Vatican Museum Prime Experience

Yes, my wife and 2 adult kids just did that tour on Thursday morning. I have never done any other tours so I can not compare them directly. I thought the tour was well done, though they don't cover the entire museum (and they couldn't, not in 2 hours). But, after breakfast (which I thought was decent, not great) you can go back into the museum and do whatever you want.

HOWEVER, the crowds in the museum after the early morning tours are overwhelming, at least right now. We went and saw the Pinacoteca after breakfast as it was not covered during the tour, not too crowded. We then headed back to the Sistine Chapel and it was packed wall to wall. It was a hot, sweaty, crowded mass of humanity that was hard to get through. I don't see how anyone in the museum at that time saw anything. So, whether you take the Vatican tour or a 3rd party tour, I can not recommend enough getting into the museum early before the crowds or just skip it (maybe afternoon/evenings or non-peak season would be OK too?).

I don't know if anyone knows about this, but I've always wondered what kind of damage, if any, those constant hot, sweaty breathing masses cause to the Sistine Chapel. At all day every day. it seems like there would be some impact. Same thing for all the open windows in the museum. Can anyone explain why this is ok for the art?

It did occur to the Vatican museum that all those bodies throw off heat and humidity:

https://www.carrier.com/carrier/en/worldwide/case-studies/articles/keeping-history-cool.html#:~:text=In%201993%2C%20Carrier%20designed%20and,load%20of%20700%20simultaneous%20visitors.

What's wrong with the open windows?

Pollution and humidity, Dario.

The other menace is direct sunlight. But these have to be weighed against the microbes and hot humid air from the visitors.

Funny enough, the topic of protecting the Sistine was also addressed an interesting Atlantic Monthly article samatudd very recently posted a link to:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/vatican-museums-at-night-atlantic-article

"Digital sensors, visible once you look for them, collect data from all parts of the chapel. They monitor temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, and particulates, as well as the size of the crowd. The data are tracked on screens in the conservator’s office; we likely produced a blip just by opening the door and turning on a light. The Sistine Chapel is one of those few air-conditioned spaces in the Vatican Museums. The air in the room can be exchanged as often as 60 times a day. If need be, the volume of traffic can be reduced by controllers upstream. They can close doors and loop throngs into a detour, or encourage exploration. People should know about Etruscan art anyway. But the chapel never fully shakes off its millions of annual visitors—their dust, their heat, their coughs and sneezes."

Curious Wanderer pretty much sums up my Prime Experience experience—I was there 4/28 and felt it was an excellent way to see enough of the museum to feel satisfied without losing my mind trying to wade through the epic crowds—even as a solo traveler who zips in and out easily I could quickly see that wasn’t happening there. We had 20 minutes or so in the glorious Sistine Chapel, our guide spoke about it for a few minutes then left us to reflect on our own—no photos allowed there, but okay in the other galleries.

I booked this experience for October a couple of weeks ago. I checked a few days ago, and it was sold out, so...I am glad I got in on it when I did.

Correct me if I am wrong, but this tour will not use the secret passage into the basilica, am I right?

I had considered getting to the Basilica early so that I could get in right at 7 am, even just for a quick walk through. But, I didn't realize that it is about a 15-20 minute walk from the Basilica to he Museums, so that wouldn't work out.

I noticed on the voucher that breakfast is planned for 9:30 am, and as someone mentioned, you can go back to explore more afterwards. If you eat quickly, or even skip breakfast altogether (which I wouldn't do, but this is hypothetical), are you able to go back through as soon as you finish your meal? Or do they wait for everyone to finish before releasing you?

Could anyone estimate how early into the tour they go to the Sistine Chapel?

Sistine Chapel was the final part of the tour (other than breakfast) and I'd say we spent the last 20 minutes or so in the Chapel. There were just a handful of tour groups in there and it was wonderful.

After that you go back through the museum to a courtyard for breakfast. Once they drop you off in the courtyard you can go whenever you want. We didn't skip breakfast, though you could, but we finished fairly quickly before anyone else so we could do some exploring. Just be warned, once they open the museum to everyone else it gets crowded FAST. Some places are still explorable (we did the Pinacoteca and it was not bad), but the main hall to the Sistine Chapel is horrible. If you are hoping to see more of that I think that would be very difficult. That may not be the case in October but it sounds like the massive crowds started early this year so they may last longer in to the season as well. You couldn't stop to see anything in that mass.

