Vatican tickets - pre buy or not

Well, it all depends. The 17th is a Monday so the museums will be busier than normal since it's closed on Sunday. Usually the lines for the museums are very long in the mornings. I have seen them stretch around the building and the wait time was up to two hours. If you plan on going in the afternoon you should have better results but you may still find a line. It's hit or miss as to if there is a line in the afternoon or not. To be sure you might just want to pre-purchase tickets. If you plan on visiting in the morning you should definitely pre-purchase tickets. Donna

I would vote no. We were there on a Friday at about 2PM, in mid-July, at what would have to be considered the height of the tourist season. I fully expected to see a line snaking around the Vatican walls to get in. Guess what; there was no line. None. We walked directly into the door and directly to the ticket desk without breaking stride. I was blown away. I think the key was being there after noon.

I vote yes if you want to see the museum....and I don't pre-plan 90% of most of what I do. I have been to Rome twice in December (different weeks) and while it is a somewhat 'low' tourist season, my experience was that it's high season for the Italians and the religious sites were very busy while the others were walk-up. Both times I had no chance of seeing the Museum and a long line in the rain for the Basilica. Since you only have a short time, why not book it? Hopefully a few of the experts will chime in here. Enjoy! EDIT: Donna is an expert. If she has been your dates, she probably knows more than I and I caught it on an unusual day.

Thanks to all for responding. I am leaning towards pre-buying, for the following reasons. 1. Like Donna and Leslie said even though it is low season, it is close to Christmas. 2. I like the idea of being able to go in the afternoon like Randy said, but my only options are Monday afternoon or Tuesday Morning. (I come in Saturday noon and leave Tuesday night).
3. We have two 7 year olds, may be a bit much waiting in lines. Will post back my notes after the experience. thanks Murali

I encourage you to buy ahead. I was there the second or third week of October and could not get into the Vatican, the Colosseum, or the Forum. Two problems were: (1) hordes of visitors from cruise ships and (2)beatifiction ceremonies at the Vatican. Best wishes.

Murali, with 2 young kids I would skip the Vatican museums. Even at 7 years old they are only going to see the rear ends of people. The museums inside are so crowded that you won't be able to get close to most artwork and the kids will be stuck in the middle of the huge crowd. I would bypass the museums until they are bigger and just visit the basilica. Donna

We went thru the Vatican Museum on Palm Sunday, 2012, and had pre purchased tickets. We found the lines outside to be 4 abreast 1/4 mile longtwo long city blocks. And when we got inside, they herd you through from room to roomwhether you want to go in those rooms. There are no short cuts allowed, with the guards somewhat stern. It would not be very enjoyable with small children. The Vatican Museum is a must see, but it would be a more positive experience if one went during non-peak weeks and days. We went back to the Duomo the next day, and it was much more enjoyable. FYI: See RoninRome.com for secrets on touring Rome and vicinity. He has great tips.

Thanks Donna and David. I exchanged some emails with Ron. He also recommended pre-buying tickets. I agree with little kids it will be hard to see sights. If we do go the vatican, (for us parents selfish motives), we will head to the Sistine through the tapestry room and then to the Basilica and come back to Rafael room / Pinacoteca another time. This time of the year, there is also huge manger scene in front of the vatican, we would love to spend time in front of. Ron also mentioned that this indoor market might be something that the kids would like. http://www.mercatotrionfale.it/ thanks Murali

You won't be able to go to the museums then visit the basilica and then re-enter the museums. The tickets don't work like that. Once you leave the museums to go to the basilica you will need to pay the entry fee again if you wish to re-enter the museums. The manger scene is beautiful and I'm sure you and the kids will love it. Donna

Thanks all for your help and feedback. I had pre-purchased tickets for Tuesday morning 10:00 am. We reached there at 9:45 am. There was no line for tickets. Absolutely non at all. There were a couple Asian tour groups and lot of individuals going in but no real crowd. The weather outside was also perfect. We walked in, passed through security and got our tickets. The person at ticket counter did ask for ID and about children. The escalator was closed, so we had to walk up the walk way. Once upstairs, we followed Roninrome.com advice (see things in Vatican article)and saw the double spiral stairway heading down. There were a few security people and bookstore / souvenier shop folks but no one really bothered us. After taking pictures of the staircase, we went to a couple of open courtyards. The dome seemed to covered in fog eventhough there was sun outside. Kids were fascinated by the rotating golden globe in the courtyard. There are replicas of the last judgement in the courtyard and we explained to our kids what they were about to see, since we are not chritians. I was surprised, a lot of folks really did not come prepared with the information which was surprising to me. Being able to see Michaelangelo's self potrait in the last judgement was very interesting. We had read up about his background on Wikipedia before we left. After that we saw a few exhibits, on the way to sistine chapel. We walked through the tapestry gallery and then the map room and walked straight down the stairs rather than turn towards the rafael room (Ron In Rome). Having Rick Steve's guide book in hand helped us a lot, since we knew where we were. continued ....

Once down the stairs, we were in sistine chapel. Once inside the chapel, there was some holy music going on. I did not realize that there not a lot of light in the chapel. I think it takes away from the bright colors. But regardless the room was beautiful. I expected Christ to be drawn in the middle of the picture, however he is a litlle higher than center. The best way to see the Last judgement is to go to the other side of the wooden seperation. You get a nice big view, otherwise you miss ends. After spending about 30 minutes (i think) in the chapel, we took the tour guide shortcut to the basilica. There was also no line to the top of the duomo although we did not take the walk up. Then inside the church and walk around. Pieta is on the right side as soon as you enter. There is usually a crowd around. Notice not only the ceiling but also the floor of the church, the mosaics are beautiful. Area near the dome was cordoned off since there was filming going on. Overall it a very beautiful church. Some people compare it with Notre Dame. I however would not, both are very unique in their own way. continued...

Anyway, once we were out, i checked the time. i think we did the whole thing in about 2.5 hours. Not a lot of justice to the vast area. We will certainly go there when kids are a little older. The key thing i came away with is that Vatican is an institution with lots of treasures from the world over and is a good education to see. Visiting in Rome in winter is also wonderful idea. First the weather is very comfortable (12-14 degrees C), you get a lot of christmas environment which is exciting in itself (there was large tree in every big square and most streets and squares are all decorated), there are no crowds. There were no tickets lines at the popular spots, Colosseum or Vatican. Pantheon was pretty empty as well. You also have much better chance of enjoying Rome in day and night because sunset is at 5:30pm. To India: Family & Sights Murali