Tickets for Vatican, etc.
Oct 16th, 2006, 08:21 AM
#1
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Tickets for Vatican, etc.
We are leaving for Rome in 2 weeks - yeah!
It appears from my guidebooks that we must purchase tickets at the Vatican (wait in line) and there is no way to get them early, other than perhaps booking a tour with a tour company.
If that is the case, is a tour worth it, and does anyone know of any?
I know when we went to Paris, there was a Museo pass that we purchased that let us go right to the front of the line at the D'Orsay. Nothing like that in Italy?
Also, I see that there are some combined passes, but not for the main things we want to see - Vatican, St. Peters, Forum and Colosseum.
Any help would be appreicated.
It appears from my guidebooks that we must purchase tickets at the Vatican (wait in line) and there is no way to get them early, other than perhaps booking a tour with a tour company.
If that is the case, is a tour worth it, and does anyone know of any?
I know when we went to Paris, there was a Museo pass that we purchased that let us go right to the front of the line at the D'Orsay. Nothing like that in Italy?
Also, I see that there are some combined passes, but not for the main things we want to see - Vatican, St. Peters, Forum and Colosseum.
Any help would be appreicated.
Oct 16th, 2006, 08:38 AM
#2
there are loads of threads already that cover these topics, [enter them in this forum's search engine] but to be brief, The forum is free, but if you go there first, you can buy a combined ticket to the Palatine Hill and colosseum, thus avoiding the usually horrendous queues at the latter.
as for the Vatican museums, you can book an official tour via the fax no given on the official vatican web-site, but it is very hit and miss. They usually fax back only a few days in advance, so giving them an address & fax no in Italy is a good idea.
THe tours advertised by agencies do not get you in any quicker, apart from a few very expensive private tours that go out night when it is officially shut.
When we went last Easter, we started queing before 9am, and got in at 10.15. It is rumoured that lunchtime is a good time to try.
THere is a door at the back of the Sistine chapel [the last thing you come to in the vatican museum] which leads down some steps and thence into St. Peter's, which is free, but has long queues for the security gate, which you thus avoid.
THere is now something called a "Romapass" - try googling it.
as for the Vatican museums, you can book an official tour via the fax no given on the official vatican web-site, but it is very hit and miss. They usually fax back only a few days in advance, so giving them an address & fax no in Italy is a good idea.
THe tours advertised by agencies do not get you in any quicker, apart from a few very expensive private tours that go out night when it is officially shut.
When we went last Easter, we started queing before 9am, and got in at 10.15. It is rumoured that lunchtime is a good time to try.
THere is a door at the back of the Sistine chapel [the last thing you come to in the vatican museum] which leads down some steps and thence into St. Peter's, which is free, but has long queues for the security gate, which you thus avoid.
THere is now something called a "Romapass" - try googling it.
Oct 16th, 2006, 09:48 AM
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Booking through the Vatican is the way to go to skip the line. We tried to book tickets through the Vatican but did not know that they only faxed you a few days in advance, so our confirmation arrived on Sunday back home for our Monday tour. Friends there at the same time had their hotel arrange it with no problem.
If you are unable to book through the Vatican, one thing to look out for are people walking up and down recruiting people for tours. The tour guide gets in line, then the "brokers" bring them people to take their tour while they are waiting in line. We were able to shave off quite a bit of the wait by joining one of these. The cost was the same as other private tours I looked into. The bonus was the tour guide behind our group got really mad and we got to see them yell at each other in Italian.
If you are unable to book through the Vatican, one thing to look out for are people walking up and down recruiting people for tours. The tour guide gets in line, then the "brokers" bring them people to take their tour while they are waiting in line. We were able to shave off quite a bit of the wait by joining one of these. The cost was the same as other private tours I looked into. The bonus was the tour guide behind our group got really mad and we got to see them yell at each other in Italian.
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