Vatican Museums

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Viale Vaticano, Rome, Italy 001650039 06 69884676

Description: Vatican City is an independent state, therefore, it's a different country. You're not in Italy anymore when you cross the borders but you can visit St. Peter's Square, Basilica and the Vatican Museums easily. If you go anywhere else, though, you will have to go through passport and border control. The official State is less than 100 years old, established in 1929 but the Catholic Popes have been in residence here mostly since the early centuries of Christianity thought it's not the only place in Rome where they lived. There was also a period where the Popes lived in Avignon, France.

The museums are a series of museums that exist to contain the collections of the Popes. They were founded by Pope Julius II in the 16th century. Currently there are 54 galleries and 17 km of corridors. It's a place you could spend all day browsing. You can buy the tickets and wander on your own, get an audio guide, or you can book a formal tour. The formal tours will basically take you from the entrance, down through one hallway of galleries to the Sistine Chapel and back to the entrance again. You can stay on and see the rest on your own. Entrance fees for an adult are currently 15 euro.

We booked a 2-3 hour tour because we didn't feel up to spending all day there.

Up a staircase from the entrance hall you can go out into the courtyard of the Acorn and yes, there's a large sculpture of an acorn on one side. (The bronze acorn used to be near the Pantheon, they think and think it was moved here to the courtyard in the early 1600s) In the middle is a large brass sphere sculpted by Arnaldo Pomodoro in 1990. Our guide was very good and spoke to us at length out in the courtyard of the Acorn that is set up with storyboards for the Sistine chapel. The guides use these to point out the highlights because you can't talk or make noise in the chapel itself. The guides take you down there, give you about 20 minutes to look around and up and then you move on. The chapel is guarded as well with eyes open for people taking sneaky photos as that's not allowed either. You can take photos in the rest of the museums without a flash.

The Sistine Chapel was built in the end of the 15th century for Pope Sixtus (thus, "Sistine"). While it is famous now for being the location that the Enclave of cardinals goes to elect new Popes, it wasn't always used for that. Sometimes, yes, but often it was in any location where the Pope happened to be when he died. In the last hundred or so years, though, it's always done here.

And yes, even though I wasn't supposed to, I took stealth photos in the Sistine Chapel without a flash. It's dim in there but with a little photoshop adjustment, they've brightened up well.

By the end of the tour we were very tired and staggered around to St. Peter's to have a quick look inside. Also worth visiting but by the time the Vatican tour was over we only had about 20 minutes left to see it. Close

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Vatican museums - double spiral staircase Photo - Vatican Museums, Rome, Italy

User Reviews

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That Chapel

by tvordj

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

November 26, 2012

Best of IgoUgo Vatican City is an independent state, therefore, it's a different country. You're not in Italy anymore when you cross the borders but you can visit St. Peter's Square, Basilica and the Vatican Museums easily. If you go anywhere else, though, you ...Read more Vatican City is an independent state, therefore, it's a different country. You're not in Italy anymore when you cross the borders but you can visit St. Peter's Square, Basilica and the Vatican Museums easily. If you go anywhere else, though, you will have to go through passport and border control. The official State is less than 100 years old, established in 1929 but the Catholic Popes have been in residence here mostly since the early centuries of Christianity thought it's not the only place in Rome where they lived. There was also a period where the Popes lived in Avignon, France.

The museums are a series of museums that exist to contain the collections of the Popes. They were founded by Pope Julius II in the 16th century. Currently there are 54 galleries and 17 km of corridors. It's a place you could spend all day browsing. You can buy the tickets and wander on your own, get an audio guide, or you can book a formal tour. The formal tours will basically take you from the entrance, down through one hallway of galleries to the Sistine Chapel and back to the entrance again. You can stay on and see the rest on your own. Entrance fees for an adult are currently 15 euro.

We booked a 2-3 hour tour because we didn't feel up to spending all day there.

Up a staircase from the entrance hall you can go out into the courtyard of the Acorn and yes, there's a large sculpture of an acorn on one side. (The bronze acorn used to be near the Pantheon, they think and think it was moved here to the courtyard in the early 1600s) In the middle is a large brass sphere sculpted by Arnaldo Pomodoro in 1990. Our guide was very good and spoke to us at length out in the courtyard of the Acorn that is set up with storyboards for the Sistine chapel. The guides use these to point out the highlights because you can't talk or make noise in the chapel itself. The guides take you down there, give you about 20 minutes to look around and up and then you move on. The chapel is guarded as well with eyes open for people taking sneaky photos as that's not allowed either. You can take photos in the rest of the museums without a flash.

