Does one need to make reservations in advance to visit the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican museums.<BR>Thanks, Dennis

I didn't make a reservation. There wasn't a huge line when I went. Got there right when it opened and spent the day.<BR><BR>I think that you can make a reservation however which is probably very handy if you know your schedule or want to stick with one.

Went right in.Lines were very short and no reservations were necessary. <BR>Seeing the Sistine Chapel was without doubt one of the highlights of my trip to Italy. I envy anyone who can see it for the first time. It's an experience you will never forget.<BR>Buon Viaggio!

Unless things have changed recently, you cannot make reservations for the Sistine Chapel or any other part of the Vatican Museum.

Go as early as you can. In March when we got there around 9:45, the line was already about an hour's wait long.

there are no advance reservations, unfortunately.

One book I read suggested bringing a small pair of binoculars to better view Michaelangeo's ceiling. Anyone do this? It seems silly to pack them for one site but I don't want to miss the details. How easy is it to see (well) from below?

They do not take reservations.

They do not take reservations.

take the small binoculars - I wish I'd had mine

Last late Sept I brought the binoculars and was glad, but the experience was not the one that pam had and that I had been dreaming of.<BR>At approx. noontime it was extremely crowded,LOUD (noise from the crowd)and I was glad to get out of there after about 10 minutes. I did have lunch in the Vat. cafeteria and then decided to walk back to the Chapel and try again. At about 1:45 it was slightly less crowded and less noisy, I was able to get into one of the few seats along the wall and I stayed another few minutes.<BR>I'm very glad I went but frankly glad when it was over, bought a beautiful book on it after I got home to look through at my leisure.

Yes, take the binoculars, not just for the Sistine Chapel, but all over Rome there are interesing things to see up high in churches, palaces (especially true for the stained glass windows in Paris, Chartres).<BR><BR>I also used the binocs for reading street signs across busy intersections to be sure I was headed in the right direction when I dashed into that crazy Roman traffic.

If you want to skip crowds (specially tour buses), be at the entrance 10-15 minutes before the museums open. Buy your tickets and go straight to the chapel. Be prepared for a long walk before you get there.<BR><BR>If you are not particularly interested in seeing anything else, skip everything until you get to the Raphael rooms.<BR><BR>Then again, if you are among the first to get inside the museums, I would certainly walk as fast as I could without running to get to the Sistine Chapel. Seeing that place without people must be quite an experience. However, do keep in mind that after the Sistine Chapel you CAN NOT back track.

Even if the line is a mile long, it moves fast once they open, you will be in in a Jiffy. Watch your purse and bags in the line and else where as there are many theives trying trying to slit your pockets and bags with razors. Even so its all well worth the effort. Buck

Didn't realize how lucky I must have been. The room was not crowded although the guards had to quiet everyone down several times. <BR>I waited for a seat by the wall. I took out the book I have been saving for more years that I care to say and begin to study each panel and follow along in the book which explained each one.<BR>Most of the people I was with on a tour of the Vatican had left a long time when I was still in the room. I realized sometime thereafter that most of the visitors had gone and a quiet came over the room and then the magic started.<BR>Get there early. Like most magical attractions in Europe, I find that getting there before the crowds makes it a very different experience.<BR>I wish you at least as good an experience as I had.