Vatican Palace planned route

I'm not sure where you're getting this information. There's one entrance to the museum complex, as far as I know. I've been a number of times, and in my experience, you get to the Sistine Chapel after you work your way through the buildings. I know of no way to enter the chapel directly and start your visit there. While you can decide the order in which you want to visit the various museums, I can't think of any route that will allow you to do the order you described.

Hi Sherry,

I mean in order to reach Sistine Chapel, i do have to walk all the way until the end of the building since i decide to see it firsthand (not really a big fan of museums). And to reach Raphael's rooms, i'd need to take stairs? To level2. I wonder if there's stairs around the Sistine Chapel area to Level 2 or i still need to walk halfway through the building?

You will get to the Rafael rooms before the chapel. Once you get there you can ask for a map or follow the signs to the rooms and galleries you wish to see.

Also, your route is backwards. The chapel is at the end of the museums. It's the last thing you visit, not the first. It's a brisk half hour walk, not stopping, from the front entry of the museums to the chapel.

Here is a route planner you can use:

http://mv.vatican.va/1_CommonFiles/pdf/mappa_musei_vaticani.pdf

Donna

You can't pick and choose where you enter the complex, you can't go over, under, around the crowds and the museums on the way.

You will not be the only person who's sole reason for going is to see the Sistine Chapel, and you will not be the only one who wants to see it first.

There will thousands - I do actually, really truly, mean thousands - of people with the same idea.

You can plot a route - basically a straight line - between the entry and the map corridor, the Raphael rooms and eventually the Sistine Chapel (on signs as the "Short" route or words to that effect) but you will only be able to move as fast as the herd. It will shuffle along and it is extremely hard to bypass people and nearly impossible to bypass a tour group.

I'm afraid you will have to exercise patience.

EDIT: I just saw the map provided donna. The museum does arrange the Sistine Chapel and museums to be viewed at the end of the tour. so definitely couldn't bypass via vatican library :D and i think the library could only be visited with special arrangement as it's not shown in the map

Could I bypass the herd via Vatican Library? based on the map I see the Vatican Library extend all the way from the front museums to Sistine Chapel area

Also I booked online ticket for 12.30pm slot. Does this mean it has to be precisely at 12.30 pm? what about if i could enter it earlier or later from the slot?

TIA

Jen -
As Nigel has said, there is no way to "bypass the herd". There just isn't. There is going to be a herd, it's going to be immense, and it's going to be a slow shuffle. The vast amount of tourists come only for the Sistine so everyone and their brother will be doing the same thing you are trying to. No, you may not access the Vatican Library:

https://www.vatlib.it/home.php?pag=ufficio_ammissioni&ling=eng

Here is a good idea of what that corridor to the Sistine is going to look like, and this is on a 'normal' day:

https://plus.google.com/photos/103958898989900585414/albums/5210189679861732705/5446323751452276850?pid=5446323751452276850&oid=103958898989900585414

There will be wait to get into the chapel.

I strongly advise being on time for your slot; not a lot earlier and very definitely not later. To stress again as in previous threads, you'll be there during a holy holiday, in a Jubilee Year, during the reign of a Pope who has been drawing record crowds, and at a time when security concerns in Rome are running especially high. All told, I wouldn't expect to be granted any sort of flex by guards or staff.

Kathy, I am surprised that the photo shows you were there on such a quiet day. I don't see a single tour leader's umbrella in that picture. I've seen it much worse.

Jen, you refer to it as a "Palace". I've never heard that term used about the Museums. I understand the name to be the Vatican Museums.

I would plan on at least 4 hours at the Vatican Museums, and 2 or 3 in the Basilica. On top of that add waiting in line (a very graceful semi-circle near the colonnade) to go through security into the Basilica, if you are just going inside - not to a Mass or special observance.

My last visit, in March this year, on a normal afternoon, to the Basilica had waiting in the sun for just over 2 hours for the security check.

That photo makes me really, really glad we paid $52 for an "early entry" tour of the Sistine Chapel and Vatican museums.

The line to enter the Basilica can look very long, but its moves fast. They probably have 8 scanner lines open at a time. Like others have stated, the halls in the Vatican Museum are VERY crowded. The Sistine Chapel is stuffed with people.

If you are late for your timed tickets they have the right to make you wait in the regular line. Your tickets are still valid but you lose the right to bypass the line. Be sure to be on time.

Donna

That photo does look awful, but it was not our experience. We booked
tickets for when they opened (9 o'clock?), got there a bit early and
were able to walk straight in at about 0840 hours.

