peter's. I want to be at the bronze doors around one - or at least heading that direction. Plan to buy tickets before hand - arrive at Vatican Museums at 8:30 - tour museums and Sistine Chapel - allowing 2 hours so 10:30 - We like museums but aren't ones to linger too long - St Peter's 10:30- 11:30. Grab a bite - will we need to leave St Peter's Square or are there reasonable food options there that we would have time to eat and head to Necropolis? Do we exit Sistine Chapel into St Peter's Square or we will have to walk around from museum entrance? I know everything closes a little earlier in March so didn't know if touring St Peter's after the tour at 3:00 would allow enough time.... Planning to use Rick Steve's tour for all of this - most of Rome!
Also would love to see Bramante Staircase - is this a special tour?? Thanks in advance
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123 posts
Congrats on your fist trip to Rome, misslondon09! Excellent choice to do the Scavi tour at St Peter’s. A few observations about St Peters, the Scavi experience, and the Vatican Museums:
The Scavi tickets are very specifically timed tickets with zero wiggle room. You must go through a completely separate security checkpoint on the left side of Piazza San Pietro (Basilica checkpoint is on the right side of the piazza - you can’t miss the snaking line of people waiting to get in). Once you go through the initial security checkpoint, Swiss guards have a 2nd checkpoint. You are only allowed in 15 minutes prior to the tour start and you cannot be late. Keep this in mind when planning your time in Vatican City.
The Scavi experience lasts 1 hour and ends in the grotto under St Peter’s Basilica (the grottoes are the foundation layer of the original medieval basilica). You exit the grotto in a small courtyard sandwiched between the basilica and the Sistine Chapel. Alternately, if you exit right out of the grotto/chapels from the Scavi experience, there is a small staircase that takes you directly up into the basilica.
I recommend visiting St Peter’s Basilica after you finish the Scavi experience. Crowd flow works best to visit after Scavi, and is a fantastic complement to the time underground.
Totally get it that not everyone is a museum person. With that said, don’t short-sell yourself on time at the Vatican Museums. They are work 3-4 hours with the sheer scale of contents in the museum. Better yet, take a guided tour to help you sift through the sensory overload. Several forum members recommend The Roman Guy. I did the Arte Vaticana “before they open” tour through Context Travel and highly recommend it to everyone. Insanely beautiful artwork distilled into bite size pieces with a tremendously knowledgeable and engaging guide.
Find a lunch spot outside the immediate vicinity of St Peter’s. It’s fully of tourist restaurants of questionable quality. I had a lovely lunch of soup and pasta at a spot about 10min walk from St Peter’s (apologies, I forgot the name of the restaurant!). Our fellow forum gurus can provide you with dining recommendations.
Happy planning!
Posted by
1 posts
Hi! How did you obtain your necropolis tour tickets? Is there an email I can use to request them? I only see a fax number on their site. Thank you!
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16700 posts
Here's the info:
http://www.scavi.va/content/scavi/en/ufficio-scavi.html
http://thecatholictraveler.com/vatican-scavi-tour/
In addition to fax, looks like you may email your request to [email protected]. Include all the info requested. Joanna, can you confirm?
Posted by
OP
3 posts
I just emailed and received an email back with date and time. Print the email and bring with you. Also ID
Posted by
123 posts
Hi Kathy & mohalaui,
Yes, spot on with that email address. Here’s the link to the Vatican website that outlines all the requirements: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/institutions_connected/uffscavi/documents/rc_ic_uffscavi_doc_gen-information_20090216_en.html
If you’re planning to take the pilgrimage during high season, try to be flexible with your date requests. This is a popular tour that books up quickly. With that said, the Vatican Scavi office responds quickly to emails. Print your confirmation, bring an ID for both security checks, and you’ll be set!
Crossing fingers for your success! I have many happy memories of that very cool experience.