Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel Tickets Rome

The Vatican Museums: a walk through art and history

The Vatican Museums grew from the private collection of Pope Julius II in the early sixteenth century and now fill a long sequence of galleries, courtyards and palaces. You can follow the route through classical sculpture, Etruscan and Egyptian antiquities, tapestries, maps and Renaissance painting, ending at the Sistine Chapel.

If you are searching for Vatican Museums tickets or how to get to the Vatican Museums, the visitor entrance is on Viale Vaticano, along the Vatican wall, a short walk from Ottaviano and Cipro metro stations. Vatican Museums opening hours change by season and the museums are normally closed on Sundays and on major Church holidays, so check your date in the booking panel.

The Raphael Rooms and the Gallery of Maps

In the Raphael Rooms, four state rooms decorated by Raphael and his workshop in the early sixteenth century, you will find The School of Athens, one of the great images of the Renaissance, with philosophers gathered beneath a grand arch. The colours and the composition reward a slow look.

The Gallery of Maps is a long corridor whose walls are covered with painted maps of Italy made in the 1580s, beneath a richly decorated ceiling. Along the way you also pass the Pio-Clementino Museum with the Laocoon group, the Belvedere Torso and the Gregorian Egyptian Museum, whose mummies and sarcophagi are of special interest to visitors from Egypt and the wider region.

The Sistine Chapel: Michelangelo's ceiling and The Last Judgment

The Sistine Chapel is the final highlight. Between 1508 and 1512 Michelangelo painted the ceiling for Pope Julius II, with scenes from Genesis, including the famous Creation of Adam. Later, between 1536 and 1541, he painted The Last Judgment on the altar wall.

Silence is requested and photography is not allowed, so take time to look up and let your eyes adjust. Many visitors ask whether the Sistine Chapel is worth the crowds and whether they should buy tickets in advance; yes, because timed entry saves hours and the chapel is the reason most people come. The best time to visit the Vatican Museums is early morning or late afternoon.

Planning your visit: time, dress code and St Peter's

Allow at least two to three hours, longer if you like to linger. Your ticket is valid for the date and time slot you choose, and you should arrive in your slot, since entry outside it is not possible. All visitors pass through an airport-style security check, which can take some time in high season.

Shoulders and knees must be covered, so shorts, short skirts and sleeveless tops are not allowed. Children need a valid ID to prove their age. Entry to St Peter's Basilica and the dome is not part of this ticket, but the basilica is a short walk away and makes a natural next stop on the same day.