By- Chris

The Vatican Museums can be a daunting and overwhelming experience so it is necessary to prepare both mentally and physically to get the most out of your visit.  Here are 15 tips to help you squeeze out every possible drop of enjoyment.

1. The Vatican Museums do not accept credit cards AT THE TICKET OFFICE  so have cash ready. Pay online for a 4€ extra per ticket fee but make sure to read everything carefully.  They say that the benefit of booking online will help you skip the line but that depends when you will be visiting because often there is no line, more about that below. €14 and €8 for students.
2. The Vatican Museums contains the Sistine Chapel so to get to Michelangelo’s masterpiece one must first navigate through about close to a mile of museum. In my experience people have only wanted to see The Sistine Chapel without seeing the Vatican Museums, this is not possible.
3. You will be hit up for “guided tours” by kids hustling tourists saying things like “skip the lines”. I recommend skipping them. I am not a big fan of this system because when I was recently there (granted it was Feb of ‘09 and very slow) I was told by these touts that the line was 2 hours when there was no line at all.  In 2008, from my discussions with tour guides visiting the Vatican scores of times, lines were not the same issue as they have been in the past because of the extended hours.  Furthermore, nobody I have ever talked with has experienced a 2 hour wait in the Vatican Museum line.
4. Pack a snack and water. Food and water are not readily available in the museums so I recommend having some food ready to nibble on to keep your strength up.  I am not suggesting that you chow down while taking in the Raphael Rooms or under the Sistine but there are a couple of outdoor venues that would be appropriate.  And being discrete about taking a couple of bits won’t hurt anyone.
5. Be prepared for some confusion. Understandably for most people the main point of going to the Vatican Museums is to see the Sistine Chapel but be forewarned that these museums are basically one way so once you see the Sistine it is pretty difficult if not impossible to backtrack.  Make the decision before hand if you want to see the Raphael Rooms, because if you do don’t take the short-cut to the Chapel.
6. What is this short-cut? After the Hall of Maps there will be a second set of tapestries (huge wall hangings).  From there follow the signs to The Sistine Chapel by either going straight or by looping through the room with the huge oil painting called Hall of Sobieski and or the Hall of the Immaculate Conception (you will notice a huge gold plated case enclosing a number of books).  They use this area as a kind of spicket to control crowds so it can be confusing but what you will be looking for is signs that only say “Sistine Chapel” with no other options.
7. Use the restroom directly when you enter into the museums. After you make the line and arrive in the entrance hall (actually before purchasing tickets) use that restroom.  There are a few others throughout the museums but for the most part the one in the main entrance is the best and most convenient.
8. Do not waste a minute looking for Raphael’s famous little cherubs because they are not there. I have no idea why these cute little angles show up on postcards in Rome and Florence because they are in Germany.
9. Take some time to explore the Pinacoteca. The trick is that when coming up the escalators to veer to the right rather than taking an immediate left that leads to the garden of the Pine Cone.  There you will find a nice, usually not crowded, picture gallery with works by Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci and Caravaggio.  Plus, there is one of the few reproductions of Michelangelo’s Piéta that was made from the cast used to repair the original after the 1972 attack which is why the original is behind glass.
10. Do your best to avoid Saturday’s and Mondays, unless there is a free Sunday. Remember that the Vatican Museums are free the last Sunday of the month which takes some of the pressure off adjacent days that as a rule a pretty busy.  My pick of the best days to visit the museums are Tuesday to Friday, with Tuesday and Thursday afternoons being the least crowded days.  Generally afternoons after 12:00 will generally be much less crowded than mornings, except for Saturdays and free Sundays. Crowds in the Vatican Museums are not just about the wait in line, they are also about a lot of confused people in relatively tight hall ways taking pictures and constantly bumping into one another.  However, as I have stated the lines and crowds have significantly diminished since the Vatican extended the museum hours in 2008.  I have even heard that sometimes the line to pick-up reserved tickets is longer than the non-reserved line.
11. If you rent headsets then you cannot take the opportunity to exit to St. Peter’s from the Sistine Chapel. Headsets must be returned at the end of the museums.  An old trick used to be to exit directly from the Sistine which neatly leads to St. Peter’s saving a cool 45 minutes and almost mile walk if you are planning on visiting the Basilica afterward (remember the dress code).  You can still do this (with you back to the alter you will see an exit at the back of the Chapel on the right) but if you have rented a headset you have to go through the rest of the museums to get your I.D. and turn in you set.  Just know this going in.
12. The Vatican has a website: www.vatican.va which you should check prior to traveling to insure that the museums will be open.  Remember that the Vatican works on Catholic holidays so it is possible that everything in Rome will be as normal with the museums closed.
13. Pack light and leave your knives at home.  The Vatican (both the museums and the Basilica) have airport style security systems complete with x-rays.  Frequently Swiss Army knives are confiscated.
14. Remember the dress code. The dress code for the museums and St. Peter’s Basilica are not the same in that men can wear shorts and women do not necessarily have to keep their shoulders covered.  However, if you are planning on visiting the Basilica on the same day, as many people do, remember that there is a dress code and have the necessary clothes.
15. Pictures are allowed in most places but not in the Sistine Chapel. Don’t leave your camera at home.  Taking pictures is permitted in most places in the museum, howbeit usually without flash.  Pictures are not allowed whatsoever in the Sistine.

Remember: Vatican Museums' ticket windows do not accept credit cards

Having been to the Vatican Museums close to 1000 times I am sure that by taking these simple tips into account that your time there will be much more enjoyable.  Remember to click through on this photo to visit our flickr group to get more tips accompanied with pictures.

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