How long are the Vatican Tours
 

I'd like to take the museum and basillica tour when I'm there this sumemr? Anybody know how long I can expect to be there? The Vatican's website doesn't provide that info.

Grazie!

We spent all day there

And didn't see everything

Their web site states 2 hours.

http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-In...zi_Visite.html

Unfortunately, the two hours doesn't include the Basillica. On Saturdays, they offer a tour of the Museums, Chapel and the Basillica but they dont have the length of the tour on the webpage.

Just saw it: Three hours.

The tour itself may be 3 hours but who would stay only 3 hours. We were there first thing in the morning, ate lunch there and had to curtail some visiting in order to see a bit of St Peter's (tip when in the Sistine Chapel sneak through the "group exit" - em - exit and get straight to St Peters

Would the 3-hour Saturday tour allow us to get through the "group exit"? It seems as if it might be worth it just for that.

Sorry to follow up my own post. I'm still curious about using the group exit...but the Saturday tour doesn't include the Raphael Rooms, and I can't imagine not seeing those. So probably not.

Was there last year visiting a friend (nun) who works for the Vatican. My advice is that you forget the tour - or take the tour, then go back on your own to REALLY see it.

You can easily spend 1/2 day or more at the Sistine Chapel. Go on Wednesday if you can; the Pope holds his audience on Wednesday. Skip that because the lines to the Sistine will be shorter because of it. Read "Michelangelo and The Pope's Ceiling" before you go to better understand what you'll see. Upon entering the chapel itself, walk to the back of the room for the best view. Rick Steves and others have great audio tours that explain what you're looking at.

You can easily spend a full day at St. Peters. Make reservations as far ahead as possible for the Scavi tour into the ancient city beneath St. Peters. The Scavi tours are led by monastery students studying to become bishops and cardinals, and they are excellent guides. Don't miss touring the crypts - the Scavi tour will end near the tomb of John Paul II which will be mobbed and you will flow with the rest of the traffic to the exit. Go back and make the entire tour. Finally, if you're up to climbing, don't miss climbing to the roof of St. Peters.

If you have extra time, explore the streets around the Sistine Chapel. You'll see Micelangelo's workshop and streets filled with shops selling religious items for a fraction of vendor cost. Lots of good small restaurants in the area too.

Sorry for the length of this post. Like a visit to the sites themselves, there's just too much to say to be brief!

bjk0908, thanks for all the information! Wednesday sounds like a great tip...but unfortunately, we won't be in Rome on a Wednesday. I tried to get a Scavi tour; yesterday, I received an email back from them saying that they were already filled.

I *am* hoping to see the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's the same day. It's hard to know how time the reservations so that we can do that, however.

OK, if you must do it all in one day, do the Sistine Chapel first, as soon as it opens so you're at the front of the crowd. You can get through it by noon. Then go to St. Peters. The line will be long but moves quickly once you're through security, and because it's so big inside, it won't be seem too crowded. Remember to dress appropriately.

Hint: We took our lunch and ate outside the SC on a terrace overlooking the Vatican to save time, then had a nice dinner that evening. The whole area is interesting and very safe. Have fun!

Our trip is not until early October, but these tips are already helping so much. Question(s): will I be able to bring a small backpack containing personal items (i.e., phone, makeup, water bottle, etc.) and camera into the Vatican with me? In addition to the other tours, I really want to do the Scavi tour -- are cameras allowed? Even if I don't take photos within the Vatican itself, I like to have my camera and phone with me at all times, 'just in case'....

Thank you for your patience with my ignorance!!!

Leslie