The Sistine Chapel was built in the end of the 15th century for Pope Sixtus (thus, "Sistine"). While it is famous now for being the location that the Enclave of cardinals goes to elect new Popes, it wasn't always used for that. Sometimes, yes, but often it was in any location where the Pope happened to be when he died. In the last hundred or so years, though, it's always done here.

And yes, even though I wasn't supposed to, I took stealth photos in the Sistine Chapel without a flash. It's dim in there but with a little photoshop adjustment, they've brightened up well.

By the end of the tour we were very tired and staggered around to St. Peter's to have a quick look inside. Also worth visiting but by the time the Vatican tour was over we only had about 20 minutes left to see it. Close

From journal Visiting Italy: Roma

Worth every penny

by Red Mezz

Inverness, Scotland, United Kingdom

January 9, 2012

Best of IgoUgo You may hear that Rome is an expensive city to visit - and like most things you hear about travelling to foreign lands - this is both true in some respects, and pointedly not in others. Flights tend to be cheap - whilst hotels are very expensive. ...Read more You may hear that Rome is an expensive city to visit - and like most things you hear about travelling to foreign lands - this is both true in some respects, and pointedly not in others. Flights tend to be cheap - whilst hotels are very expensive. Food is extremely cheap - while tourist attractions are very pricy indeed. In many ways - this is a nice dichotomy as it gives you complete control over what kind of Roman trip you have - and how much you have to spend to have a good time. If strolling and looking at the buildings, enjoying local food and wine is what you want - you can have yourself a very cost efficient trip that you will come home raving about. However - if seeing all the top tourist sites is your main aim - it may work out a little more expensive than otherwise.

Still - no matter what your thinking or your budged about a visit to Rome and Vatican City - you can hardly go without taking in at least some of the big historical sites - even if it does mean dealing with crowds and paying the tourist price. My advice would be to be selective in your choices. Even if you are very happy to spend the money - I fear you will leave Rome feeling it was a somewhat hectic experience, and not really enjoy all it had to offer it you spend the whole time seeing these 'must sees.'

However, there are a few that really should not be missed, and in a visit to Vatican City - I put the Vatican Museum at the top of that list. I - traditionally - have had a bit of a love-hate relationships with museums. In theory I love them - I like the idea of visiting something so intrinsic and unique to a city (a city's museum is an indelible stamp of its culture and though you may visit a thousand museums, you will always be able to look back and remember them linked to the feel and pace of the city in which they sat). And there are museums that are as much a part of the city as the city is itself. My trips are usually dictated at least somewhat by their cost - and so there have been times when I turned down a visit to one of these intrinsic museum experiences (such as the Louvre in Paris) which I have always regretted. I don't know what I ended up doing with the 15 odd euros I didn't spend to go to the Louvre - but I suspect it wasn't worth it.

And yet - at the same time, I love wandering the streets - soaking up the atmosphere and finding the out of the way places that people don't tell you about in guide books. I like sitting and watching, and enjoying - finding that great little cafe you remember for years afterwards, and think back on fondly. And museums, for all that they do offer - also fall victim to a sense of similarity. You go in - it's quite and cool and dark and you wander along looking at art - generally only a few of which really speak to you. In my experience, I have often found myself wanting to be exploring more widely - and in short trips museums do often get cut out. And then there are of course the experiences where you wish you had spent your money elsewhere (like the Picasso museum in Barcelona) where the staff are hostile and the works of art lose something immensely from the atmosphere.

There are two sides to the coin in the Vatican museum. The first is - it's astonishing. From start to finish it is awe inspiring and left me feeling that it was probably the best museum in the world. Certainly the best I had ever been to. There is So much to take in you can hardly manage it in a whole day - and if you can afford it or have the time I would highly recommend you plan more than one visit so that you can relish it. Otherwise you will reach the end and though it only increases in its impressiveness - you will be utterly topped up on appreciating it, and will find yourself just hurrying through.

The problem is that it is very crowded. Crowded like nothing I have experienced in a museum before - and the closer you get to the Sistine Chapel - the worse it gets. By the end you will be being pushed from room to room, which is not pleasant - and the temperature increases as do the crowds, and it can be quite an exhausting experience. The other issue is that it is also pricy. When I visited it was 16 euros for entry (though you get an excellent discount if you are a student!) which on a normal trip for me is no small amount. However - I never for a moment regretted spending that, and was only saddened I didn't have more time and more money to go back and take in the second half of it one more time.

Go as early as you can - as the day builds so do the crowds. Perhaps the most taxing thing about a visit to the Vatican museum is the profound line which stretches all along the city wall for blocks and blocks to get in. Get there as early as you can to beat it - and bring water. There are people selling bottles of water as you walk along, and it's not as pricy as you would thing (1 euro) but you will get thirsty. We lingered a little longer than we should have over our cappuccino and pastry before going and got in line around 10 pm, so were in for quite a wait. I didn't find it, too bad - sometimes you just know you have to stand in a long line, and you just get on with it. But unless you are there very very early - expect to wait approximately an hour - and more if you get there near mid day.

