Is one day enough to see St. Peter's, Sistine, Vatican Museums and Rafael Rooms? Also should I get advaned tickets for those places? I thank for any advice.

Two days minimum. Join the queue for the Vatican it's a must

One day would be enough for many, if not most, visitors. Perhaps part of a second day for a tour of the excavations under St. Peter's, if you wished. <BR> <BR>The excavations (Scavi) tour requires advance reservations. See <BR>www.twenj.com/romevatican.htm <BR> <BR>The Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel are part of the Vatican Museums. No advance tickets or reservations are possible. <BR> <BR>St. Peter's is an open church except for the few times a year when a Papal Mass is celebrated. <BR> <BR>Notes on visiting the Museums and St. Peter's beginning at <BR>www.twenj.com/rometour1.htm <BR> <BR>twenj

I would think two factors would influence your decision: <BR>1. How many days are you spending in Rome? <BR>2. How great is your interest in art? <BR>In general, Ed's advice is on the mark.

Folks, thanks for valuable information. Ed, excavati tour sounds interesinting. I'll check it out. Since I'm an artist, I have a strong interest in art naturally, so, I might need two days for Vatican museums.

1 day is plenty for the vatican, sure there is a lot to see,and I enjoyed it immensely, but going back a 2nd day to get shoved around and pushed back and forth inside the museum would be an overkill.

Alex, with your interest in art it would be quite reasonable to plan a full day at the museum. There is a cafeteria inside. <BR> <BR>There is such a wealth of "art" in there that it would be well for you to get a book in advance that covers the collections. You really can't "cover" everything in a single day so you may want to do a bit of selection ahead of time. You'll find a listing of the various 'museums' at <BR>http://www.roma2000.it/z2.html As you'll see they cover from the Egyptians and Etruscans to modern religious art. There may be some other sites on the web that have a bit more info about what's in the various collections. In terms of "painting" the Picture Gallery (Pinacoteca), Sistine Chapel, Raphael's Rooms and Loggia of Julius would be the most important to me. If interested in modern art then the modern religious painting collection would be a must as well. <BR> <BR>If you spend (at least) a full day at the Museums, then you'd want to plan a partial day at St. Peter's (which would include the Scavi tour). Depending on your interests a half day should be enough, including the Scavi.

Alex, <BR> <BR>Agree with the above post. Unless you are an avid art fan, 1 day is plenty. I enjoy art but after a while, the paintings, gold cups, and rugs started to blend together. <BR>Enjoy

I agree with Jonathan. It's a syndrome called "Yawn, oh look another beautiful painting/masterpiece".

At the information desk when you enter, they offer printed museum guides with 3 different itineraries encompassing either a 1-1/2, 3, or 5-l/2 hour self-guided tour of the museum. They also have audio guides. You should absolutely follow the longest itinerary. I did and loved it. It takes you into every nook and cranny of the museum--go everywhere. BRING GOOD BINOCULARS!!!! They're a necessity, not only for the Sistine Chapel, but for many of the other marvelous frescoed rooms--the Sistine is by no means the only place with a frescoed ceiling.