If you’re traveling to Rome, the Vatican Museums should be upper up on your list of must-see attractions. And ensuring you have your Vatican tickets booked surpassing you get there only makes the wits increasingly enjoyable.
It’s a good idea to typesetting well in advance. But, with all the options available, it may be nonflexible to know where to start noting that the official ticketing site has limited availability, refunds can be difficult, and the booking process can be confusing.
So we’ve put together this guide to help you navigate ownership tickets for the Vatican Museums and ensure a stress-free visit to this Rome itinerary staple. We’ll imbricate everything from when to typesetting your tickets to recommended third-party sellers and commonly asked questions.
So, protract reading to discover how to buy tickets for the Vatican Museums.
Vatican Museums Tickets and Tours Quick Links
If you’re in a rush and would prefer to get the details ASAP, have a squint at this quick summary of our recommendations for the best Vatican tours.
- Vatican Tickets and Tours on Musei Vaticani (official booking site) > can be troublemaking to navigate, has limited availability, and getting refunds can be difficult.
- Vatican Tickets on GetYourGuide (official partner site) > booking policy is fairly flexible, and the site’s increasingly user-friendly. That said, it’s slightly increasingly expensive.
- Liv Tours > offers private tour options for small groups, with engaging, knowledgeable guides – Take wholesomeness of our 5% off unbelieve using the lawmaking – UNTOLDITALY.
- Take Walks Small Archway Group or VIP Key Masters Tour > join a small group for a Sistine Chapel tour or join the key masters in opening the Chapel.
- Tiqets > their simple, easy-to-use website with a good receipt policy but slightly higher ticket prices.
- Viator > industry-leading flexibility, user-friendly, and slightly increasingly expensive due to the widow convenience.
Vatican Museum Tickets or Tour?
Should you go with a fully guided tour or just purchase entry tickets? An entry ticket is quite limiting as you walk through mostly unmarked galleries and leave having learned scrutinizingly nothing.
To get the most value out of your visit, we recommend taking a tour instead. Taking this tideway ways you enjoy the full wits of the museum and its 20,000 artworks with a knowledgeable tour guide. Guides can offer fascinating and lesser-known insights and wordplay any questions you may have.
Certain guided tours with partner companies moreover offer skip-the-line wangle and sectional wangle to areas like the Sistine Chapel surpassing they unshut to the public.
What Does Your Vatican Museums Ticket Include?
The vital ticket to enter the Vatican includes:
- Access to the museums’ galleries, including the Sistine Chapel
- Access to the Vatican Gardens
- Access to the Christian Museum
- Access to the Profane Museum
Buy Tickets on the Official Vatican Museums Site
You can buy tickets directly from the official site, Musei Vaticani. But, navigating this site and booking tickets can be frustrating.
- Pros of booking on Musei Vaticani site – lower prices and various ticket options available.
- Cons of booking on Musei Vaticani site – the website doesn’t offer a pleasant user experience, and it’s mainly in Italian, making it difficult for non-speakers to navigate from the homepage. Obtaining a refund is quite challenging.
Vatican Museums Tickets via an Official Partner
Tickets sell out quickly on the Vatican website. Thankfully, there are a few other places to secure your tickets. Booking tickets to the Vatican through an official, trusted partner is the weightier way to ensure a secure wits and stave scams.
- Pros of booking via official partners – Official partners offer easy, user-friendly sites and flexible receipt policies. There are moreover a variety of tours and ticket options to suit your needs. Often, you’ll only be worldly-wise to secure a ticket with a partner site.
- Cons of booking via official partners – tickets forfeit slightly increasingly than ownership Vatican Museum tickets directly from the official website, as you’re paying for the widow convenience.
Recommended Vatican Museums Tours
The weightier way to understand the cultural context and fathom over 500 years of art and history is to join a guided Vatican tour, as the exhibits are quite plain and nonflexible to understand without one.
When considering which tour to book, consider which sites in Vatican Municipality the tour will cover, the tour style, and the elapsing of your tour.
Official tour partners have to go through a rigorous viewing process to obtain their licenses, so you can trust that you’re getting value for money on your tour. Below are some recommended options to consider.
