The Best Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel Tickets

Any visit to Rome needs a stop at the Vatican to be complete, and one of the popular places for tourists is the Vatican Museums. You can get Vatican Tickets for the chance to explore some of the biggest collections of art. The famous Sistine Chapel and the St. Peter’s Basilica are on your path to the museums if you want more of Rome. How much you get to see depends on the Vatican Museum Tickets you buy. Visitors have a number of guided tour options that promise enriching experiences. This guide looks at a few Vatican Tickets and why you should get one.

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Recommended Tickets and Tours for the Museum and the Chapel and More

Skip-the-line tickets are favorites for people visiting the Vatican because they are hassle-free. You get to bypass the long queues at the entrance of the museums. Visitors have different kinds of fast-track tickets to suit varying requirements. You can get combination tickets if you want to see the museums at the Vatican and the Sistine of the Basilica. Some tickets have the option of visiting all three. The available ticket alternatives make sure that tourists with varying budgets find something suitable. Here are several popular Vatican Tickets.

Skip-the-Line Ticket: Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
- From 31 €, Duration: 3 hours
- Skip-the-line ticket with fast entry to the Vatican Museums
- Access to the Sistine Chapel
- Including audio guide
With this ticket you get convenient and fast access to the Vatican Museum through GetYourGuide's own entrance. An audio guide will provide you with exciting insights into the history of the Vatican as well as the world famous sculptures and artworks. With this ticket you also get a 20% in the Vatican Museum Shop.
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Guided Tour: Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica
- From 78 €, Duration: 2.5–3 hours
- Entrance to the Vatican Museums
- Admission to the Sistine Chapel
- Entrance to St Peter's Basilica
- Tour guide and headphones
This ticket gives you access to the three most popular Vatican attractions: the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica! Ticket holders enjoy priority entry to all attractions. If you plan a morning tour, the ticket also gives you access to the world-famous Raphael Rooms. In a small group (max. 35 people), your guide will lead you through the museums. He will show you the papal treasures and take you to the famous sculptures and masterpieces of the Renaissance. Please note that the ticket only includes access to St. Peter's Basilica, but not to the dome.
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Early Admission: Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica
- From 106,96 €, Duration: 3–3.5 hours
- Entrance to the Vatican Museums
- Admission to the Sistine Chapel
- Entrance to St. Peter's Basilica
This ticket is ideal for those who prefer to visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel without the usual crowds. With this ticket, you can enter the museums before they are officially open. You have access from 7.30 a.m. and can visit the museums at your own pace - for as long as you like. Stroll through the museums and the Sistine Chapel rooms at your leisure - a map will help you on your journey of discovery!
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Rome City Pass (Free entrance to the Vatican Museums)
- From 149 €
- Entrance to the Vatican Museums, St. Peter's Basilica and the Colosseum
- Free use of public transport
- Discounts at over 30 sights
For those who want to experience more, the Rome City Pass is ideal! With the City Pass you get free entry to the Vatican Museums, St. Peter's Basilica and the Colosseum. You also get many great discounts to over 30 sights in Rome. To get from A to B quickly and comfortably, the City Pass allows you to use Rome's public transport free of charge. A free travel guide and city map will help you find your way around and show you the must-sees in Rome. Nothing stands in the way of your journey of discovery through Rome!
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Frequently Asked Questions about the Vatican Museum

Imagine planning a holiday to Rome then decide that the Vatican Museums must be on your itinerary. Must you wait until you are in Rome to buy the tickets to see the magnificent museum and perhaps the phenomenal Sistine Chapel? With online ticket options, you don’t have to. If you have internet access, you can buy online Vatican Tickets from anywhere and at any time, which is one of the biggest benefits of online ticket vendors. You have the flexibility of getting a ticket as early as necessary. Doing this saves you the stress of having to wait at a ticket counter to book your visit.
Hidden costs are not something tourists have to worry about with online Vatican Museum tickets. The full rates and any discounts are easily accessible on the platform, so you know what you are paying. A lot of other information is readily available on online ticket sites such as the ticket features, what to expect at the attractions, and even a few tips. Such details make the planning process less challenging, especially when you have a large group. Ticket comparison is simpler when you have all the pertinent information in one place.