And be very wary of pickpockets especially while in line. Despite the fact that there are cameras everywhere and this is a place where you do go through metal detectors - we still spotted several groups of young men who looked like they were doing anything but sightseeing - and were standing far too close to groups of tourists than they really should have.
You will be very pleased to know that you can take photos in most of the museum (don't leave your camera behind - it's an amazing place!) but you must not do so at the Sistine Chapel - which is fair enough - it is a chapel.

The summation of my review of the Vatican Museum is - it's glorious. Be sure to go if you are in Rome - it's worth both the time and the money you will spend to see it!
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From journal Only the smallest in size...

Vatican Museums "Under the Stars" - A Unique Experience

by JEFF NUNES

Cambridge, Massachusetts

November 16, 2011

Best of IgoUgo On a visit to Rome this October, I was fortunate to be able to take advantage of what is titled Vatican Museums "Under the Stars". I booked my "Under the Stars" reservations online about a month prior to my departure from the U.S. paying the 19 ...Read more

Nowhere Else to See

by Zhebiton

Moscow, Moskva, Russia

July 20, 2010

Best of IgoUgo There can be passed easily by buying a ticket, but it is the only place in the "state", where allowed. Neither the famous gardens of the Vatican, or courtyards to see fail. Moreover, the museums were open windows overlooking the gardens, and through ...Read more There can be passed easily by buying a ticket, but it is the only place in the "state", where allowed. Neither the famous gardens of the Vatican, or courtyards to see fail. Moreover, the museums were open windows overlooking the gardens, and through them I tried to make a couple of frames, what has caused a storm of indignation in the ranks of! It is a pity, because it's really nice. In museums, these are, in principle, not a sin if possible a couple of days - like exhibits nowhere else to see!

Paintings, sculptures, tapestries for centuries were going to the pontiff and was stored in the buildings of the Vatican (the library has some incredible number of volumes, but the entrance there is closed to mere mortals). Unfortunately, the time to check all this beauty we have not had, so we rushed, of course, the pearl of the Vatican - Sistine Chapel, the venue of the Papal Conclave.

By the way, shortly before departure, on the advice of friends, I read a very good book of Irving Stone's «The Agony and the Ecstasy» of Michelangelo. All it is recommended, especially before a trip to Rome!

According to legend, originally was supposed to paint the chapel Raphael, but he wanted to annoy and substitute Michelangelo (who was at that time more recognized as a sculptor than a painter), paintings gave him. What happened in the end, the whole world knows. Capella with floor to ceiling is covered with spectacular paintings on biblical themes, particularly for the famous painting "The Last Judgement" in the end. Tragically, there can not be photographed for this carefully watched. Moreover, in the chapel asking for a long time not to be, because the crowd builds up quickly, and the room becomes crowded.

After the chapel until the evening walk to museums - the halls with statues of Etruscan civilization, from ancient times statues of Roman emperors, Renaissance paintings, etc. And still we do not have enough time - museums closed at 18.00, we passed well, if a quarter of the exhibition ! But most importantly, able to visit the Belvedere and see two world-famous sculptures - "Laocoon" and "Apollo Belvedere". Close

From journal Rome is the 3rd Most Visited City in the EU

So Much Art We Needed a Guide

by artslover

Calgary, Alberta

March 4, 2010

Best of IgoUgo The Vatican Museums are so vast and so stuffed with art, both great and terrible, it is hard to get value out of a visit by wandering pointlessly and unfortunately, there are no helpful written signs by the multitude of works. You can buy an audio ...Read more The Vatican Museums are so vast and so stuffed with art, both great and terrible, it is hard to get value out of a visit by wandering pointlessly and unfortunately, there are no helpful written signs by the multitude of works. You can buy an audio guide, but we have found that a personally guided tour helps to tailor the visit to our interests and also provides an opportunity to interact with a knowledgeable local. We had really enjoyed the Context Rome tour of the Vatican Museums before but were unable to book with them this time. Instead, we booked with the Institute of Design and Culture and were given a tour by one of IDC’s founders, Dr. Laura Fusche.

