Buy Vatican Tickets Through An Online Reseller
A better option is to buy your Vatican Museum tickets through a reseller. I regularly use both Get Your Guide and Viator.
The sites are fast and easy to use. They accept many forms of payment that the Vatican does not, including PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Money.
The tickets from these resellers arent that much more expensive than the Vatican site itself. Plus, theyre a good option if the Vatican website is sold out or you want to book early.
Reseller tickets can usually be cancelled up to 24 hours in advance, if need be. Ive had to cancel a couple trips recently, so this is a valuable benefit indeed.
Click here to book a Vatican ticket with Get Your Guide. Click here to purchase a Vatican ticket with Viator.
Other Highlights Of ‘i Museu Vaticani’
If you would like to learn more about the background of the artworks in the Vatican Museums, we recommend using an audio guide. Do you plan not to spend too much time in the museums? Then â in addition to the Sistine chapel tour â these are the rooms and artworks you should not miss on your visit to the Vatican museums:
Visit of the Vatican Museums Topographical maps in the Vaticans museum
Is It Possible To Enter For Free
children under 6 years
Museum directors can enter the museum for free, however a ticket and reservation are required.
Only certainjournalists and academics can gain free access.
Some people with disabilities and those accompanying them can be allowed in without a cost.
All entries are free on the last Sunday of each month. However, if the last Sunday of the month coincides with Easter Sunday, 29 June Saints Peter and Paul, Christmas Day and 26 December Feast of Saint Stephen the Vatican Museum will be closed.
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Visits To The The Sistine Chapel
With respect for and in view of the sanctity of the location, during the visit to the Sistine Chapel visitors are kindly requested to observe absolute silence.Guided tour groups, although equipped with radio headsets, will receive all the relevant art-historical information prior to their entry in the Sistine Chapel. For this purpose, totem touch screens are available to authorised educational guides to illustrate to visitors what they will subsequently admire in silence.A number of informative panels rich in details on the sacred Chapel and other areas of the Museum are available to individual visitors or tour guides along the exhibition itinerary .
Guided Tours And Group Visits
Visits will be possible in groups made up of a maximum of 10 people . It will be the responsibility of the guide to ensure that interpersonal distance is maintained between the members of the group, and the observance for all the other current rules and regulations.
The Directorate of the Vatican Museums will also organise guided tours entrusted to their own educational workers, again for groups of 10 people. It will be possible to book them through the official ticket office portal at tickets.museivaticani.va.
Visitors are reminded that in this case they are requested to arrive 15 minutes in advance of thetime on the voucher, so as to enable the necessary reception procedures and to guarantee the punctual departure of the tour.
With regard to the guided tours of the archaeological areas, visitors are reminded that the tours of the Excavations of Saint John Lateran are temporality suspended. Instead, visits to the Necropolis of the Via Triumphalis have been organised.
The use of radio-transmitter equipment is not permitted. Therefore, tour guides are reminded to moderate their tone of voice during their explanations, so as not to disturb other visitors.
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Where To Buy Vatican Museum Tickets In Advance
You can buy tickets in advance online. The main reason to buy the tickets online is that you will be able to skip the line of the ticket office. There is still a line for security check, but it cant be avoided and it is much faster.
Buying the ticket online, you will select a time slot and you will just need to show up at the correct time at the entrance of the Vatican Museums.
You can book the tickets online on the official website. During the peak seasons or in specific time slots, the tickets can be sold out. Therefore, there are two options to visit the Vatican Museums:
Visiting The Vatican In Rome
Michelangelo, Renaissance-era art and architecture, the Sistine Chapel, and the eternal seat of Roman Catholicism, are perhaps the best phrases to describe Vatican City. The beating heart of riveting history and culture, Vatican City is a paradise for art lovers around the world. From admiring stunning paintings like Raphaels The School of Athens and Caravaggios The Entombment of Christ to exploring St. Peters Square and the immaculately-maintained Vatican Gardens, theres plenty to soak in during a visit to Vatican City.
Primary landmarks include Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peters Basilica all accessible under a Vatican ticket, allowing you to explore and discover the rich culture and heritage of the worlds smallest country.
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Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel Reservation Tips For Rick Steves Tour Members
Buying Direct: To bypass long ticket lines at the Vatican Museums, make reservations before your tour begins. You can purchase a ticket, which includes both the Museums and the Sistine Chapel, up to 60 days in advance. Book your reservation through the Official Vatican Museums Ticket Office.
When to Visit: If your Rick Steves tour begins or ends in Rome, the best time to visit the Vatican is right before or after your tour. If you would like to visit the Vatican during your tour’s free time, here are the best windows to do so:
- Best of South Italy in 13 Days: Day 2 after 2:00 p.m.
