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Vatican Museums visit & timing with Happy Hour

Posted by on

I am booking our April trip and I want to be able to spend a fair bit of time exploring the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica. It looks like when we go the Basilica will be open 7 to 7 and the Museums until 8:30pm.

I was thinking about buying tickets for the 4pm entry so we make sure we have plenty of time, but I'd also like us to do the Happy Hour option. The Museum ticketing website says, "Enjoy a delicious Happy Hour in the enchanting Pinecone Courtyard. The admission ticket is valid only for the issue date and cannot be used twice. Visitors will not be permitted to re-enter the Vatican Museums if they leave the premises before the starting time of the Happy Hour. The Happy Hour will not be refunded."

I feel dense asking this, but does this mean that we can visit the museums, then once Happy Hour has started, do our Happy Hour time slot, then return to visiting the Museums? Or once we exit for Happy Hour we are done with Museums --when I searched this forum and Reddit for information, it seemed like people were starting with Happy Hour and then entering the Museums, but it also seems like the ticketing options have changed (looks like this was a combo ticket option before).

I want to be able to spend time looking at La Pieta and climbing to the Dome, so maybe we will need to go to St. Peter's first, as I have heard that the Museums and Sistine Chapel are less crowded later.

Thanks for any help with this, I appreciate it!

Posted by
1207 posts

The latest posted time I'm seeing for the Museums is 8 PM [20:00] on Friday and Saturday.

We were on the Sistine Chapel - Extra Time tour back in November [no longer offered] and it was at the very end of the day - the happy hour followed the tour. So I'm not aware of the process the museum follows to herd people out at closing time.

The happy hours are offered at 17:45 and 18:45, yes? So if you attended the later offering, the museum would be closing shortly after you finished.

Keep in mind that the Museums are VAST - I believe our guide told us it was 300 meters from the start of the tour to the Sistine Chapel. So any touring after the happy hour should focus on the area near the Courtyard. That suggests entering the museum somewhere between 15:00 - 16:00 to allow adequate time before your happy hour.

In addition, it is a LONG walk from the Basilica to the museum entrance, so that should be factored into your schedule as well. If the crowds inside the museum thin out later in the day, then the happy hour time might be better spent looking at the collections.

Posted by
28249 posts

I went to the Museums last March. Even then, they were pretty much a zoo. I'd have liked to take advantage of late hours, because previous posters reported conditions were a bit less crowded then. However, late hours are only offered during peak season, so I cannot give you any idea what they will be like at the time of your visit.

The Vatican is trying to improve the visitor experience by extending its hours, opening earlier and closing later as a regular thing. One might hope that will mean slightly thinner crowds throughout the day, but it seems that everyone who goes to Rome wants to see the Sistine Chapel, and all those people have to walk all the way through the Museums to reach the Chapel even if they aren't interested in anything else.

Posted by
16623 posts

They are an add on option when you select the basic admission tickets.

Well, will ya just look at that....
That one used to be on the main page of ticket options, and you don't see it now unless you click further into the purchase process. Thanks for the head's up!

Posted by
4 posts

I will definitely try to update after our visit. I booked the 1530 entry and hope it is the right balance of time, and booked the 1845 Happy Hour, but fear that I should have gone with Markcw's gentle suggestion that earlier would be better. Since the Basilica closes at 1900, we will need to visit there first.
I am not sure where I got the 2030 closing time idea from as now I see that it says 2000.

Planning this Italy trip has been one of the biggest logistical challenges I have undertaken -- we generally try not to overschedule when traveling, but given the lines and risk of no tickets if we do not pre-book, I feel I have to schedule all potential activities. It seems a big mismatch with my romantic ideal of Italy (leisurely strolls, food, wine, wandering).

Posted by
16623 posts

Torta, I think that many of us feel your pain! Having to pre-book so many museums and whatnot anymore has certainly created a hairball of logistics. Eeesh. Still, if you can plan to give the bigger, most overrun cities and towns longer stays, you can enjoy some mighty fine wanders and sit-downs between visits to the most-trampled attractions. Really. :O)

Posted by
2 posts

Hi Torta - I have 4pm tickets and then 5:45HH tickets for later this month. If you want I can update as to how things go logistically. I've been scouring the Internet for info as well, because it's so unclear!

Posted by
2 posts

In case anyone wants an update, we did the 5:45pm happy hour with 4pm tickets. We didn't even go at 4pm - it was fine showing up at 5:45. However, it was kind of confusing where to go once you got through security - you have to go up a couple sets of stairs and then at the top, go left into the courtyard with the giant pine cone statue and a restaurant in the middle. I had to ask a few people. Walk into the restaurant and tell them you're there for happy hour. They'll provide tasty snacks and drinks. At that point you're on your own - finish eating and you can then just go wander your way through the museums!

I would HIGHLY recommend doing this if possible. The museum was practically deserted except for some groups wandering about. The only busy section was the Sistine Chapel itself. We felt like we had the Vatican to ourselves.

Remember, if you want to go to St. Peter's, that's a separate ticket and about a ten minute walk away from the Vatican Museum.

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