Vatican Museums - Musei Vaticani, Prati, Rome

The Sistene Chapel is one of the most wonderous places on earth. To see the masterpieces painted by Michangelo is awe inspiring.

I had an odd experience there though; the security is constantly telling people to be quiet as this is a holy place – it’s a shame that more people were not respectful of the Chapel. One woman actually was very loud and boisterous, and I think the guards should have thrown her out.

This is one thing you do not want to miss while vacationing in Rome. Yes, it’s crowded, but it’s worth the wait!

First things first - get your reservation done online, unless you enjoy queuing up for hours (literally). Once in there is so much to see, including statues, paintings, tapestries. You'll take plenty of photos and you'll find yourself staring up and clicking away whilst guards shout "NO PHOTOS" in the Sistine chapel. Another must-see for your Rome trip.

a wonderful place to see all the treasures, also the sistine chapel looking up at the ceiling and all around the painting are beautiful.

A definate must-see. Avoid huge line ups by buying your ticket from the vendors outside. The guide is recommended as there's just so much information. The sistine chapel was incredible. The whole museum takes about 45mins to walk through without stopping. Also, we all enjoyed being able to send mail from the vatican post office!

Plan at least half a day and take guided tour. We took a guided tour which I would recommend as there is so much to see you & need explanation.
Highlight is most certainly the sistine chapel & it is awesome.

just long waiting, a couple of interesting things to see, but you can live without it :-)

If you go to Rome you must not miss a visit to the vatican museum.If you are on a budget forget the tours, just make your own way there via the metro,and once inside you can purchase hand held commentary consoles in most lanquages for little cost.The highlight is most certainly the sistine chapel it is awesome,with unbelieveable art on the walls and ceilings.

A fantastic place you musn’t miss when visiting Rome. There is an amazing range of art including the building themselves, sculptures, busts, paintings, nero’s bath and of course the Sistine Chapel. We took a guided tour which I would recommend as there is so much to see you would never get to lift your head out of a guide book otherwise and I think it is likely you would miss things. There are plenty of tours to choose from and if you are near the Basilica or the Museum you will be approached several times. I would suggest an early start or you will be stuck in a queue for ages.

This place is truely amazing! There’s so much to see when you go. I went in November and didn’t have to queue at all.. i was amazed after reading all the other reviews that say expect a long wait to get in. I would suggest wearing a comfortable pair of shoes as you do lots and lots of walking. Also make lots of time so you can truely admire what there is to see. Some parts aren’t good for those who don’t like heights!

we didn’t join a guided tour as with children we thought they might get a bit bored, and we enjoyed wandering around. I found the vast wealth and treasures a little disconcerting and perhaps not in the best taste considering the amount of poverty in the world - but that’s just my view. The history of the building was fascinating. Don’t forget to post a postcard from the Vatican post office. We went in January and the queue wasn’t too bad. Watching the Pope give his address and watching the crowd was amazing too. I too was disappointed by the sistine chapel, noisy, crowded - claustrophobic I just wanted to leave

Surprisingly there was not that much queue when we visited about 10 am in a Saturday. The amount of history and art in this museum is overwhelming to the point that you get a bit anxiety about not seeing all properly. Walking through all the rooms in the museum took us about 3.5 hours. The audio guide was extremely useful.

There are some magnificient statues, like The Laocoon Group and the Hermes Belvedere as well as a huge collection of contemporary christian art (Dali, Van Gogh, Picasso, Gaugain, etc.). The halls with the gobelines and maps we had to rush through but the Raphael Rooms had us transfixed.

The sargophagus of Imhotep in the Egyptian wing (yes, THAT Imhotep) was a nice bonus and the Bronze sphere by Arnaldo Pomodoro at the courtyard was brilliant.

The Sixtine Chapel at the end of the tour was a bit of a disappointment, being full of noisy tourists and Italian guards shouting “no photos!” to them. The tourists did not listen but flashlights kept flashing, which resulted in more shouting.

All-in-all a very worthwile experience.

This has to be my most favourite museum in the world, you can’t go anywhere without some visual delight to feast your senses upon.
The first time I ever visited there I felt giddy afterwards from so much beauty. It’s difficult to take it all in.
Even the non-religious would find it difficult not to be inspired and in awe of some of the magnificent pieces stored here. Many many greats and much more grace the opulent rooms, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
A must for anyone travelling to Rome, it’ll truly lift the spirit!

I was in awe of this place when i visited here, such an impressive & massive building. It is a very interesting place to visit.

lovely place to visit-you need at least half a day there.A word of warning to those on holiday-make sure you are covered up enough or they will not let you in,some of the boys i went with had to wait outside , one because his shorts werent long enough!!!

Q was long but moved quickly as we shuffled along the outer wall of the Vatican. Once inside, it’s a bit tricky to work out where you want to go given the endless possibilities and potential to spend an entire day rooting around there. If timing is thin, head right to the Pinacoteca to see some of the most famous pieces of art - including a copy of Michelangelo’s Pieta (found in St Peter’s Basilica).

Trot on through the Raphael room and all the rest (including some oddly thrown in Salvador Dali) before winding your weary way to the Sistine Chapel - the holy grail for most. You can’t take photos but I did - I like to live on the edge - haha.

If you do the museums first there’s actually a little door to the right after the Sistine chapel that opens out right next to St Peter’s Basilica so I’d recomend doing it in that order.

The Vatican's gallery after gallery collection of fine art, sculptures, ceramics and tapestries confirms this is one of the world's wealthiest institutions. There is far too much to take in in a single visit, yet the queues put you off hurrying back. We spent over 2 hours queueing in 35 deg temperatures, and had arrived well before the 10am opening. The Sistine Chapel is amazing; although the current bright coloured figures may not have been how the artist actually intended them to be seen - the layers of varnish and glue provided a depth that is now missing. The food however was a real disappointment, and to serve coffee in disposable plastic cups is sacrilege.

Vast museum housing unbelievable treasures - sculptures, paintings etc etc. My highlight was the Sistine Chapel (which is at the end).

We joined a guided tour which was definitely worthwhile as there's so much to take in it was nice to have some guidance - you certainly couldn't see everything there in a day. You can join tours just by hanging round outside - you'll be approached by touts. Our tour guide, Mike, was really knowledgable - but don't believe them when they say you can skip the queues!

Get there VERY early - the queues are HUGE.