That's not my photo but similar to what we experienced. Also, Jen's reservation is for 12:30; during the Christmas holiday; during a Jubilee Year so there is a lot to consider here that's not 'normal'.

Actually, that photo isn't really typical because it was taken in the winter, when there are typically smaller crowds. In the summer the hallways and galleries are even more crowded. This entire years promises to be extremely crowded at the Vatican. Be sure to book early and be there on time or you may find yourself waiting for hours to get inside.

Donna

Hi All,

thanks so much for the input. honestly , i know it's going to be crowded but i don't think it's going to be that crowded as Kathy's pic. it's like when i visited Versailles last summer..it's horrific. I might arrive in St Peter's quite early like 9am so I expect smaller queue and hopefully could enjoy more of the day like what i did in Neuschwanstein, booked the earliest slot.

also is there a separate queue for the online bought ticket for the Museum? is it still a long queue? if it is , i have to estimate my walking time from St Peter's to there

is there any direct access from St Peter's to the museum or I need to walk out of the square and go along the outer wall again?

Nigel
what a surprise! 2 hours in March..reminding me of my 2.5hrs queuing outside Versailles since we missed the first train going there. i read that the Museum is actually part of the Palace but i think the general term for the complex (for tourists) serves as a museum

Donna
thanks for the confirmation in regards to the ticket's time.

Kathy
so do you think 12.30 is too late or too early for the museum considering i'd visit st Peter's firsthand around 9am? i still could alter the time at most 72hrs before the scheduled time.

TIA

Jen,

you have asked a few more questions - I will do my best based on my personal experiences and those of others regarding this new Pope and the Jubilee year:=

i know it's going to be crowded but i don't think it's going to be that crowded as Kathy's pic.

You can think that if you wish, but as you see in several comments that photo was made in what passes for a low season, and not on any special day or period, and for some reason there were no tour groups in the photo. Expect and be prepared for it to be much much more crowded at the time you are there. If not - you will have a bonus.

also is there a separate queue for the online bought ticket for the
Museum? is it still a long queue?

yes there is, and sometimes it is and sometimes not. After the first set of gates you still have to go through airport type security.

i have to estimate my walking time from St Peter's to there

plan on around 30 minutes walk, faster if you are really quick.

is there any direct access from St Peter's to the museum or I need to
walk out of the square and go along the outer wall again?

You cannot go from the Basilica to the Museums. Tour groups can go from the Museums into the Basilica but it is a one way system (with cameras) and you cannot sneak in that way. You have to leave the Basilica, go through the colonnade, turn left, all the way back past the bus and tram stops, all the way around, keep turning left, and then up the hill and past all the people queuing to buy tickets until you find the queue with people in it with their tickets, waiting to inch forward and enter. That's why I suggested an absolute minimum of 30 minutes.

As said above, if you are late for your reservation they will likely move you to the back of the other queue.

When you have had your pilgrimage, will you please write your experiences here on the helpline?

Jenn, it is going to be at least as crowded as Kathy's picture. That was taken during the slow season and yet, you see how crowded the galleries are. You're going during a higher season so the crowds will be even worse.

If you wait until 9am to get to the basilica you'll find the security line stretching out into the square. It will be at least a half hour wait to get through. Once inside it will feel less crowded but that's simply because the basilica is so huge.

There is no entry to the museums from the basilica. It's at least a 20-30 minute walk to the front of the museums from St. Peter's square, depending on how fast you walk. Pre-purchased entry tickets are for specific times. You must be on time or they will make you wait in the long ticket line. Your entry ticket will still be valid but if you're late you lose the skip the line privileges.

I don't think you really understand the draw that the Vatican has. There are always huge crowds inside the museums and the line for the basilica builds starting at about 7:30am. I've seen the line for the basilica stretch all the way through the colonnade across the square and out past the opposite colonnade, and this was in January, the slowest season of all. If you want to arrive at the basilica at 9 I would plan at least 30-45 minutes to get through security. Add at least another 1 to 1.5 hours for the basilica. If you wish to climb the dome you'll add another hour. Then you should plan at least 30 minutes to walk around to the museums entrance. I wouldn't make any plans for after the museums because you don't know how long it will take you to get to the chapel. The line up to the chapel could take you hours.