As for the secret door to the Basilica, everyone was using that door. As I mentioned in another post, trying to go back the other way against the crowd would be nearly impossible and if everyone had to go that way it would be a nightmare. That door is open until 17:00 to everyone in the Sistine Chapel, or it was last week.

Getting into the Basilica after the Prime Experience tour was easy, just a short queue straight in. This is because you don't need to go through security again. The Basilica itself is so huge that it wasn't really crowded, except around the Pieta and maybe a few other places.

Sistine Chapel was the final part of the tour (other than breakfast) and I'd say we spent the last 20 minutes or so in the Chapel. There were just a handful of tour groups in there and it was wonderful.

This is disappointing. When I booked the Prime Experience, my main concern was that the Sistine Chapel would be left toward the end of the tour, and we would start running into other tour groups and even the general public. After all....if it was the last thing before breakfast, that would be putting it around the 9 am mark, which is when the general public droves will be coming.

The advice I was given, which I know is not concrete, is that tour guides typically try to get to the Sistine Chapel early. Sounds like this wasn't the case. Although it does sound like they got there early enough that it was relatively pleasant. So, that's good.

As for the secret door to the Basilica, everyone was using that door. As I mentioned in another post, trying to go back the other way against the crowd would be nearly impossible and if everyone had to go that way it would be a nightmare. That door is open until 17:00 to everyone in the Sistine Chapel, or it was last week.>

Getting into the Basilica after the Prime Experience tour was easy, just a short queue straight in. This is because you don't need to go through security again. The Basilica itself is so huge that it wasn't really crowded, except around the Pieta and maybe a few other places.>

I am glad to hear about the Sistine Chapel door, although I know much can change between now and October. And, I am sure it's very much a YMMV situation. I wasn't even anticipating being able to use that door, as I had heard and read that only tours that specifically include the Basilica in the description are allowed to use that door.

So, the short queue that you mentioned.....this queue was from the Sistine Chapel into the Basilica, not outside. Am I understanding correctly?

@CuriousWanderer - I’m a little confused…

“Sistine Chapel was the final part of the tour (other than breakfast) and I'd say we spent the last 20 minutes or so in the Chapel.”

“After that you go back through the museum to a courtyard for breakfast.”

So, after visiting the Sistine Chapel, you went to a courtyard for breakfast.

“As for the secret door to the Basilica, everyone was using that door…That door is open until 17:00 to everyone in the Sistine Chapel, or it was last week.”

“Getting into the Basilica after the Prime Experience tour was easy, just a short queue straight in.”

Did you then return through the museum to the Sistine Chapel to exit through the door into the Basilica?

@melmay14, there are not a lot of people in the Sistine Chapel during this tour. The general public is not in yet and while there are multiple Prime Experience groups in the chapel it was not even close to crowded and we could move about freely. Having seen what it's like after the general public is let I can tell you the early experience is infinitely better.

After exiting the Sistine Chapel you end up in St. Peter's Square, on the right hand side if you are facing the basilica. You can then walk up to the entrance of the basilica and enter. This is also what many/most of people exiting the Sistine Chapel were doing so a line does form getting into the basilica but it was short and fast moving. Even though this was last week I don't remember the details from that part other than it was not a hassle getting in to the basilica.

@samatudd, sorry for the confusion. The Sistine Chapel is the end of the formal tour of the Vatican Museum. The guide then led us back through the museum to the courtyard for breakfast. After they drop you off for breakfast you are free to stay in the museum as long as you want. You can even skip breakfast if you'd like. We did then return to the Sistine Chapel to exit out of the door to the basilica. The door to the basilica was not open when we were in the chapel the first time, during the early morning tour. It was open when we returned after breakfast. I don't know when they open it but I was told it closes at 17:00.

@CuriousWanderer - thank you for the clarification. I guess I was hoping you had found a way to do it without wading back into the crowd ;)

This tour does sound like a good way to see the Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel. I’m making a note of it for the next time I go to Rome.

We are visiting the Vatican on July 3, and are scheduled for a tour at 8AM. I am hoping this will work. My biggest concern about this trip is oppressive heat and oppressive crowds, which will really take away from any experience. I am a teacher, so we were limited in the time that we could go. Reading some of these comments is disheartening. Is every venue over run? Is it necessary to have dinner reservations for every night to avoid waiting in crowded hot lines?

