I'll be in Rome for a few days and want to visit the Vatican. I've heard you can buy tickets ahead of time so you don't have to wait in long lines on the day of your visit. Does anyone know if this is true and if so, where you can buy the tickets ahead of time? Thanks!!!

Do some searching on the Vatican website and there is a fax number where you can fax in your tour request. However, they do not confirm(fax you back) until a day or two before your tour, so you will probably need your hotel to help you with a reservation (ie receiving the confirmation fax).

You can get access without lines or less lengthy lines in a couple of ways...

1) Fax the Vatican with a request for the official Vatican tour. You won't hear back until a day or two ahead of your desired appt date, if you get it. Most get it.

http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-In...zi_Visite.html


2) As of this year you are able to pre-buy tickets to enter prior to the normal opening hours (8:30 or 9:15am). There are several operators that sell these.
http://www.rome-museum.com/

3) Take an expensive, but from what I understand simply wonderful afterhours tour. It's like $300 per person. Museum and Sistine are almost vacant.
http://www.italywithus.biz/pages/VaticanTour.htm

dave

You may want to try the search here.
The "Vatican" can mean various things. You may mean the museums, or the city-state, St. Peter's, etc.
The answers you seek are here.

Is the company at www.rome-museum.com reputable? I checked their website and the prices are very reasonable...