How much time for the Vatican?
 

When is the best time of the day to start seeing the Vatican sights? Is 4 hours enough, 8 hours, 2 days, etc?

Avoid the Vat on a sunday unless you want to see the Pope. The crowds are amazing!!<BR><BR>We spent a complete day there - the museum is really good. That's probably what we spent most of our time there on. <BR>

In the summer the Sistine Chapel is open at 9 am and the last admission is at 1pm, so you better get up early to get in line. I suggest getting in line by 8 am at the absolute latest. <BR><BR>Although you are guaranteed a 1 hour wait at a minimum, there will already be a line when you arrive and it is better to wait in the early morning when it is not so hot.<BR><BR>Don’t even think about getting into the Sistine Chapel if you are wearing shorts (or anything that even shows your knees) or sandals. I think that your shoulders also have to be covered.<BR><BR>If you are an early riser, I suggest heading over to St Peter’s Basilica as early as possible to avoid the crowds.<BR><BR>The Sistine Chapel tour is timed and they walk you through in a group, but you can dilly dally if you want to, but expect about an hour for that tour.<BR>you can easily see the vatican in one morning (9-12). Avoid eating in that area, as it is very expensive.

No sandals? Really? I don't recall this was a problem when we were there a few years ago. Can anyone verify this?

I went to St. Peter's early in the morning when it opened (~7am I think) and it was a great time to go. Hardly anyone was there. St. Peter's is huge with a lot of artwork so it really depends how much you want to see. I went back a few times with a guide book. If you do get there early and spend a couple of hours, you can still get to the Vatican museums at opening time, spend a couple of hours there, and have your afternoon free.

Depends on your interests - and your stamina! The Pope may also be conducting his audience on Wednesday mornings in St. Peter's Square, so crowds will be heavy then, too. His health sometimes causes him to cancel that, though. St. Peter's is enormous and can take a long time or a short run through. Depends on you. There's also the "trip" up - is it into the dome? we didn't do that- and the special scavi tour others have spoken of here. The Vatican Museums are impossible to see in one day. Most people select areas of interest or a few things they want to see & head for those. Or, you could take a tour. We used Scala Reale for a half day tour (includes the Sistina)and were very pleased. They usually limit their tours to 6 people max. and the guides are very knowledgeable.

Depends...I've been a few times, but the latest was in August of 2000. We got there around 1 pm and waited about a half-hour to get in. Tour took forever (I'd forgotten how much I didn't like this tour) - they made us go through the entire collection, as opposed to the last time I'd been when we could choose tour A, B, or C, and we'd chosen the short tour (C, I think). At any rate, it was about 3 hours front to back and in August with a zillion tourists. Once you're in there, you can't get out, by the way, a fact I found unfortunate, even though I did want to see the newly restored Sistine Chapel. It's gorgeous, but all the stuff you have to see before you get there jars me - and the guys who are telling you to keep it quiet in the chapel - so WHAT if people go "OOOOHHHH""??? - made me nuts. It was very un-Italian. I'll stop diverging now, as my distaste for the Vatican is beginning to show.....