- Official Tours via Musei Vaticani – these last 30 minutes and indulge a maximum group size of 10 people. Their €17.00 ticket only provides entry to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel.
- Liv Tours – This Rome-based visitor offers a Skip-the-line Highlights of the Vatican tour for groups of up to a maximum of six people. This semi-private guided tour of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel draws you into over 2,000 years of history, from protohistory to the Renaissance, ending in the early 17th century.
You’ll learn fascinating tidbits and stories surrounding the artworks, such as the fresco maps and rich tapestries that varnish the Museum. Plus! Get 5% off with our code, UNTOLDITALY.
- Take Walks Skip the Line Vatican Highlights tour – This tour focuses on enriching visitors with captivating stories and anecdotes. Marvel at classical artworks by Michelangelo and Bernini, all while learning well-nigh their origins and history.
- CityWonders – Offering a skip-the-line tour of the Vatican, their expert tour guides take you on a journey to wits the Vatican in all its glory. This tour takes you to the Pinecone Courtyard, with the interesting pagan symbol of fertility planted in its center.
The tour guides will moreover lead you to the Gallery of Tapestries, where stunning displays of tapestries abound. Afterward, explore the rest of the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel.
Vatican Museums Tickets FAQ
Do You Need to Buy Vatican Museums Tickets in Advance?
Yes, you need to buy Vatican tickets in advance. It is no longer possible to show up on the day and stand in line to purchase tickets. All tickets purchased are powerfully skip the line Vatican Museums tickets so the goody is faster access.
Do I Need a Separate Ticket to Visit St Peter’s Basilica?
No. A separate ticket is not required to visit St Peter’s Minster which is self-ruling to enter however if you’d like to visit Michelangelo’s dome and the Necropolis you need to purchase separate archway tickets. Note that it’s standard procedure for security to search your tons at the security checkpoint surpassing you enter the denomination and this is not part of the ticketing system.
When Do Vatican Museums Tickets Go on Sale?
Vatican tickets typically go on sale well-nigh two months in whop on the official site. But tickets are often sold out by that time, so it may help to squint out for them older from official partners.
Can You Buy Vatican Museums Tickets on the Day?
There are no longer tickets misogynist at the door – you must typesetting them online. You can try to typesetting your Vatican tickets online in the morning of your visit, although you may need fast fingers for that. Your weightier bet for last-minute tickets will be to take a squint at trusted third-party providers.
What Are the Vatican Museums’ Opening Hours?
The Vatican Museums are unshut from 09:00 until 18:00, Mondays through Saturdays. The museums are sealed on Sundays, except for the last Sunday of the month and on special occasions.
The museums moreover have extended opening hours until 22:30 from the 24th to the 30th of April and the 5th of May – the 28th of October.
What Is the Weightier Time to Visit the Vatican Museums?
The Vatican Museums can get rented and crowded. The weightier time to visit to stave the crowds is usually on Tuesday, as this day tends to be the quietest.
Try to stave the self-ruling ticket on the last Sunday of the month unless you’re prepared for throngs of tourists.
Are There Any Discounts or Self-ruling Entry to the Vatican Museums
The last Sunday of every month is free, but it’s not a good time to visit as it’s usually very busy. That said, children between the month of six and 18 have self-ruling ticket to the Vatican Palace.
Employees — both in service and/or retired — of all Offices, Dicasteries, and other entities of the Holy See and/or Vatican Municipality State are admitted self-ruling of tuition (but only upon presentation of identity document).
Priests, seminarians, and novices are moreover admitted for self-ruling (upon presentation of valid documentation).
Do I Need to Print My Vatican Museums Tickets?
No. If you purchased a ticket from the Vatican Museums website, you don’t need to print it. Just show the voucher on your phone.
Is the Sistine Chapel Included in My Ticket to the Vatican Museums?
Yes, a regular ticket includes the Chapel, the Gregorian Egyptian Museum, and the Borgia Apartments in Vatican City. So there’s no need to purchase separate tickets for the Sistine Chapel or any of the other mentioned sites.
Can I stay tropical to the Vatican?
Yes, we recommend staying near The Pantheon if you want to be near the Vatican and Rome’s other top sites. Or, for other options, see our detailed guide on where to stay in Rome to segregate the weightier location for your trip.