traveller1959

We want to visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel on our own (not with a guided tour) by end of February. I understand that there are usually long waiting lines and the museums are open only in the morning. On Sunday, the visit to the Sistine Chapel is free but the Museo Storico is closed. Is it advisable to visit the Chapel on this Sunday (how long will the lines be?) and to visit the Museo Storico on another day? Or is it advisable to combine both visits on one day? Thank you for your advice.

sandi_travelnut

No one can tell you how long the lines will be, it all depends on exactly when you get there. I've been twice with 2 different experiences. The first time, we got in line about 45 minutes before they opened and were probably in the first 50 or so in the door. I highly recommend that you walk quickly to the chapel (stop and get an audio guide though). Even walking briskly, it will take you about 25-30 min to get there...just follow the signs. The key is to get ahead of any tour groups. If you have the luck we did the first time, you will arrive at an almost empty chapel where you can stand or sit and relish where you are.

The second time we got in line a couple of hours after they opened. The line was unreal. It was blocks long...BUT the good thing is that it moved surprisingly fast. I would never let a long line turn me away from seeing the Sistine Chapel. The bad news though is that there were so many tour groups ahead of us (and hundreds of people) that by the time we made it tothe chapel it was packed like sardines. Every few minutes the guards will quiet everyone with a sturn "sssshhhhh" then a recording coms on in every language you can imagine telling people to be quiet as it is still a place of worship. So, that's my story. Get there early, and move quickly tot he chapel, then look at the rest of the Vatican museums afterward.

ekscrunchy

Another option if you want to avoid a line is to sign up with an inexpensive tour ( We used Enjoy Rome); let them bring you in to avoid the line, and then ditch the tour group. Think of the group tour price as a supplement for avoiding the line. We actually stayed with the tour group, which was comprised of about 5 people plus the leader. I was very pleased with this group and we used them for another walking tour as well.

111op

Can you go "backwards"? I thought I had read somewhere that the route is one-way, and you can't go back. I've not had time to check the Vatican's own website yet.

What are the crowds like in the afternoon? I plan to be there on a day when the last entrance is 3:25.

Tulips

111op; I once went about an hour before closing, and there was no queue, and no crowds. This was a weekday in November.

If the visit to the Sistine Chapel is free on Sundays, do they use another entrance? Normally you walk through the long corridors of the museum to the Chapel, and back through another long corridor of the museum. Although tour groups sometimes take a shortcut through a door in the Chapel and end up in St Peter's.

111op

Thanks Tulips. I've so little time that I wish that I could fly among all the sights in Rome.

So it's not one-way then, it sounds like? After going to Sistine Chapel, you can go back to the other parts of the museum?

Now that I read this again, it doesn't say that I can't backtrack:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ma...03/etvatic.xml

"To get to the Sistine Chapel, you have to use a one-way system through the long corridors of the main buildings...."

But in my case maybe there'll be no lines anyway. So this will be irrelevant.

111op

Original poster -- sorry to hijack your thread, but maybe there'll be something useful for you too.

Thanks.

sandi_travelnut

I think once you exit the chapel you can get back intot he main entrance area, to return your audio tour...can't you then get to the other museums?

111op

Sounds reasonable, sandi. I've no clue, obviously. The last time I was there was in 1999. I don't remember anything about that visit beyond the recollection that the Chapel had just been restored and reopened.

If there're no lines and Sistine Chapel is the last stop, would one go to St. Peter's next? (Assuming that that's what one wants to do?)

Tulips writes that there's an entrance in the Chapel that leads to St. Peter's -- is that only for tour groups? Can I use the shortcut if I want to?

Thanks.

traveller1959

111op,

I do not mind your joining with additional questions. For me, it is interesting to get as much information as possible.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences!

111op

Thanks, traveller. I'm of the same opinion. More information, the better.

mnapoli

If you go after 1:00 PM, the line is minimal. I was amazed at the length of the line in the morning, and I was so glad we had booked a tour that started in the afternoon!

wliwl

We went at about 1:30pm in June and entered through the "side" door (the museum). There was no line at all. Next morning when we drove by it went on and on and on down the street. It was horrible.

rkkwan

About getting from the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter's:

Yes, there's a door at the opposite corner from you get in. It says "for tour groups only", but we got through there with no problem. Save the very long walk back to the main museum entrance and back to St. Peter's again.

But if you have an audio guide, then you must exit through the regular exit and get back to the musuem entrance.

111op

Sounds like I should not get the audio guide....

But if I decide to go to Sistine Chapel first, I assume that I can still visit the other parts of the museum, rkkwan, by going back to the museum entrance?

What do you see when you go through that door that says "for tour groups only"? I assume you arrive in the church itself?

I'm just trying to think of various contingency plans for my visit.

Thanks.

111op

I guess guidebooks would have maps -- but here's an online map of the Vatican Museums in case anyone needs it:

http://tinyurl.com/9kc8e

The map at the Vatican Museum's website isn't labelled.

rkkwan

When you exit through the "Tour only" exit from the Sistine Chapel, you go through some walkways and stairs, going down down down to the alley that's between the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's.

The alley is also where the lines for the Dome and the crypts are. You may be able to jump those lines too if the guards aren't paying attention. But if you just want to go into St. Peter's, just walk straight across the alley and you'll be in the front porch, also bypassing the line that may be outside on the square (if there's a line).

111op

Great. Will have to remember to print these directions out before leaving.

Thanks!

KT

There's a little confusion here about opening hours. The Museo Storico is not the same thing as the Vatican Museums -- it's a historic museum in the papal palace. The Vatican Museums, including the Sistine Chapel, are open on Sunday only on the last Sunday of the month, when they're free and crowded. Otherwise, the Sistine Chapel isn't open on Sundays.

KT

BTW, there's a good deal of info about the Vatican Museums on the Vatican's website
http://mv.vatican.va