dewdrops

Hi it's me again!

My family will be in Rome May 25-31. Our friends in England are joining us on the 27th-30th.

When they were in Rome they did not get to see the Sistine Chapel so I was doing some planning as we all are going to Pompeii as well.

I was thinking of seeing St. Peter's on friday afternoon after they arrive and then seeing the Vatican Museum on sat. or vice versa. Or do you think after noon we could see both on friday? Is there usually a long line to get into St. Peters? I went in 1997 and I don't remember any lines. I have read on different posts here that after lunch the lines tend to be shorter or even during the lunch hour. Does anyone know if this is true? That sunday the museum is free and we definitely don't want to go that day so I think we are going to Pompeii on sunday since the site is open.

We have decided against a guide as we are all excited about getting to know the info ourselves. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

JoanneH

Was there in September. Line into St. Peters after 4pm was 10 min max. Not real crowded inside either but there is a mass at about 5 and many do come for that. Vatican Mus. We went just before last entry around 3pm walked right in no line zipped through it by 5 and out the door.If you want to linger or really study some items then you will need to go earlier but it gets overwhelming and I think better taken in a couple small dose's if you really want to study what they have. The S. Chapel is always packed. JMHO

cruiseluv

Saturday they close early.

I would suggest going Friday around lunch hour ( around 1PM or a little later). We did that on the advice of the italian limo driver and it worked petrfect. There was NOBODY in front of us to buy tickets. But we drove twice by the Vatican ( one of those days was a Saturday) around 9AM and the line snaked all the way to St. Peter's.

dewdrops

Thanks for the info. My 8 year old niece losves art as much as I do and she is quite excited. I told her the different artist's works she would see and she asked if they had a Botticelli....thank goodness we will be going to Florence.

rkkwan

Calendar is here:

mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-Info/MV_Info_Orario.html

5/28/06 Saturday is the free day for the Vatican Museum, which probably means extra crowd. And it closes early. Not a good day to visit, IMHO.

malanh

The lines going into St. Peter's seem to move along quickly, the Vatican Museum is another story. I would recommend getting in that line at least 45 min. before the Museum opens.
For info on St. Peter's, you might browse my website at: www.stpetersbasilica.org
Enjoy
Alan Howard

Melissa5

You need to find out what time the Vatican Museums close on your date. If they are open til 4:30, as they were for us, the least crowded time is to arrive around noon or 12:30, when most tourists have lunch. There wasn't any line when we did this in June.

We saw St. Peter's first, in the morning around 10:30, and it wasn't crowded, there wasn't any line.

Bring binoculars for the Sistine chapel becasue the detail on the ceiling is amazing. Still enjoyable without binoculars as well. Make sure you know what time the museums close, and be in the sistine chapel at least 1 1/2 hours or 2 hours before closing!

mv_rd

I agree with Melissa5, wait until noon or so for the Vatican Museum. We went in May last year and we got in line before it opened and waited well over an hour to get in. When we left several hours later, there was hardly anyone in line.

As for St. Peter's, there was no line. We went twice, once in early in the morning and the next day in the afternoon, and again no line.

Have a great time!

HowardR

Since you say you will not use a guide, I strongly suggest that you all rent the audio guide at the Vatican Museum, which is the best one I've ever used in any museum anywhere.

fiesty1

Just got back from Rome, and we lucked out on several things, since we didn't know in advance. THe line for the Vatican Museum was back to St. Peter's first thing in the morning, so we went to St. Peter's first, get the Audio tour head phones (5 Euro), We then went up to the Copula...definitely worth the 7 Euro, lots of stairs, but doable! We then went to the Vatican Museum at 2:45, we thought it was closed because there was not a line at all! We actaully asked at the ticket counter if they were open and they assured us they were...and they were. It is A LOT to see and our brains were mushy by the end. If you have two days, take the two, but we only had two full days total, so we did those two place Tuesday, and the other sites Wednesday. Very full, but we enjoyed. ANother tip, buy the postcards of the artwork...it gives you a great picture in addition to your amateur photography. Soemthing else we got lucky on, and you want to watch out for. If the Pope is speaking St. Peter's is closed, as it was the Wednesday we were looking at the other sites. Have a great time...

nevertooold

For some reason, the day that we arrive in Rome, early in the morning, being SATURDAY July 1, 2006, is a day that the Museum closes late at 4:45 in the afternoon.

Does anybody know:

(a)why it would be open late on this particular day;

(b) if there would or could be some less expensive tour available later in the day as a result of this late opening; or, if not,

(c) would it still be advisable to show up at approx. 12:30 and hope that the line-ups would be minimal?

Please advise, and sorry to latch on to another thread.