Donna

I might arrive in St Peter's quite early like 9am so I expect smaller
queue and hopefully could enjoy more of the day

I am confused; in another post you mention that you submitted the mandatory registration for access though the Holy Doors via the 'special' pilgrim's path? The point of the registration was to be able to choose a time/day so as to avoid a long wait in a queue? Were you given a time to arrive for your place in the queue? If so, that is the time you should arrive, and at the appointed location to join this last leg of longer pilgrimage routes.

In that same post you state:
"i have registered as the pilgrims for the Holy Door but will make my route in reverse of the one mentioned above. I'll walk from St Peter's Square to Castel San't Angelo instead. Is this permissible?"

The significance of Holy Door is the symbolic, welcoming passage of the pilgrim INTO the kingdom of mercy and salvation, not out of. That "final" section of the "special" path you registered for is one-way route so no, you can't exit the basilica through the door nor would it carry any significance, if that matters to you (I am not a Catholic, BTW). It is an important piece of the culmination of a pilgrim's journey.

In Pope Francis' words:
http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/11/18/pope_francis_at_audience_door_to_gods_mercy_never_closed/1187671

In reference to your question about Via della Conciliazione on that same post, there are businesses and shops - many of them carrying religious souvenirs - along the street so I'm sure only a portion of it will be devoted to the "special path."

Hi Nigel, Donna & Kathy

thanks so much for giving me a better picture of what the crowd would be really like even during winter especially there's special celebration with the record breaking Pope. i'd definitely be more prepared for that now. thanks for all the kind reminders. noted for the museum entry, nope i wouldn't try to sneak in if that's not the rule :D and i think i would change my reservation time a bit later 2-2.30pm.

btw Nigel, as I mention to Kathy below, my 'pilgrim tour' is a mess but i'd put info about how the crowd would be and hopefully it could give picture more or less to those who are going for pilgrimage tour in this Jubilee Year and what to be expected. I think I'd strongly encourage my mum to redo it on March with her church. it'd be a different kind of experience if it's done properly with the bishops from the church's tour.

Hi Kathy,
yes i have registered for the Holy Door (though haven't got the confirmation up to now) i register for the 9-1pm slot as i plan to visit st peter's during that hour and as far as i know the Holy Door is located inside the Basilica in the northernmost/right hand side position of it. So if I receive the confirmation, I could enter the Basilica straight to the Holy Door inside it? is that what you mean?

sorry to confuse you as we actually not doing the official route due to our itinerary is not a pure pilgrims itinerary. We do this holiday since my mum couldn't join her church pilgrimage tour on next year's March (initially she doesn't even know about the Jubilee Year until recently). so i just put in whatever i could find in regards about the pilgrims info and fit it into our itinerary. I see somewhere that the actual pilgrims route should start from the historical site?? but then again it would clash with our itinerary. so i plan to enter the Vatican from its Ottaviano Metro subway rather than Castel Sant' Angelo thus, doing it backwards >_<. it must be a disaster for Catholic devout looking at my itinerary plan..not proud of it at all indeed.

Jen, I'm not sure I understand all of your post above but it's my understanding that the ONLY way to access that door is by participating in the registered pilgrimage route. You can't just walk up to it with your permit and slip inside. You have to enter through the door via the special path you registered for.

You can see the door from inside the basilica but you will not be be allowed any access to it: you can't exit the church through it. In short, your registration won't be of any use unless you join the pilgrimage path TO the basilica wherever the starting point for the final piece of the larger route begins, and do so during the hours you registered for.

Otherwise, you'll use the standard entryway for visitors, and there will be a queue for security checks.

Does this make sense?

Hi Kathy,

i also got confused by the info i got that i posted on another thread but i just got a reply from the website that the foot path is not closed. Pilgrims could walk both ways though it's not official path for walking from st peter's to the bridge. the registration is solely when entering the Holy Door. as for the bus if there's any detour, he refers me to other website http://www.atac.roma.it/index.asp?lingua=ENG which is pretty confusing to be used. i hope his info is accurate though but it does make sense of how they would set up a checkpoint at Ponte Sant'Angelo for all the pilgrimages. It could be a very long queue up the road. i think the checkpoint is when entering the Holy Door in St Peter's.

Now I need to figure out where the checkpoint for the Holy Door is? is it inside the Basilica or is there any special line in the square? ohh my just the 1st day and it's been so confusing

but i just got a reply from the website that the foot path is not
closed. Pilgrims could walk both ways though it's not official path
for walking from st peter's to the bridge.

Jen, would you provide the link to that response, please? What you're being told is contrary to what I'm reading although I'll admit, information out there is not very clear. Still, I'm seeing no indication that you can enter the door without doing the short pilgrimage from some appointed point between the Castel and the basilica. It's stated over and over that it's the registration that allows you access to that special walkaway/path to and through the door.

