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Vatican Prime Experience tour

Posted by (Seattle) on

I'm looking at the "Prime Experience" tour on the official Vatican website. The description begins as follows:

"A proposal intended for visitors interested in enjoying the unique experience, entering into the Vatican Museums one hour before the official opening time. The guided tour is conducted by an authorized educational Guide. Having finished the tour, visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy a delicious American Breakfast - at a table- in the magnificent setting of the Pinecone Courtyard. After the American Breakfast, it will be possible to visit (without the guide) the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. Admission Ticket included." It goes on to say that the tour is approximately 2 hours, excluding breakfast.

Has anyone here done this? I'm hoping to clarify the order of activities. My impression is that it goes 1. Tour (8-10am if it's one hour before opening? The ticket time is 7:30 but maybe that's the meeting time). 2. Breakfast (10am - ?) 3. Re-entry to the Museums if desired for further self-tour. Does that sound correct? This part of our trip will be in early December so I'm also curious about whether the breakfast is truly served outdoors.

There is another option called "Breakfast at the Museums" that simply states "A delicious proposal for visitors who desire to enjoy an american breakfast then visit the Vatican Museums," with a ticket time of 7:45 am. I assume that's a self-guided option; if you're a slow eater, this could potentially not give you a head start on the opening time at all?

The breakfast is not important to me as much as avoiding the worst of the crowds. I know this is not nearly as busy as summer, but our trip had to shift around a bit and now we'll be seeing the Vatican on the day after Immaculate Conception Day when the holiday season kicks off. While I would prefer to have a guide, I don't have the interest for one of the 3+ hour morning tours offered by most of the third-party companies.

Posted by
65 posts

In case anyone is interested in the future, I reached out to the Vatican Museums and learned more. The tour is from 7:30-9:30, with breakfast starting at 9:30 and lasting approximately 45 minutes, after which we're welcome to visit the museums more on our own.

Now to find out whether the hotel has coffee available practically in the middle of the night when we'll be getting up!

Posted by
4 posts

I have done the Breakfast at the Museum and it did allow us to go through the main route thru the Vatican Museum before the general population. The rest of the routes were closed off and there are several different museums to see. It just depends on your interest and if you want to more thoroughly see the museums, this option is limiting. Personally one of my most memorable visits was going up to the Dome, if you can climb the steps, the views are fantastic. The best part of booking this was seeing the Sistine Chapel when it wasn't crowded. I have been there several times but my traveling friend had not, I could give a quick overview as we went thru and we used RS walking tour. Be sure to listen to Rick Steves Audio Europe walking tour for the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica with the Sistine Chapel as the best. We were short of time and did it this way to get a jump start on the day. . They don't allow backpacks in the museum so travel light or with a larger purse to carry guidebook, water, etc. If you do end up checking something and want to take the shortcut (mentioned in RS guidebook) into St, Peter's then you will have to circle around to the entrance of the Vatican museums at the end of your visit to the Vatican to pick up your checked items. I made that mistake once and never again, too much walking.

Posted by
16517 posts

If you do end up checking something and want to take the shortcut
(mentioned in RS guidebook) into St, Peter's then you will have to
circle around to the entrance of the Vatican museums at the end of
your visit to the Vatican to pick up your checked items.

That "shortcut" is reserved for tours, even though some individuals visiting on their own have been able to access it. It is currently closed to ALL visitors so it's not an option for anyone. It also has been up to the guards on duty on any given day who they will and won't let through, and some visitors report having been checked to see if they were with a paid tour, and turned away at the door because they weren't

Be very cautious about relying on a guidebook when visiting attractions. Much has changed with COVID, and guidebooks understandably have not been able to keep up with the fluid situation. The best resources for CURRENT info these days are the websites of the attractions themselves.

Posted by
67 posts

Thank you for asking this and for clarifying the details. I am looking at the same tour for next spring. This looks like a perfect set up--hit the highlights with a guide before the crowds arrive, and have time to continue unhurried. I am hoping to get an audio guide for our self-tour afterwards.

Posted by
16517 posts

Susan, by next spring it's possible that early-entrance tours which do NOT include breakfast will be back. If it's a tour which doesn't include St Peter's - meaning it starts AND ends in the museums - you are free to stay and continue to browse the works on your own as long as you don't leave the confines.

If it's an early-entrance tour - HIGHLY advised to see the Sistine before it's a complete madhouse in there - it's very possible the rental desk for audioguides may not be open yet so you'll have to pick one up after the tour. That said, the museums also encompass 9 miles worth of collections, impossible to cover in a day, so you'll need to be selective. Wear your most comfortable shoes! 👟

https://m.museivaticani.va/content/dam/museivaticani/pdf/visita_musei/servizi_visitatori/mappa_musei_vaticani.pdf
https://m.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani-mobile/en/visita-i-musei/servizi-per-i-visitatori/audio-e-videoguide/audioguida-musei-vaticani.html

Oh, and Rick offers his own audiotours of the Museums/Sistine/St Peter's you can download to your own devices for free, although it will probably repeat some of the museum highlights you saw on your guided tour.

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours/italy

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