Entering Sistine Chapel from St Peters?
 

A friend of mine just got back from Rome and said there was a small line of people entering the Sistine Chapel directly from St Peters but she didn't know how they were able to do this. Would they be part of a tour group? Is it possible to bypass the Vatican Museums and only see the Sistine Chapel?

There are tours that go to the Sistine, and not the museum, but they do go to the gardens. Tour is about 3 hours and is very nice. Anyone seeing the Sistine by itself is there with the Vatican or some very special pilgrimage group from a church.

Can anyone advise if it's possible to do the reverse, i.e. enter St Peters directly from the Sistine Chapel (or Vatican Museums) without having to exit the Museums, walk around to St Peters Square and join another queue to enter St Peters Basilica?

I don't think you can enter directly but you can certainly cut down on the walking time. Make sure you see all you want to see at the Vatican museum i.e. art gallery etc before you enter the chapel. At the back of the Chapel there is a little wooden door (facing the back right hand side) it says Tour Groups only, if you are lucky you can duck down this passageway. It brings you out at the back of St. Peters rather than having to walk the miles back from the Vatican museum. You still have to queue, but if you do the museum first the queues are usually much less by the time you get back to St. Peters (say after lunch)
Schnauzer

Yes.

With yr back to the altar, take the staircase in the antechapel (the bit at the opposite end from the main altar), on yr right. There's a sign up saying something like "groups only" Ignore it.

Go straight down and you emerge into a courtyard to the north of the basilica, inside the secure area. Head a few yards east and you're to the side of the loggia that runs along the east facade of St Peter's. Just walk in.

Thanks Schanuzer & Flanneruk! Great advice, I will give this a try!

When we were there last month the guards were turning back people who were not with a group. (Group participants have a colored sticker on their shirt.) Our guide said that they were getting sticter. It was a very busy week so perhaps that had something to do with it.