And there may very well be a 'path' from church back to the castel but as you said, it has nothing to do with the pilgrimage. There is also no exit through through the Door (or so I was told from a former pilgrim). But things can change so I'd be interested to see the other advice you're being given?

Also. shortly before or after the 8th there will be more information on exactly how this is done!

I saw some Reuters news photos today of people being wand-searched to enter Piazza San Pietro. Probably additional security to enter the basilica.

I'm not surprised Zoe. That's a tough venue to secure.

A Reuters article a couple of days ago stated that metal detectors were being installed at the Colosseum to replace their current wand system. I don't know if that'll help the security line move faster or not?

Hi Kathy,

here is the response i received from portmobility (i think they are a company in charge of traffic control in Italy)

Dear Jen,
below you can see, in red, the answers. --> i differentiate it w/ italic
Thanxs having written us.

Inviato: lunedì 23 novembre 2015 16:10
A: Redazione Web Port Mobility redazioneweb@portmobility.it
Oggetto: Closed path in St Peter's - Castel Sant'Angelo

Dear Sir/Mam,

I find this useful information from your website:
http://civitavecchia.portmobility.it/en/jubilee-mercy-what-it-dates-and-all-ways
JUBILEE OF MERCY
ROME, 12/08/2015 - 11/20/2016
It's important to know that the final part of the route, from Castel Sant'Angelo to the Holy Door, is reserved exclusively to registered pilgrims. That's why all pilgrims who intend to cross the Holy Door must necessarily register on the official site of the Jubilee.

I have some queries in regards to the info above:
1 May I know which path is closed due to the event? All paths are open to the pilgrims by foot. But you can see the holy door only if you’ve registered before
Is the whole Villa della Conciliazione is closed? no Could we still walk through Ponte Sant' Angelo? yes

2 Could I still catch bus (#40 & 62) from Piazza Pia Conciliazione? My destination is from Castel Sant' Angelo to Pantheon. We don’t know. I can suggest you to visit the website http://www.atac.roma.it/index.asp?lingua=ENG that is the official site for info mobility in Rome

then i re-iterate my path

'Thank You kindly for the prompt response.

Glad knowing that all paths are still open. However, my route is the reverse of the Pilgrimage route which is from St Peter's to Ponte Sant' Angelo. Could I still pass/walk through Ponte Sant'Angelo even if I walk the reversed route of the pilgrims?'

and he answered 'Yes, of course'

i think the information around is a bit ambiguous in which the registration only applies when entering the Holy Door. I have not received the confirmation up to now (start thinking did i lack of something during the registration) but perhaps the confirmation would state where the line starts from. then again i think they wouldn't close the foot path exclusively for pilgrims for year around as i see there are traders on Ponte Sant' Angelo too. i really do hope there'd be more info about this too as i need to use the path. meanwhile i try to ask if anyone has received confirmation for the Holy Door registration

btw for the additional wand-searched, is it random or there are a separate line for it before entering the square? i personally don't mind with all the extra security as i think it's for the best.

A couple of things here:

Could I still pass/walk through Ponte Sant'Angelo even if I walk the
reversed route of the pilgrims?'

As I stated earlier, the protected 'path' for the final leg to the basilica does not include Ponte Sant' Angelo. The bridge is part of the pilgrims route from other churches but will not be closed to regular pedestrians. And to my knowledge, there are no regular 'vendors' other than street peddlers and a number of beggars on that bridge, or we've never seen any, anyway.

Is the whole Villa della Conciliazione is closed?

As I also stated earlier, there are businesses and shops along Via della Conciliazione. Only PART of it will be devoted to the registered path. The rest will be open to regular pedestrians.

Is the whole Villa della Conciliazione is closed? May I know which path is closed due to the event?

The reply you received (below) seems to confirm what has been published in Vatican press releases and other news articles.

All paths are open to the pilgrims by foot. But you can see the holy door *only** if you’ve registered before.*

While somewhat ambiguous, my take on it that indeed, no route is "closed" but you can only access the Holy Door via the specially constructed path that requires registration. In a word, that specific route IS closed to pedestrians whom have not registered. It does not take up the entire street to the basilica so visitors/locals can access businesses, and the church through the normal entryway.

They also do not confirm that "that" path is a two-way route, only that normal access to Via della Conciliazione and the bridge is possible.