IDC describes their tours as courses. The Vatican Museums course is called Saints, Sinners and Superstars and begins with a discussion of the Renaissance: what was it? when did it take place? what factors provoked the changes in thinking and seeing that we call the Renaissance? This provides the background for the story of the great artworks produced in this era. The focus is on the art patron, Pope Julius II, a formidable Renaissance power broker who hired Raphael to paint his private apartments and Michelangelo to embellish the Sistine Chapel. This provided the theme as we looked at the ancient art Pope Julius II collected and the "modern" paintings he commissioned. We visited the main highlights in the Vatican museums, the sculpture court with famous ancient Roman statues including the Apollo Belvedere and the Laocoon, the long hallways with more ancient art, the Raphael rooms and of course, the Sistine Chapel. Along the way, Laura pointed out the innovative ways in which this pope used the visual arts to convey important messages about Rome, his papacy, and the power of the Church. We finished our trip by a visit to the Pinoteca, the painting gallery.

Our course lasted all afternoon and we learned an amazing amount even though this was my second visit. If you want something in depth, this is a wonderful tour, more like a crash university art history course. The cost is by the course, not the number of people; approximately $250 for a 2 hour course, $450 for a half day course; more for custom courses. For other tours and more information, check the website: www.idcrome.org. Close

From journal Eternally in Love with Rome's Art, Food and Wine

A Stunning Way to Spend the Day

by morph!

Belfast, United Kingdom

March 24, 2009

Best of IgoUgo Rome wet and rainy? While the Sistine Chapel is the reason most people come here, the museums actually stretch for miles, with valuables from all over the earth congregated in one building: the perfect way to spend a rainy day!You pay in to the ...Read more

From journal Rome - THE Cultural Capital

A Museum of Great Art

by Praskipark

Warsaw, Poland

January 20, 2009

This was one of the main attractions I wanted to visit but again this was difficult to navigate because of the crowd situation. Raphael's rooms or now known as the Stanza della Segnatura. It comprises of four rooms which were originally the ...Read more

From journal A Tour of the Holy City and Museums

A Room Filled with Ancient Maps

by Praskipark

Warsaw, Poland

January 20, 2009

Moving on to the Gallery of Maps I found this room fascinating. Both my husband and I adore maps and still would rather use a map than any Sat Nav. This gallery is named after the top 40 topographical maps of Italy. Each map is important as it ...Read more

From journal A Tour of the Holy City and Museums

The Vatican Museum is Unbelievably Awesome

by Sask99

Melville, Saskatchewan

July 10, 2008

Best of IgoUgo The Vatican Museum houses a large collection of artwork. Large is an understatement. There is no way to see everything. I recommend reading about the museum before you go to decide if there is anything you are especially interested in ...Read more

From journal An Awesome Week in Rome

Vatican Museum

by fionademp

London, United Kingdom

June 6, 2008

Best of IgoUgo The Vatican The Vatican is an absolute must when in Rome. Even if you’re not into museums, religion or history it is worth visiting. Make sure you plan your trip as the museums have strict opening times and the first time we tried to visit they were ...Read more The Vatican

The Vatican is an absolute must when in Rome. Even if you’re not into museums, religion or history it is worth visiting.

Make sure you plan your trip as the museums have strict opening times and the first time we tried to visit they were closed. It is always closed on Sundays and normally closes around 1pm. Check before visiting though. Entrance is 14 euros. The queues for the museum are really long, stretching right back to St. Peters so plan to queue for some time. We queued for over an hour. We spent about 2 hours in the museum so I’d advise going early, visiting the museums, stopping for lunch, then visiting St. Peters.

The museum is split into several different sections. There are lots of ways round but generally you tend to have to move with the crowd. It gets really busy in some areas, particularly the Sistine Chapel.

The Sistine Chapel is amazing and somewhere you could quite easily sit for hours were it not so busy. There is a silence policy in the chapel but this is not fully abided to and the huge number of people inside the chapel does ruin it slightly. I would recommend taking a decent guidebook that covers the museums in detail, as you cannot get close enough in the chapel to see the annotations on the paintings. Whilst everyone tends to flock here and it is definitely worth visiting there are so many areas to visit that you shouldn’t get caught up in just heading here.

The Raphael rooms are also very popular and have some magnificent work. There are 4 rooms, which mark different periods. My favourite was the room of Segnatura, particularly the painting School of Athens.

The Pinacoteca area is an art gallery. Added in 1932 in contains a huge number of paintings and artefacts. It contains works by major artists such as Caravaggio.

The Ethnological missionary museum focuses Asia, Africa, Oceania and America. These are then split into countries. It contains a mixture of paintings and artefacts.

The Gregorian Etruscan Museum contains objects gathered from a range of periods including jewellery and vases.

The Gregorian Egyptian Museum is, as you would expect, an exhibition of ancient Egypt.

There are also a number of other areas. Like I said there is something to appeal to everyone and whilst I can admire the beauty of the art and the history of artefacts my favourite room was the hall of maps in the upper gallery.

Make sure you look up. Some of the best bits are on the ceiling so don’t miss them.
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