Vatican Museum / Sistine Chapel / St. Peters plan question

Hi Heather,

1 - That is exactly what we did last winter. We had a couple paintings we really wanted to see without having to stand behind people and wanted to have some time in the Sistine Chapel before it got too busy. We had 8:00am tickets and were maybe the 60/70th people in line when arriving around 7:40am. The plan worked out great. There was even space to sit in the chapel as we gazed for about 30 minutes. After that, we went back through the rest of the museum. It does add a considerable amount of steps if that is a consideration for you.

2 and 3 - Those are tough question to answer. We spent 5 hours in the museum, had pizza in the neighborhood and then walked to St. Peter's around 2. We did not do the dome. St. Peter's had no line when we went and walking inside was very manageable. I cannot comment on how crowds are this year with the Jubilee and going there in June vs. winter.

Have a wonderful time!

Thank you, Mel! This is an incredibly helpful response! I'm glad to read that we can swim upstream back from the Sistine Chapel and not have museum employees direct us not to. I realize that it'll be much more crowded, but like the idea of getting in early and seeing what we can without hordes of people.

There will be more people during a June visit than one during the winter. While what you describe could certainly represent a good plan, just be ready to temper your expectations if you find yourself trying to push through a tide of people to work back through the Vatican Museum. Perhaps target your most important paintings to see first if you return after the Sistine Chapel. I visited in spring 2023 and it was unbelievably crowded. I don’t think I would go back if it was the same. Rick Steves has even removed the VaticanMuseum from their tours. I think it was the crowds so-your plan of being there first thing in the morning might make it bearable though no guarantee.

I hope you are planning on visiting the Borghese. That turned out to be our favorite museum in all of Italy. I had no idea that it would contain so many stunning sculptures.

Ad 1: We did the same. Worked good (in February). Please take into account that you are not allowed to go back, but you have to continue your tour after the Sistine Chapel in the direction of the exit, but then you can start again from where you started in the museum. The Romewise website gives details (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ac7cvBH0iY) - and a lot of other information.
You could easily spend the whole day in the Vatican museum, we stayed until 11 and at a certain moment you will be satisfied. The pinacoteca was not so crowded when we were there after coffee, and the new wing was also doable, but the upstairs parts (Octagonal Court and so on) were extremely crowded with tour groups so from there we returned.
As for St Peters dome, realize that you have to stand in line to get through security, so if you want to book a ticket for the Dome after lunch, it should not be to early. If your line is short, you could visit the dome itself first if your ticket is somewhat later.