We are arriving in Rome at 9:30am next Saturday and will only be there for two nights. On the Vatican website I can purchase tickets for Sistine Chapel at 3PM on Saturday. We are staying pretty close to the Vatican (Via Giulia) and we like to keep moving that first day, so i thought i might visit the place we missed on our last Vatican trip (did scavi tour and St. Peters and went up to the roof). My question is, if the ticket says 3pm will we get in at that time or will the entries be backed up by then? Our only other time frame would be early Monday morning and the only tickets available are at 11am, a little later than we want.

Thank You!

Definitely go with the earlier Monday morning tour. Saturday will be packed, and running late is a very likely possibility.

You mean you can get a 3 PM reservation for the Vatican Museum, don't you?

You have to go through the Vatican Museum to get to the Sistine Chapel.

Thin

I agree that you should take Monday. Not only because of crowds, but because I believe the chapel looks best in morning light. IMHO, much better in the a.m.

Buon viaggio!

Thanks so much for the responses. If we go first thing Monday morning, will we have a good chance of getting in without a wait?

My suggestion is to go Saturday. Yes, it will be busy, but so will Monday, both being determined by the weekender crowd's need to get their vistit in.

I personally rarely see any line at all after lunch, certainly not in May. My 15 years here in Rome have supported my revision of the famous wisdom about early birds, as I see it, in Rome generally, they get the line...and busy Vatican Musems.

Whatever you get, enjoy it to the max. Just remember, RELAX!