- Family Europe: Amsterdam to Rome in 14 Days: Day 13 between 2:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
- My Way Europe in 14 Days: Any time you like, but note that on Friday evenings the museums tend to be much less crowded .
Note: Tour itinerary specifics are always subject to change, and in rare cases there may be a group activity planned during these times.
Helpful Resources: If you have a mobile device, be sure to download Rick’s self-guided tours of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums, and the Sistine Chapel using the free Rick Steves Audio Europe App.
Skip The Line Vatican Museum Tickets
If you want to skip the line to get into the Vatican Museums, you can pre-purchase tickets.
It’s no longer possible to purchase Vatican Museums tickets on-site. You must pre-book. In 2021, the Vatican Museums have removed the 4 booking price until further notice.
All Vatican Museum tickets purchased in advance, whether through the Vatican website, or through an agency, are skip the line.
Want to explore the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel during off-hours with an official tour guide? And conclude that experience with an Italian-style buffet in the Vatican courtyard?
Pre-purchasing Skip the Line Vatican Museum tickets through the Vatican website
You can pre-purchase Vatican Museum tickets online through the Vatican Museums official website.
There is a 4 booking fee per ticket but trust me, it is so worth it when the lines are snaking around several blocks.
The 4 booking fee has been suspended in 2021 until further notice.
The languages for the Vatican online ticket office are Italian or English.
You will need to first select the kind of ticket you want , then at the next screen you will see the days with availability.
Time slots available on the Vatican website are every half hour, from 8:30am until 3pm.
Whatever time slot you choose, you will have half-hour 15 minutes’ leeway on either side of that time.
So if you book for say, 1 pm, you can show up anytime between 12:45 and 1:15 PM.
The Vatican Museums open at 9am.
The Vatican Museums close at 6:30 pm.
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Where Exactly Is The Vatican Ticket Office
I am in Rome on a last minute trip and have no chance of booking tickets online to the Vatican. However can anyone pinpoint on google where exactly the ticket office is? Can’t seem to find this online.
Also, the office opens at 9am. Is 7.30 too early to be there?
The ticket office is at the entrance to the Vatican Museums. If you go to and search for Vatican Museums, it shows the exact spot.
Since you have access to a computer why not just book the entry tickets online and bypass the lines to get in. You can show the confirmation on your cell phone.
Donna
Thanks Nick, is the road it’s on Viale Vaticano? Just a king because I was shown a different spot on a map.
Donna all bookings online seem to be sold out and require printed vouchers. Do you know and any site which you can purchase online and redeem with a mobile as you say?
Thank you both
The official web site for bookings is
What an idiot! I checked every website barring official site.
Now booked online for today. Couldn’t sleep – worried about tickets. Sorry for spelling!
Edited: 7 years ago
How To Cancel Or Modify Your Vatican Museums Ticket
Can you cancel your Vatican Museums ticket and get a refund?
No. If you pre-book Vatican Museum tickets through the Vatican Museums website, and then need to cancel, there is nothing to do. There are no refunds whatsoever.
If you book a tour with an outside tour company to the Vatican Museums and then need to cancel, contact the agency you booked with to find out their terms and conditions for cancellations.
Can you modify your Vatican Museums ticket?
Yes. Once only.
If you pre-book a ticket to the Vatican Museums through their website, and then need to make a change, visit the Vatican Museums online ticket office.
From the menu at left, you may choose to modify the date and time, and/or the names on the booking. You may do this only once.
If you have booked a Vatican Museums tour through an agency and need to make a change, check with the agency to find out how to make changes through them.
Get your free Rome trip planner!
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What Are The Vatican Museum Opening Hours
Current opening days and times
Monday to Saturday: 09.00 a.m. 06.00 p.m.
Every last Sunday of the month: 09.00 a.m. 02.00 p.m. That excludes Easter Sunday, Sts. Peter and Paul at the end of June, Christmas Day and Feast of St. Stephen on 26th December.
The Museums are closed on a certain number of days per year. In 2019, they are closed on: 1st January, 11th February, 19th March, 22nd April, 1st May, 29th June, 14th and 15th August, 1st November, 25th and 26th December
Visit The Vatican Museums Early In The Morning To Avoid Crowds
This is definitely the most exclusive way to visit the Vatican Museums: you will be able to access the Sistine Chapel before it opens to the general public and enjoy the art without too many tourists around, with an expert guide in a small group.
Duration:
among all the premium tickets you can find for the Vatican, if you have to seriously consider one it is this early entrance with preferential access to the Sistine Chapel. Particularly, I like to enjoy some serenity and calmness in museums and I am not lying if I say that in the Vatican Museums in general and in the Sistine Chapel in particular it was particularly difficult for me.
