How much time should I reasonably expect to spend at the Vatican (hitting the main sites at St. Peter's & the Vatican Museums)? Is it a whole day, or more like a couple of hours?
Posted by
Northern California
118 posts
Hi Jill,
How long you spend in the Vatican depends in large part on your interest in the church history and architecture and the museum exhibits, so you may get a wide range of responses on this one. Here's my take after two visits:
St. Peter's
Just visiting St. Peter's itself is about an hour. (We used Rick Steves' free audioguide last time, and I think it says to budget exactly an hour.) You could definitely choose to make this 30 minutes if you're rushed, but it's neat to savor this huge church.
Dome
Ascending and descending the dome (small fee) is another hour, including wait time, stair climbing, and viewing from the top.
Vatican Museum
You can power through the Vatican museum in an hour and spend 20 minutes in the Sistine Chapel, but that's if you're really moving. (If you use Rick's awesome audioguide, it estimates 30 minutes for the Sistine Chapel alone.) I would say give yourself at least two hours to enjoy the museum and the chapel.
The huge variable here is LINES. On the safe side, allow yourself half an hour to stand in line for St. Peter's and an hour for the museum if you're not reserving ahead. (We went on a Wednesday in May, and those were our wait times. Hopefully it's better by now!)
All in all, I count Vatican City as a half-day. We easily paired our Vatican City visit with our Borghese Gallery visit, and it was a very enjoyable full day.
Enjoy!!!
Posted by
Chicago, IL, USA
26 posts
I was just there in March and will be going back in Sep.
It was def a whole day!! And I was with a group of college friends who could have moved faster!
Get to St. Peters at 7AM when it opens. Seriously!! It was sooo amazing doing this. We had the entire place to ourselves. I asked a nun to take a picture of us out in front and we are the ONLY ones in front of the church. Inside was the same deal. If you want to experience it like it should be experienced go early.
I was actually dissapointed in the dome. The view is not like Florence. Rome isn't as pictureseuq from the top. I wont be doing this again when I return in Sept.
The Vatican musuem you need time for. It's massive. It's amazing. It's truly amazing.
If you start at 7 plan to finish at around 2 or 3. If you finish later go to Castel S'Angelo. Even though the castle itself isnt that neat, the sunset on St. Peters is priceless. Roma pass covers this also.