Vatican Museums, St Peters Basilica and Dome Climb

I've been to Rome over 15 times. And the Vatican is always busy. Though the smallest crowds I've ever seen were in May. So maybe you will get lucky. My initial thought is that April's is a bad time to visit the Vatican if you are looking for low crowds. It is the easter season so the Vatican's going to crowded.

And with only 3 days in Rome, you won't want to waste any time waiting in line. This is what I would do. I would get to Saint Peter's at 7:45 a.m. (right before it opens). Do it and the Dome (1 to 2 hours) And has a tour booked that lets you skip the line to the Vatican Museum.

I can't comment on cabs to trastevere. There are subways around the Vatican. But sadly, Trastevere doesn't have a subway stop. But you could take a cab downtown and get there easily by bus. Which would save a lot of cash.

We have 3 days in Rome. We arrive on Friday afternoon....

Hi Julie -
Some more info, please? Are you arriving on a long international flight or a shorter hop by train or plane from elsewhere in Europe? It makes a difference in what I might recommend.

Hi Julie,

If you can't secure tickets from the official Vatican website for the date and time you are in Rome, if interested in a guided tour, here are some considerations to check out.

The Roman Guy -- https://theromanguy.com/tours/italy/vatican/skip-the-line-vatican-and-sistine-chapel-tour and other tours to choos from -- https://theromanguy.com/tours/italy/vatican

Walks Of Italy -- https://www.walksofitaly.com/vatican-tours/

Dark Rome Tours (City Wonders) -- https://darkrome.com/vatican-tours

Angel Tours -- https://angeltours.eu/tour/vatican-city/

Through Eternity Tours -- https://www.througheternity.com/en/vatican-tours/

Check the tour sites for discounts offered.

Also, you can visit St. Peter's Basilica on your own with no time constraints -- http://stpetersbasilica.info/index.htm

Yes, the Dome Climb is separate and has a fee. I believe it is around 8€ for the stair climb and 10€ for the elevator. The cost may be included with an official tour.

It is best to view the actual websites of each attraction in Rome for policies -- entrance times, fees if any, dress codes, bag size.

At security, if a bag is deemed large and bulky, you will need to check it or them. It is good to carry no larger than a 15" bag. If you end up checking a bag, it can be a hassle to retrieve them afterward -- costing valuable time.

Also, keep in mind the very strict dress code for all women and all men for Churches in Rome. Knees and shoulders must be covered. The Vatican and St. Peter's enforce this.

St. Peter's is gorgeous and mesmerizing. Hope you like it. I loved it the many times I visited.

In addition, if time allows, you may like to visit The Pantheon. Piazza della Rotonda 00186 Rome. --

http://www.polomusealelazio.beniculturali.it/index.php?it/232/pantheon

It is an active Church. If a Mass is in progress, you won't be allowed to "tour" unless you want to participate in the service and stay to view afterwards.

No entrance fee as of yet. You can visit it under an hour unless you like to study altars and statues. It is beautiful. "The Dome" is definitely worth the visit. The Church has a very rich history attached.

Girasole, when we were in Rome last year there was an entrance fee for the Pantheon. Has it been rescinded? We were sorry to see that, because the Pantheon is probably my DH's favorite place in Rome, and we loved being able to just pop in every now and then when we were in Rome.

HI Julie,

We just got back from Rome/Sicily this week. I took a taxi from Trastevere to Vatican museum Entrance. It was between 10-12 Euros.

I have been to Rome many times, and this was by far the most crowded and unenjoyable experience at the Vatican. Getting in was easy with the online reservations, but once in, it was a madhouse, and extremely uncomfortable. I would HIGHLY recommend either going late afternoon, or one of the tours after/before hours.

Glenn

Hi Jane,

Girasole, when we were in Rome last year there was an entrance fee for the Pantheon. Has it been rescinded?

Wow, that is odd. In my trips to Rome (last year included), I visited The Pantheon a couple of times. Each time, there was no entrance fee.

Even on their website, it states "free admission."

I wonder....perhaps when you and your husband visited, were they "trying out that entry fee?" I recall some time last year, there was talk of it.

I was just there last week at the Pantheon (and over past 20 years been a bunch of times). There has never been an entrance fee. However, in a few months, from what I understand, that will change.

Glenn

Here is the official Vatican site. The concern I too, along with Kathy, is trying to do this after an international flight and being jet lagged.

https://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do

I just ran over to TripAdvisor to see what recent visitors, like Glenn, are saying about the Pantheon and none of them mention an entrance fee except for renting an audioguide or taking a guided tour. That entry is free - or currently free, anyway - is a common theme amongst the reviewers. I know that a €3 or so entrance fee had been discussed for awhile but I hadn't heard that they'd figured out how to collect it and so had scrapped that plan last year.

https://anamericaninrome.com/wp/2018/02/pantheon-admission-price/

And you betcha on the same concern, Gerri. As there is no way I'd ever recommend doing the Vatican Museums right off an international flight, where the OP and teens are coming from before arrival in Rome is an important factor here, IMHO. I'm also wondering if the 3 days includes Friday so is really closer to 2 days + a few Friday sightseeing hours (nothing more than an outdoor walkabout if coming off a long flight).

I hope everyone is right and there is no entry fee at the Pantheon, We were there in late April of 2018, on a Rick Steves 21 Day Best of Europe tour. I'll have to look at my notes to see when we were actually at the Pantheon; if we did go on this trip it was with the group, and our guide told us it was no longer free.