This option allows you to visit the Sistine Chapel with a smaller capacity and, undoubtedly, that allows you to enjoy it much better.
The difference between seeing this place in a small group, in detail, in silence and without hundreds of flashes around you will definitely mark how you live the experience. This type of ticket guarantees that you will be able to see the Vatican Museums in general and the Sistine Chapel in particular for an hour and a half before the crowds flood the corridors. If you have to indulge yourself on your trip, I advise you to value this one very seriously.
Recommended if… you believe that visiting the Vatican Museums is something you have to do once in a lifetime and you have to do it enjoying it to the fullest, believe me, this is your option.
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Why Take A Tour Of The Vatican Museums And St Peters
There are two main reasons to join a tour of the Vatican experience and convenience.
With over 6 million visitors a year, the Vatican Museums and St Peters are among the most popular attractions in Rome and the world. And rightly so. Their collection of art is mind boggling in scale and value. And the historical importance of the buildings is almost unparalleled.
Unless you are highly educated art historian, there is no way you will know what to look for among all the glitz and walls dripping with priceless paintings. And unfortunately the information provided by the museums is disappointing.
Visit with a guide and they will be able to point out the most important pieces and their symbolism and significance. Not to mention the major events that have taken place between those walls.
You will spend at least 2 3 hours visiting the Vatican no matter how you approach your visit. This is because it takes that amount of time to move through the buildings. That being the case, it makes sense to have an expert guide you through the highlights.
Tours start in the Vatican Museums skipping the long lines for tickets and use a special entrance to St Peters from the Sistine Chapel to avoid the separate lines for the basilica. So if you are not on a tour or have not pre-purchased tickets you will need to line up twice to see both main areas of the Vatican.
Vatican Museums Sistine Chapel And Open Bus Vatican& rome
A tour taking you to some of the highest expressions of universal art, where Beauty and Faith meet in a unique fusion. A landmark absolutely not to be missed when in Rome.
Rome is an open-air museum. Admire it from above aboard our unmistakable yellow Vatican& Rome Open Buses! Comfortably seated and with a multilingual audio guide system, you can look at the Eternal City from another point of view.
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Vatican Museums And Sistine Chapel Guided Tour
The Vatican Museums is the third most visited museum in the world and the second most visited in Europe after the Louvre. In addition, with an exhibition space of 43,000 square metres, these museums are the fifth largest museum in the world and the third largest museum in Europe.
The Sistine Chapel is the Popes official home. It was previously known as the Cappella Magna. In 1477, Pope Sixtus IV ordered the chapel to be reconstructed, and it was afterwards named after him. Famous painters like as Botticelli and Rosselli were commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV to decorate the chapel. The frescoes of the Sistine Chapel are regarded as one of the most important works of art in the world. They underwent one of the most significant conservation restorations of the twentieth century, if not all time, between 1980 and 1994.
- Free WiFi at meeting point
Can The Tickets Be Canceled / Modified
The tickets booked through the official website cannot be refunded for any reason. Instead, the date and time can be modified depending on the availability.
The tickets booked through the online travel agencies have different cancellation policies: some of them offer 100% refund if canceled up to 24 hours before the visit while others do not allow cancellations. Check in detail the conditions written in the description of the product before booking.
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Explore The Vatican At Your Own Pace
Buy your skip the line Vatican ticket and discover the art and history of the Vatican at your own pace. With skip the line access, youll be able to have even more time to look around and explore attractions such as Raphael Rooms, Sistine Chapel, St Peters Basilica, Pinecone Courtyard, and other world famous sites. You do not need to go on a guided tour in order to get the best experience of exploring Vatican City.
Skip The Line Vatican Tours
The Vatican Historical Museum was established in 1973 at Paul VIs request and was initially housed in surroundings beneath Madison Square Garden.The Sistine Chapel, with its ceiling and altar wall decorated by Michelangelo, and the Stanze di Raffaello are on the visitor route through the Vatican Museums.Vatican Museums and Galleries, art collections of the popes since the beginning of the 15th century, housed in the papal palaces and other buildings in the Vatican. The Pio-Clementino Museum was founded in the 18th century by Pope Clement XIV and enlarged by Pope Pius VI.
Each month, several pilgrims, and tourists flock to St Peters Basilica in Rome, making it one of the holiest catholic sanctuaries on the planet. This magnificent basilica, which stands on the site of St Peters tomb, is a must-see for anybody visiting Rome. The story of how Romes St. Peters Cathedral came to be is almost as fascinating as the monument itself. It took almost a century to rebuild the first Basilica after it was demolished, with some of the worlds most renowned architects contributing to the design. For anybody visiting Rome, St Peters Basilica is a must-see destination.
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