As many of you know I took the original Sistine after hour tours with www.Italywithus.com I am scheduled for a repeat of the tour this trip as a birthday present. But I wanted to scope out alternatives for the museums for people who can't afford the 250 euro after hour admission or aren't in Rome for the dates that the tour is available.
Because I had such good luck with www.Italywithus.com on the after hour tours I had gone to their website and noticed that they had an early hours tour at 8 am. A couple of years ago the vatican changed their admission policies. The hours of 8 to 10 were reserved for group tours in an attempt to get the huge busload tours out of the corridors during the day. They have modified the restrictions somewhat and now you can enter the museums at 9 am.
The popular wisdom for years has been that you arrive early, run like heck, get to the Sistine and you might not be a sardine for at least a few minutes. Since run like heck is not a possibility for me I decided that I would take this early morning tour. I arrived at the office at 8 and we took off. One thing I was grateful for is our guide took us around a back way from the office to the entrance to the museums. They are tearing up the street on both sides the last block of the way. The road outside the walls has lots of cars that drive very fast and the last thing I want to do is scooter against that traffic.
I am not going to waste any ones time discussing the sights of the vatican museum and the sistine chapel.
What I am going to discuss is the crowds. This morning there were approximately 150 other people in the museum. It was NOT the after hours tour, the abiding peace, the utter quiet, the special atmosphere was missing. However, having said that it still was pretty great. You could see other people in the corridors but you weren't being shoved or pushed on line ala Disneyland or the Superbowl. Nobody stepped on me, nobody shoved me, nobody fell on me I actually rolled out not black and blue. Which was different from the other daytime vatican excursions.
Picture taking in the Sistine was utterly forbidden and there were enough guards to back it up.
One definite benefit of this tour is that you don't need to schedule it months in advance. I had booked it Tuesday for Friday morning.
Having said that it definitely was among the best 50 euro I spent this trip. I am still looking forward to the after hours tours, that is a soul shaking event. But the early morning tour is so much better than any other regular tour of the museums that I can heartily recommend it.
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This message has been edited. Last edited by: Amy,
I've been to the Sistine Chapel a couple of times but didn't use a tour guide. So, is it true that the tour guides bypass the lines for general admission guests?
From the hours of 8 to 9 you can only go in with a tour that has all the vatican permesso. Regular people are not allowed in until 9.
During the day what happens is various guide agencies book certain time slots for their guided tours - again vatican permesso. So while someone in the square says "come with me and you can skip the line" it is true. But ONLY in the sense that the company the guide works for can get you to head of line if you are entering with their group at their pre-booked time. Otherwise you will end up standing around waiting for the entrance time that they have booked.
We went on a tour of the Vatican Museums with Context Rome on a Thursday afternoon and we had the same experience. Without getting up at the crack of dawn, we were able to get in without waiting on line (our guide had tickets). Because there was no line!
The tour was great, and sufficiently non-crowded that we could take our time and look at the magnificent art throughout the museums.
I was wondering what your Vatican experience was like with your granddaughter? Did she enjoy it?
You were very lucky to not have to fight the crowds in the afternoon. I don't remember who it was had posted a picture where literally all you can see is a sea of people waiting in line at the museums. That was my previous experiences (except for the after hours tour of course).
The problem with afternoon tours is that the later you go the fewer people true but also the less time in the museums. And they are SERIOUS about kicking people out. Comes 4:30 and you are out of there!!!! If you are at the far end the guard literally quick marches you to the exit. I know because DH lost track of time in the etruscan section one day. He said he felt like he was under arrest as they took him to the exit.
Can there be quite a few people in Vatican at 8 am? Sure, if one of those mega cruise ships shows up there could be over 1000. But that's the luck of the draw. You gotta know when to hold them and .... As for me if I can stack the deck I'm not above cheating a bit.
The only reason I mentioned this tour at all was because it was reasonably priced and with very little notice they were able to get me into the museums with almost no crowds.
There is no way I could visit the Vatican museums the "regular" way again. Particularly as my resilience to injury seems to decrease. The last "regular" trip I took days later I still looked like somebody had taken a bat to me.
Let's make this more clear: We went in the afternoon --- early in the afternoon --- stayed as long as needed (3 1/2 hours) and were fine. So I don't think that booking with a particular company is relevant here.
As for my granddaughter's experience: Priceless! She was enthralled (and our guide loved her, but that's probably not relevant to anyone but a grandma )
As for my granddaughter's experience: Priceless! She was enthralled (and our guide loved her, but that's probably not relevant to anyone but a grandma )
I am so glad she had a good time. One niece hated the vatican. I could have killed her!! Not really but it is hard when you find something so fantastic and want to share it and the attitude is "been there, done that, got the T-Shirt".
Rome Addict (love the name btw) and Marian (whome I always LOVE reading about your trips)---Thanks for sharing your ideas with all of us. It now looks like I will definitely enjoy my next Vatican Museums tour even more next time. I am one of those who stood in a LONG line to enter the Museums and was pushed, shoved, crammed, herded, and everything but trampled on, when I took my very first tour. I was not able to enjoy the Sistine Chapel ceiling because all I could hear was "NO FLASH!!! NO FLASH!!!", and click click click click and more shoving and SQUEEZING like an over ripe lemon. By the time I was on my way out I felt like lemonade. Anyway, it was still a memorable experience..in more ways than two. Thanks again for the great information. Richard
You can bypass the line and go directly into the Vatican Museums if you book your timed entry ticket through the Vatican website before you leave.
No tour required. You just show you confirmed e-mail, enter through security and proceed upstairs to claim your ticket.
This March, when we were there, there was no line for the reserved ticket holders and a pretty short one for general admission. Only once have we been inside the Sistine chapel with fewer people.
Posts: 920 | Location: Simi Valley, California | Registered: 20 March 2002
Originally posted by Debra: You can bypass the line and go directly into the Vatican Museums if you book your timed entry ticket through the Vatican website before you leave.
No tour required. You just show you confirmed e-mail, enter through security and proceed upstairs to claim your ticket.
This March, when we were there, there was no line for the reserved ticket holders and a pretty short one for general admission. Only once have we been inside the Sistine chapel with fewer people.
Dear Debra, Could you, or anyone else who has used the timed-ticket method, describe in more detail the entrance procedure? Specifically, how does one know where to show the confirmation e-mail? Is that "line" or window or door well marked? Any details on using this newish system would be appreciated.
Thanks! Bucky "Trying To Slow Down" Edgett
Posts: 915 | Location: Maryland | Registered: 24 April 2006
Hey Bucky, All you do is bring your confirmation e-mail to the Vatican Museums Entrance. There is the general entrance line (it will be obvious to you what the general entrance line is), just walk past that all the way up to the Entrance and you will see a shorter line for people with reservations, sometimes there is no line at all actually for the reservations. Just go all the way to the front of the Museums and you will see guards outside, show them your confirmation and they will let you inside. Its that simple.
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