No, everything isn't overrun. There are lots of tourists in Italy, but many spend only a brief time in each city, and most seem to want to see the same highlights. Spend more time in a city and you'll easily get off the beaten path and find under-visited sights and areas. Places where I was almost alone in Rome earlier this year:

Capitoline Museums
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme
Baths of Diocletian
MAXXI, MACRO and GNAM (modern- and contemporary-art museums)
Quartiere Coppede (Art Nouveau district)
Villa Giulia (Etruscan Museum)
Museo Boncompagni Ludovisi (small decorative arts museum)
Palazzo Doria Pamphilj (private art collection)
Galleria Colonna (private art collection)
Museo Nationale del Palazzo Venezia (decorative arts)
Museo Capitoline Centrale Montemartini (classical sculpture and mosaics)

I went to many, many churches, though not St. Peter's because the line looked bad. Most churches had fewer than ten people in them at the time of my visit. And most are free, though it's handy to have some 1-euro coins to feed the light meters to illuminate any mosaics you want to fully appreciate.

Hey guys, I just wanted to check in with my report. Just wanted to post my experience circa October.

I didn't find the Prime Experience worth it at all. There were several Prime Experience groups entering at the same time. So, each of the rooms we entered, it was pretty busy. I will say our guide was a little on the slower, more talkative side, so it seemed like a lot of groups were passing us up. Our guide was lovely, don't get me wrong. But, very very thorough. We started the tour, and it was pretty quiet, but with each new room, more and more tours were either evening with us or passing us up, to the point that by the time we got toward the end, it was pretty crowded.

Actually, things were kind of a mess from the jump. There was some sort of issue with check-in, and the wrong audio equipment was issued to the wrong people, and they spent like 10 minutes trying to sort it out. Ok fine.

He did mention that we would not be able to enter the Sistine Chapel until 9 o clock, but it kept getting delayed more and more, and by the time we got there, it was around 9:20 or so, which by that point, the general public was starting to stream in. I am wondering what the point of the Prime Experience is, if you are not getting into the Sistine Chapel before the general public.

The pass-through to St. Peter's Basilica was not open. I don't really know why, as I had read so many reviews from people who said the pass-through has been pretty well open as of recently. We asked our guide about it, and he said that it was never open, which we, or at least I, knew to be untrue.

I skipped the breakfast for the most part. It was disappointing. One of the reviews I had read, which had photos, showed it to be more of a continental serve-yourself buffet. This was not the case. I would have much preferred it this way, as you can pick and choose what you want, and however much of what you want, and you can have the meal at your own pace. However, it was a table-service meal, where they brought you specific items. I cut out early in order to get in line for St. Peters Basilica.

Not sure if I just went on an off-day or what, but...I don't think my particular Prime Experience was worth the extra cost. I would have rather went to the Basilica early, and maybe do one of the mid-day tours or end of day tours.

With much anticipation, my Vatican museum experience was the worst part of my entire Italy trip; (*2nd place was skip the line tickets in Florence for David!)
Way, way too crowded to appreciate.
Complete disappointment & never found the passageway to Basilica. Instead redundant back & forth walking, completely missed the Egyptian and pinacteca exhibits.
Our Vatican tour guide was horrible as we weren't the only ones to return her audio headsets early on at the pinecone courtyard.
She'd stop and slowly talk in front of posters and small wooden architectural models as she didn't have clearance to enter as way, way too crowded by other "skip the line" huge group tours. We nicknamed it the "Sardine chapel". I've enjoyed watching my virtual trips on YouTube much more!

If you want to see the Vatican essentially empty, try the Key Master tour. It starts at 6:00am and is limited to 20 people. You're the only tour group in the museum. It lasts about two hours. Rather pricey, but a great way to avoid crowds. About 20 minutes in the Sistine Chapel and photos are allowed. You can re-enter the museum at 8:30, so if you move quickly you see parts that are still almost empty. Alas, some parts quickly fill up, making movement difficult, but some nice parts never seem to get busy (or tour groups just move through, so if you wait a few minutes they're empty again).

I thought that sounded familiar:

Vinz Clortho (also known as The Keymaster) is a demigod and minion of Gozer, alongside Zuul. He possessed Louis Tully in Ghostbusters and Gary Grooberson in Ghostbusters: Afterlife.