Could be they were trying it out? Or our guide may have been mistaken or jumping the gun, since several folks have posted here that a fee is being considered, and possibly instituted in a few months.

Hi Janet. One thing is certain, there were no fees as of last week when I was there. Plus, there is no infrastructure in place to control lines and/or collect fees. I was just commenting that out hotel said in a few months this was changing, but i see no evidence anywhere supporting that assumption.

Even if there was a fee.. it would certainly be worth it regardless. I would be more worried about the lines/Cue/delays it would create to enter.

Thanks,

Glenn

To my knowledge they've never "tried out" the fee: as Glenn noted, there's no infrastructure in place to do so. But even if that infrastructure is put in place, €3 is a very small amount to access this particular treasure. As my own footsteps and breath have added to the general wear-and-tear of this 2,000 year-old temple, I'd be OK with contributing a little next time to help keep it in one piece for future generations.

Besides, Rome is STUFFED with so many other glorious free attractions with no entry fees (almost all the other churches are free!!) that you're already saving a ton of $$ compared to other cities I've been to with very high entry fees for darn near everything, including the churches!

Hi everyone. Thanks for all your replies. I will have a look at all those websites you have all listed. Some I have seen and some are new. Thanks for the taxi fare information, that is really useful. We are definitely NOT coming off a flight with jet lag and thinking of the Friday night visit to the Vatican Museums! That would be crazy I agree. We catch the train that day from 3 days in Cinque Terre and then have 4 nights in Rome before flying back to NZ on the Tuesday. The crowds sound very unpleasant at the museums hence why I was thinking Friday night may be a little quieter but will also look at very early tours perhaps or late afternoon as suggested. Also if we go Friday night that leaves us 3 full days for other things. Would kind of prefer to wander at our own pace though than be herded in a tour. Might just look at arriving for the basilica bright and early ready for opening time but will check this out more.
The Pantheon sound lovely too, will definitely visit that too. So much to see and this may be a once in a lifetime trip for me so need to pick and choose carefully.

Thanks Julie

I believe that the numbers on the Friday night tours are limited. That's the key - you HAVE to see the Vatican Museums early or late, when the numbers are restricted. Otherwise, it's a nightmare. At least, it was for me in 1994, and by all accounts it's gotten exponentially worse since then.

Glad to hear you're not trying to see the Vatican sights right off an international flight (we've had posts here from people who wanted to do this). There are few people I hate enough to even think of putting them through that particular torture!

We did a Friday night Vatican Museum tour last month and it was great. It included a buffet dinner beforehand and was booked at the Vatican site. It was much less crowded in the museum and Sistine Chapel. However when we arrived for our dinner and tour the line for St. Peters at about 5:30 pm was still very, very long.

We just returned from our 2 week trip to Italy. We spent 3 days in Rome. We did go on the Friday night 'cocktail hour' tour of the vatican museum. You start off with a buffet spread, much more than we expected. You get 1 glass of wine but unlimited food. This is at around 6pm. Then your tour enters the museum and ends in the Sistine Chapel. As we progressed through the museum rooms, it got more crowded. I can't say for certain if it was more or less crowds than during the day. I suspect it is less crowded on Friday evenings. It was never uncomfortably crowded. Our tour guide did a good job of maneuvering through the rooms.

On that Friday, we walked to the Colosseum, did the 3 hour Colosseum/Forum/Palatine hill tour, walked to Trastevere for lunch, walked around Trastevere and then walked to the Vatican for the evening tour. And walked back to our hotel in the Campo di Fiori area for a total of about 11 miles!
There was no line for the Vatican tour, there is a separate entrance for tours and we walked right in.

The Pantheon sound lovely too, will definitely visit that too. So much to see and this may be a once in a lifetime trip for me so need to pick and choose carefully.

Julie,

I realize you have limited time. But, if you visit The Pantheon, there is a little tea shop behind the Church -- https://www.namastey.it/home/

namasTey
Via della Palombella, 26
00186 Rome

It can be a quick visit. The shop is adorable and has different teas, coffee, chocolate, and other sweets.

we were at vatican museums last Fri night
our last visit was in 2008 during the day
Fri night seemed pretty crowded to us and Pinotheca was closed
Definitely our most unenjoyable visit of the times we have been there-I dont know that I will ever go again

Hi again
After reading the latest replies I think we will definitely try booking a Friday night visit, not sure if we will do a tour or if we will add the dinner as well yet, maybe I hoped to book it to be organised but it looks like bookings only open 60 days out so I will have to wait unfortunately. Thanks for the recommendation of the shop near the Pantheon I have noted that down and will check it out. If it has coffee, tea, chocolate and sweets it's got to be good! Good to see that walking between a lot of these places is an option too. Not sure about 11 miles though. That's a decent walk! I can already hear my 14 year old complaining just thinking about it. Anyway thanks for the replies. I will start looking at what to book at the Colosseum now, hopefully I can make a booking earlier there to get it sorted.
Thanks again

Not sure about 11 miles though. That's a decent walk! I can already
hear my 14 year old complaining just thinking about it...

Welcome to Italy! My DH and myself are mid-60's and routinely walk/hike 10-16 miles a day on holiday, either in the U.S. or abroad. Just don't tell him/her how much ground they've covered. :O)

I was in Rome last week. Went to the Pantheon. Definitely no fee. Very long line though.

Timing is everything. I was in the Pantheon on September 23 and there were modest crowds but no lines. I was there at 9:30 in the morning. The Vatican is always crowded.