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Comments (5)
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Save/ShareIf you've ever braved the lengthy lines to enter the Vatican Museums, you will be disappointed to hear that thanks to newly reduced hours, the wait to get to the ticket booth has grown even longer.
Until last month, the ticket booth for the Vatican Museums opened at 8:45 A.M., meaning early-birds were often in line well before 7 A.M. Those who were part of an organized tour or with reservations could skirt the line and waltz in through a separate entrance.
Now, those who are not part of a group or who do not hold a reservation have to wait until 10 A.M. And, to make matters worse, the ticket booth now closes at 12:30 A.M. in low-season and 3:30 P.M. in high-season--over an hour earlier than in the past. By compressing the time to get in and visit via the stand-and-wait method, the Vatican Museums hope to "train the tourists" to use its newly revamped reservation system, which requires an advance purchase that's at least one business-day in advance and a written request that's faxed directly to the Vatican Museums. (For instructions, see the Vatican Museums website by clicking here.) Less patient travelers can try one of Rome's many booking agents, who slap on hefty fees for the booking service.
It's all part of a play by museum officials to phase in reservation-only entrance by January 2008. This reservations-system will be good for budget-conscious travelers in the long run, however, because it will also serve to control the flow within the museum, meaning visitors will get to view the artworks and chapels in a less-chaotic manner. Unfortunately, to make up for lost revenue due to the reduced number of visitors, the entrance ticket has increased to $18 (or 13 euro).
--Barbie Latza Nadeau, a Rome-based reporter for Newsweek for the past decade as well as a contributor to BudgetTravel.com.
CORRECTION 3/10/2007, 3pm ET: This post initially linked to stories by Barbie Nadeau, which are no longer available on the Newsweek website. We regret the confusion.
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Not anymore. Now the museums remain open much later. New director just instated. He has hired loads of temps to help with guard duties to help keep the museums opened longer. Till 6 pm on most days. Almost everything in the museum is now open to the public as well. The 3rd 4th century Hebrew sarcophagus inscriptions are one example.
Posted By j Stanton Good on January 14, 2008, 6:31 PM
I was looking forward to tracking down these websites, unfortunately, I could find nothing about buying tickets in advance on the Vatican website. I also could not get the information about Nadeau's pick of resturants (that could have been a problem of Newsweek).
Posted By Carol Mazur on March 10, 2008, 2:36 PM
Hi, Thanks for your comment. The Vatican Museums website is not easy to navigate. Go here:
http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html
Then click on "Info Museums." Then click "Visitor Services." Then click "Guided tours." You can reserve your guided tour online. This allows you to skip the long lines wrapping around the outside of the building, and go for a shorter line. If you're traveling between May and August, however, your chances of successfully getting a reservation are slim to none. Last November, I used SelectItaly.com for a tour of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel (but *not* St. Paul's) for about $75 per person. It was good to be able to skip the long lines and see things up close in a group of 20, but our particular tour guide wasn't all that knowldgable. The more you pay, the better the guide. Look at TripAdvisor for reviews. Other tips: Remember that St Peter's basilica and the Vatican Museums (which contain the Sistine Chapel) are two different attractions, and your tour may only cover one or the other. Read the fine print! If you want to take your chances with standing in line, try going to the museums round about noon on Wednesday when lots of people are at the pope's audience in St Peter's square: the wait tends to be much shorter, according to the author of the TimeOut Rome guidebook, Anne Hanley.
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