LondonIscooIIikeIttt

I'm not sure whether the tickets are for the museum tours or the St Peters basilica. What if I just want to wander around St Peters square, would I need to stand in line to enter the Vatican area?

cruiseluv

To wander around St Peters square, no need for ticket or stand in line. But to go into the Basilica, you need to get in line to go through security (but no ticket necessary). To go into Vatican Museums, you need a ticket and stand in line.

LondonIscooIIikeIttt

Thanks cruisluv, so is the security line separate from the ticket line?

rkkwan

One line (which can be very long in the morning) for the musuem. You'll go through security and then get tickets. Entrance is on the north side of the Vatican. Separate from the St. Peter's.

cruiseluv

As Rkwan explains, the entrance to the Basilica is completly separate from the entance to the Museum. The entrance to the Museum is on Viale Vaticano. So, the security line for the Basilica is just for entrance to the Basilica.

LondonIscooIIikeIttt

I read that there are official Vatican tours that allow you to bypass the ticket line. I definitely want to visit the basilica, but do you think the Vatican Museums are worth visiting? There is also a Vatican Gardens tour, which includes admission to the museums.

Apres_Londee

You can also buy a pre-paid ticket for the Vatican Museums online. Pre-paid admission allows you to bypass the lines.

http://tinyurl.com/bmdr2p


>>>but do you think the Vatican Museums are worth visiting?<<<

Only you can answer that question. Do you think the Louvre in Paris is worth visiting? The Vatican has one the most important collections of art, sculpture, and artifacts in the world. I'd recommend doing a bit of research into the collections to see if something interests you.

ellenem

FYI, the Sistine chapel is accessible ONLY from the Vatican Museums. If you only visit the St Peters basilica, you will not see the Sistine Chapel. Many visit the museums just for this purpose.

nytraveler

The entrance to the museum is in a completely different place than the piazza in front of St Peter's - it;'s around the side blocks away.

You can just walk into the piazza and through security (no ticket) to the basilica. Although you do need tickets for the treasury, dome, crypt etc.

For the Museum you have a ticket line and a security line.

LondonIscooIIikeIttt

I just booked a vatican tour that includes the museums and the sistine chapel AND, most importantly, allows me to bypass the loooooong line thanks so much everyone!

MsNaomiD

Hi,

If I book tickets in advance for the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums, once we've finished there is it easy to get to St Peter's Basilica? I wasn't planning on paying for a tour, just for the entry tickets.

Thanks!

PalenQ

Be sure you are not wearing shorts or revealing too much skin - sins to the St Paul's Basilica entrance moral police.

danon

Some years ago they would not let me in ..my skirt was too short.
I didn't have a long skirt so I bought one in order to see the Basilica.
It was worth it!

Alec

You can't wear skimpy clothes for the Museum either, as it includes entry to Sistine Chapel, which is a place of worship (used a few times a year). What some people do is to take a sarong to wrap around your waist and a shawl to cover your shoulders.