Vatican Museum

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One of the coolest things about visiting Rome is that you can visit an entirely different country without leaving the city limits. I’m talking about the Vatican, of course, and even if you’re not Catholic (or religious, for that matter) a half-day spent in the Vatican is a half-day very well spent. Really, you could spend a week in the Vatican Museum alone.

When you’re the Pope, you get to collect some really impressive works of art. Not only that, but over the centuries, the Vatican has had official artists creating masterpieces in the name of the Catholic church. The good news is that Vatican officials make this art collection open to the public in the Vatican Museum (”Musei Vaticani” in Italian). The bad news is that those officials don’t make it very easy to get in during the busiest travel season. But we’ll get to that in a bit. First, let’s look at why you want to make a beeline for the Vatican Museum entrance early one of the mornings of your stay in Rome.

What’s all the fuss about?
Contained within the vast labyrinth of the Vatican Museums (it’s often referred to in the plural because each section is considered a different museum) there are treasures from Egypt, the Near East, and Etruria (the Etruscans pre-dated the ancient Romans in Italy), including some sculptures which the ancient Romans even considered ancient. And that’s saying something. There are paintings, tapestries, ceramics, mosaics and sculptures from every era and corner of the globe. There are frescoes by Italian greats Raphael and, of course, Michelangelo. His Sistine Chapel ceiling and altar wall are the end point of a tour through the Vatican Museums, but don’t skip the rest of the museums just to get there because you can’t go backwards. Take your time. Those frescoes aren’t going anywhere.

Why you shouldn’t even try to see it all
The truth is that even with an excellent guide and lots of time you will probably not see all the art and historic pieces in the Vatican Museum. Trying to see everything will leave you exhausted and your feet aching. This is why it’s highly recommended to take a guided tour - whether it’s one you’ve got in your guidebook that helps you navigate (and make sense of) what you’re seeing, or whether it’s a real, live person you’re following around. Either way you’ll be sure to not miss the highlights, the really important pieces, and, what’s more, understand their importance. If you are a real art lover you may want to opt for a self-paced tour so that you can deviate from it when you want to without fear of losing your tour guide!

How to Prepare for the Long Lines
Unfortunately, with all those treasures inside, everyone and their brother wants to tour the Vatican Museums. This results in some of the longest ticket lines you’ll ever see during the tourist high season - and if you’re foolish enough to queue up too late, you could stand in line for hours and have the ticket office close for the day before you’ve even reached it, meaning you’ll have to repeat this exercise again. Don’t be one of those people. If you’re visiting during the high season, become an early morning person for just a day if you have to so you can get up with the sun and make your way to the museum entrance. You’ll be rewarded with a shorter wait - which you’ll be thankful for because the line snakes along one side of the building which is notoriously shade-less. Not fun in the heat of August. Just in case you’re stuck in the sun while you wait, don’t forget your sunscreen.

One Easy Way to Avoid the Long Lines
If that last paragraph scares you a little, you can do something very simple which will make that whole series of warnings moot: Go to Italy in the off-season. While summertime lines (at more than just the Vatican Museums) can be unbearable, there are almost no lines at all in Winter. Instead of sunscreen you’ll be toting a scarf or an umbrella, but that’s a small price to pay for not spending half your day waiting in line, right?

For more information about visiting Vatican City, including one great way to find a tour guide and a note about the proper dress code, be sure to see this Vatican City travel guide.

Access: Rome bus lines #40 or #64 which both stop near St. Peter’s Basilica; Metro stop Cipro-Musei Vaticani is the closest to the Vatican Museum and is about a 10-minute walk from the museum’s front door.

Opening Hours: The Vatican Museum’s hours can be confusing, because they change depending on the season, the day of the week, during Vatican holidays and (seemingly) on the whim of the Pope. Generally speaking, the front doors open around 09:00 and the last guests are ushered out between 13:45 and 16:45, with the last tickets being sold an hour or so before closing time. The museums are closed on Sundays (except the last Sunday of the month), Easter, June 29, and December 25-26, among other potential holidays. For more specific information about the current year’s schedule, consult this page.

Admission: €13 adult, €8 reduced fare (special pre-organized visits by schools or pilgrimages, students under 26 with valid ID, and children under 14). On the last Sunday of each month and on World Tourism Day (September 27), the museums are free of charge to everyone. Disabled visitors (and one helper/companion) are also permitted free entry at all times, as are children under 6 years of age. You can see if you qualify for any of the other discounts here.

Official Vatican Museum website