Vatican/St Peter's Basilica and Castel Sant’Angelo

Just to clarify. The flight leaves at 6pm, but we need to be at the airport 2 hours in advance ie 4pm.

Is there some reason why you are forced to leave the Vatican, St Peter's Basilica, and Castel Sant'Angelo until your last partial day in Rome, when you have to be at the airline counter by 4pm? It would be easier on you if you did these 3 on another day and did something easier and more predictable on your last partial day in Rome.Because of the time it takes to check out of your hotel, leave your baggage somewhere, then return to your baggage and retrieve it, then get to the train station, shuttle, or taxi to the airport--all of this is going to take time that makes it awkward for you to leave those 3 sights until this last partial day.Another reason to shift these 3 sights to another day other than this last partial day is, as you mentioned in your original post, you have good reason to be concerned about the unpredictability of the amount of time it takes, due to the lines, to get into the Vatican (Museum, Sistine Chapel, etc). Unpredictability is not something you want to go out of your way to seek out and have to deal with with on that last partial day in Rome.

There will be a papal audience that Wednesday according to the vatican.va website so you may not be able to get into the Basilica until that is over and cleared out, depending on the weather. The museums should be less crowded though because of that. Did you plan on doing a museum tour or on your own? If on your own, make reservations for the Museum entry at 9:00, earliest you can. I would try to get to the Basilica and the square at the end or beginning of one of your other days if you can. In May the Basilica is scheduled as open from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. The Cupola does not open until 8:00 am and closes at 6:00 pm if you wanted to climb that. Where do you plan on storing your bags? At the hotel or at Termini or??? You may need to leave the Vatican area by 2:00-2:30 just to get back to those and then get to the airport on time.

Carolyn, I strongly encourage you to rework your plans here.

I would say at a bare minimum, you need an hour for St. Peter's (plus another hour to climb the dome), and 3 hours for the Vatican Museum. I haven't been to the Castel, but let's assume another hour there. That's at least 5 hours already and that would be if you could waltz right in, not get lost, not stop for food or bathroom breaks, etc.

Even if the lines are extremely short, (unlikely given that it's a Wednesday), you have only about 6 hours from 8am - 2pm to give yourself enough time to collect luggage and make it to the airport.

To give you an idea of the actual time it took us--we arrived at the Vatican Museum at 10:30am. We left St. Peters' Basilica about 5pm. We did climb the dome, but even if you skip that, it will only save you about an hour. I also note that we went in November on a Thursday, when there were no lines at all.

I was just there a few days ago and it took me 5 hours to get through the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's. I was with a guided tour the first 2 and half hours. There were so many people there we had to literally move with the crowd. I would say you need all day, otherwise, concentrate on one place. The lines were long.

Hi Carolyn. I personally think you're pushing it in terms of time and that it will be a bit difficult to see all 3 places in addition to needing the time it will take for checking out of your hotel, getting to the airport, etc. I'm visiting in Sept & I'm taking an 8:45 am tour (with a tour company) that only lasts 3 hrs so it will end at 11:45. I think if you were to do an organized tour that allows you to skip the lines & get in early then you'd probably have enough time to see the Castel quickly & be on your way but I checked & the tour company isn't offering an 8:45 Vatican tour on May 6th. They're not offering one until 1:30 pm that day presumably because of the papal audience in the morning so I'd say it will be too difficult to do on your own that day, especially if you have to stand in line to get in, etc. If you're not able to see all 3 places that day, it will make for a good excuse to return to Rome again soon! Good luck.

Not sure of the rest of the itinerary, but there is no imperitive need to group those three. St Peters, being free (save for the cupola or if you are arranging a tour) can be done anytime, Castel Sant'Angelo can also be done on it's own, even on a walk around Rome.

I have been doing some reading up on visiting these sites on a Wednesday. I know the Pope has his audience in St Peter's square on Wednesdays. So I am thinking it might be possible to go to the Vatican 1st while the crowds are in St. Peter's Square and do the Basilica after when the crowds go to the Vatican and perhaps scrap the Castel Sant'Angelo.

Paul, about how long does Castel Sant'Angelo take to see? I was thinking of working it into one of our days. Would an hour be good?

Rework you schedule. First, it takes a bit of time to get through the security at the airport. You may really need the 2 hours. Lines get very long at security. Second, Rick Steves is right on the money wiht ques for the vatican. We saw huge lines in the morning but just walked in at 3 pm. This was Easter Week! You want to see the Vatican Museum and St. Peters, don't short change this.

I can strongly suggest that you visit the Vatican Museum on Wednesday morning, when the Pope is giving a public audience in St. Peter's. I did this, yesterday - arrived at the Museum around 10.30am (took a taxi straight there so lost no time on public transport) and there were NO LINES. I repeat, NO LINES!! This is a Rick Steves tip that is worth its weight in gold. Walked straight up to security and then straight up to the ticket counter. Even to have lunch in the cafeteria was stress-free and completely uncrowded. It was unbelievable, and so great to tour the Vatican museums without that stress of lining up.

I think that an hour would be very sufficient and not really rushed at all. The tour is set up to work you up through the floors with a few rooms open along the way with small exhibits, then a nice view of Rome from the top.