As far as your registration, it should " confirm the request for the pilgrimage and indicate the best time to arrive at the beginning of the protected pathway. This system will reduce delays to the minimum, and help to guarantee an atmosphere of prayer and welcome during the pilgrimage on foot to the Holy Door." ( from "Vatican Insider"). I'm guessing it will also indicate where you need to arrive. If not, there will be a Welcome Center at Via Della Conciliazione, 7. That office will also provide same-day registration for pilgrims whom have not submitted a form in advance. This can be your back-up if your passes fail to arrive in the mail before you leave although there is likely to be a queue of others doing the same thing.

Just my take on all of this, anyway.

Jenn, you're trying to read too much into those email exchanges. As Kathy has pointed out, the entire area is not closed off to regular pedestrians, only a certain pathway is. Anyone can walk outside the closed off pathway to get to the basilica or from the the basilica but you can only visit the Holy door and go through them if you follow the specific route. I'm not really sure why you want to try it in reverse but it won't work that way. The only way it will work is if you walk outside the planned route and bypass the Holy door.

Donna

Hi Donna & Kathy

i think there's misunderstanding when i said i'd do the pilgrimage path from Holy Door to Ponte Sant' Angelo. what i actually mean is i wouldn't exit from the Holy Door out to Sant' Angelo as i understand that the Holy Door is not an exit and it should be the end of the pilgrimage route . but there's a special path that i believe would be around the Basilica itself leading to the Holy Door for registered pilgrims and it's not started from Sant'Angelo. Sorry for the initial confusion as perhaps my statement made the Holy Door as the way out of the Basilica :D

i agree that the Holy Door must be entered from the special path as you guys mentioned registered for the pilgrims. i believe that path would be disclosed on the confirmation letter of the registration so until now i haven't got any info of where and how to get inside the Holy Door. Last time when I requested for the Papal Mass, the Rev. got back to me after around a week. i have written an email but no response yet so i think i'd give them a week time too.

before i thought that the path leading from Sant'Angelo to the Basilica is (partially) closed and only allowed for one way traffic for the registered pilgrims which is going to be chaotic for my itinerary especially i need to catch bus from Piazza Pia Conciliazione so it's good that i got confirmation that it's not the case.

thanks for the Via della Conciliazione 7 info Kathy. Hopefully my registration went smoothly. i think they could confirm it by email (ohh please don't make me wait by post again)

Cheers

but there's a special path that i believe would be around the Basilica
itself leading to the Holy Door for registered pilgrims and it's not
started from Sant'Angelo.

I'm not sure where you're reading this? This is from the Vatican's official website for Jubilee Year:
http://www.im.va/content/gdm/en/news/evidenza/2015-11-09-pcpne.html

"Based on the requests received and the availability of the different time slots, the Organizing Secretariat for the Jubilee will send you - through email only- a reply with the best time for you to make your pilgrimage, and a voucher to print and bring to the entrance of the protected pathway leading to the Holy Door in Saint Peter's. The entrance of the pathway will be in the gardens of Castel Sant’Angelo."

Hi Kathy,

thanks for that info. i missed reading that part and since got the confirmation that the foot path is not closed, i think the path should be somewhere within the Basilica itself (better for my itinerary too). that means if i want to take that Holy Door's path, I still need to walk the way to Sant' Angelo. it'd be good if it's another way of skipping the Basilica's queue as the Holy Door is inside the Basilica right. What do you think?

The Holy Door at Saint Peter's is one of the entrance doors to the basilica - it is not inside the basilica. You can google floor plans for Saint Peter's that will show the doors, on some the Holy Door will be labeled.

Zoe has it exactly right; the door is an entrance INTO the church from the portico. It's not really 'in' the church.

See this floorplan; it is #8:
http://stpetersbasilica.info/floorplan.htm

There is no other way to access it without walking the dictated path. The prescribed route may extend farther into the church itself as the pilgrimage may technically end at the Confessio.

Hi Ladies,

thanks for clarifying that. Once i got the confirmation for my registration, I'd put an update here.

Cheers

Jen, I just saw this line in your thread about trying to get last-minute tickets for the Necropolis:

i might leave my hubby first queueing for the Basilica while I check
on the Necropolis

If the queue you're talking about is the pilgrim's path, I don't think it will be possible him to hold a spot you. It's not the sort of queue that you can just jump into wherever your family happens to be. You will have to take your registration to the starting point and follow along in the order in which you were admitted. It's really not a 'queue' at all but a solemn spiritual journey for quiet reflection and prayer.

Just thought that was worth a mention?