Entry into the Vatican costs about 17 €, but most tickets offer the museum and the Sistine Chapel. Therefore, a classic ticket can average 30 €.

The Vatican Museums are some of Rome’s biggest attractions, and it would be a shame not to see what they have to offer. Visiting the museums is a chance of a lifetime to see artwork from the greatest artists that ever lived. Catch a glimpse of the papal collection, which the museums accumulated over centuries. Get Vatican Tickets for a guided tour and learn about the history of the place. Walkthrough the corridors of the Vatican and take in the wonders of the place. From the sculptures to the architecture to the garden, the museums offer plenty to see. The Sistine and St. Peter’s Basilica is close by, so you can decide to get a larger experience by visiting them. Enjoy falling in love with Michaelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine.

The museums don’t open on Sundays apart from the last one of the month. During the last Sunday of each month, tourists can enter the Vatican Museums without charges, which makes this time the busiest.

A typical tour around the Vatican Museums lasts about three hours. However, the specific type of Vatican Tickets you get will determine the duration. Visitors can have tickets for shorter tours of maybe two hours. The amount of time a tourist spends walking around the museum will also depend on whether the ticket is an individual or a combination one.

The Vatican Museums house a collection of the works the pope collected over the centuries. An estimate of 70, 000 pieces of art can be found in the museums with about 20,000 on display. Visitors have the opportunity of interacting with some of the most significant religious art pieces from different periods. The Collection of Modern Religious Art is one of the marvels of the Vatican Museums. It contains sculptures and paintings from world-famous artists such as Vincent Van Gogh, Salvador Dalí, and Carlo Carrà. Part of the structure has the sculpture’s museums that are a must-see. These attractions surround the Cortile del Belvedere and house varying types of sculptures. You will find Geek and Roman sculptures in these museums. Visitors have several galleries to explore when in here, and these include Sala Rotonda, Sala Delle Muse, and Gallery of the Busts.

Additional Information about Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums are close to the city boundaries on Viale Vaticano. In 1506, Pope Julius II founded the Vatican Museums to house the Papal collection. The origin of the museums goes back to a single sculpture discovered on 14 January 1506. Pope Julius II sent Michelangelo and Giuliano da Sangallo to a vineyard near the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica to investigate. The name of the sculpture is Laocoon and His Sons. After recommendations to buy it, the pope put it on public display at the Vatican.

Benedict XIV established the Museum Christianum while Pius IX founded the Lateran Museum in 1854. Through the Vatican Museums are other important attractions, the Sistine Chapel is famous for the decorations on the ceiling by Michelangelo and the Stanze di Raffaello with works by Raphael. Before Pope Pius XI ordered the construction of a building, the art gallery was in the Borgia Apartment.

Museo Pio-Clementino was the effort of two popes- Clement XIV and Pius VI. This museum originally housed antique and Renaissance artwork, but now it contains Greek and Roman sculptures. Pius VII founded Museo Chiaramonti in the 19th century, which now houses over 3,000 stone tablets. Pope Gregory XVI set up Museo Gregoriano Etrusco in 1836 which has eight galleries that contain archaeological excavations and Gregoriano Egiziano, which is home to large collections of Egyptian artifacts.

In 2017, the Vatican Museums had over 6 million visitors, making it the world’s fourth most visited museum. Buy Vatican tickets and discover some of the most amazing works of art in history.

Opening Hours and Directions

Opening Hours

Monday: 9:00 - 18:00
Tuesday: 9:00 - 18:00
Wednesday: 9:00 - 18:00
Thursday: 9:00 - 18:00
Friday: 9:00 - 18:00
Saturday: 9:00 - 18:00
Sunday: Closed

May vary on public holidays/festivities.

Directions

Arrival by Metro
Take line A of the Rome Metro to the Ottaviano-San Pietro stop.

Arrival by Bus
Buses 40 and 64 are the quickest way to get to Vatican City. You can get off at the Piazza Pia or Ospedale di Santo Spirito stop in Sassia.

Address
00120 Vatican City, Vatikanstadt

Plan route with Google Maps

Website
www.museivaticani.va