The Vatican Museums And The Sistine Chapel In Rome

Nestled within the Vatican Palace, the Vatican Museums—home to the unparalleled Sistine Chapel—rank among the world’s most iconic museums!

Follow the guide!

⚠️: The Vatican Museums are immensely popular, and the wait to enter can be painfully long (up to 3 or 4 hours…), especially during peak season. It has become absolutely essential to book your visit in advance: Skip-the-line tickets or Guided tours (available in French).

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A Quick Look at the Vatican Museums

A Brief History of the Vatican Museums

Let’s travel back in time to the 16^th century!

When Julius II was elected pope in 1503, he moved his private collection (including masterpieces like the Apollo Belvedere and the Laocoön Group) into the Vatican Palace. Thus, the Vatican Museums were born.

Over the following centuries, Julius II’s successors continued to enrich the Vatican’s collection

with countless Greek, Roman, Etruscan, and Egyptian antiquities, master paintings, sculptures, and tapestries. Five centuries later, the Vatican Museums are among the largest in the world!

With over 6 million visitors annually, the Vatican Museums are currently the 3^rd most visited museum worldwide.

If you visit only one museum in Rome, make it this one (although Captain Ulysses also strongly recommends the Borghese Gallery and the Capitoline Museums).

The downside? The lines at the Vatican Museums are long… and we mean long! It’s absolutely necessary to book your skip-the-line tickets or guided tour in advance!

The Vatican Museums by the Numbers

A few quick stats about the Vatican Museums:

• 3^rd most visited museum in the world with nearly 7 million visitors in 2019 (after the Louvre and China’s National Museum in Beijing)
• 12 museums, 3 chapels, and 5 galleries in total
• 1,400 rooms
• 7 kilometres of rooms and corridors
• More than 42,000 square meters of exhibit space^.
• Over 70,000 works of art on display
• The Vatican’s collection is estimated to be worth 90 billion euros!

Visiting the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel

⚠️ Reminder! Don’t forget to book your visit: Skip-the-line tickets or Guided tour (available in several languages).

The Vatican Museums consist of:

• un ensemble de 12 musées :
  • The Pinacoteca
  • The Collection of Modern Religious Art
  • The Pio-Clementino Museum
  • The Ethnological Museum Anima Mundi
  • The Gregorian Egyptian Museum
  • The Gregorian Etruscan Museum
  • The Secular Gregorian Museum
  • The Christian Museum
  • The Vatican Apostolic Library
  • The Carriage Pavilion
  • The Chiaramonti Museum
  • The Philatelic and Numismatic Office

• 3 chapels:
  • The Sistine Chapel
  • The Paolina Chapel (closed to the public)
  • The Nicoline Chapel

• 5 galleries:
  • The Lapidary Gallery
  • The Braccio Nuovo (New Wing)
  • The Gallery of the Candelabra
  • The Gallery of the Tapestries
  • The Gallery of Maps

• Ainsi que d’autres lieux remarquables dont :
  • The Raphael Rooms
  • The Borgia Apartments
  • The Bramante staircase

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of masterpieces and historical treasures.

So, what should you prioritize? Here are some key highlights that Captain Ulysses recommends.

For an unforgettable experience, Captain Ulysses suggests opting for a guided tour (available in several languages) to ensure you don’t miss any of the must-see treasures!

The Pinacoteca

For art lovers, the Pinacoteca is a must! It’s one of Captain Ulysses’ favorite parts of the Vatican Museums (and Rome itself!).

This gallery features around 400 paintings from the Middle Ages through the early 19^th century,

showcasing works by the greatest European masters: Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Veronese, Caravaggio, Poussin, Perugino, Fra Angelico, and more!

The Sistine Chapel

No introduction needed! The iconic Sistine Chapel, located in the Vatican Museums,

is where the papal conclave meets to elect each new pope.

Built in the late 15^th century, the chapel’s ceiling was famously painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, depicting scenes from the Book of Genesis. Michelangelo returned between 1535 and 1541 to paint The Last Judgment on the chapel’s altar wall.

The Sistine Chapel is one of the most sacred spaces in Christianity and attracts between 10,000 and 20,000 visitors per day!

The Pio-Clementino Museum

Established by Popes Clement XIV and Pius VI in the 18^th century, this museum is a must-see for anyone visiting the Vatican.

It houses some of the most famous sculptures in the Vatican’s collection, including the Belvedere Torso, the Apollo Belvedere, and the Laocoön Group.

The Borgia Apartments and the Collection of Modern Religious Art

Located within the Vatican Museums, the Borgia Apartments were created in the 15^th century for the infamous Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) and his family. Today, these rooms house part of the Vatican’s Collection of Modern Religious Art.

The Borgia Apartments include six rooms, each richly decorated by Pinturicchio and his students:

• The Hall of the Sibyls
• The Hall of the Creed
• The Hall of the Liberal Arts
• The Hall of the Lives of the Saints
• The Hall of the Mysteries
• The Hall of the Pontiffs

For those with an interest in modern art, the Vatican’s Collection of Modern Religious Art is an absolute treasure trove!

Inaugurated in 1973 by Pope Paul VI, this collection features works from the late 19^th century to the present day, including masterpieces by some of the most renowned artists of the past 150 years: Auguste Rodin, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Vassily Kandinsky, Marc Chagall, Paul Klee, Otto Dix, Giorgio de Chirico, Bernard Buffet, Francis Bacon, Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Fernand Léger—the list goes on.

A visit to these apartments will leave even the most discerning art lovers captivated!

The Gallery of Maps

One of the most unique—and photogenic—spaces in the Vatican Museums is the Gallery of Maps.

This expansive gallery, which stretches 120 meters, features forty enormous topographical maps painted in the 1580s, depicting the regions of Italy and the territories of the Church during the 16^th century.

Unsurprisingly, it’s one of Captain Ulysses’ favorite spots in the Vatican. But rest assured: you don’t need a sailor’s spirit to be enchanted by the beauty of the Gallery of Maps!

The Raphael Rooms

Situated in the public section of the papal apartments, the Raphael Rooms (Stanze di Raffaello) are a series of rooms painted between 1508 and 1525 by Raphael and his pupils. There are four rooms in total, each named after the frescoes adorning their walls:

• Stanza dell’incendio del Borgo
• Stanza della Segnatura where you will find the famous fresco of the School of Athens
• Stanza di Eliodoro
• Sala di Costantino

The Raphael Rooms are widely regarded as some of the greatest masterpieces of the Vatican Museums. Captain Ulysses couldn’t agree more!

Bramante Staircase

Built in the early 1930s by Italian architect Giuseppe Momo, the Bramante Staircase (also known as the Momo Staircase) is an impressive spiral staircase. It was inspired by a double-helix staircase designed during the Renaissance by the famous architect Donato Bramante (hence the name).

This double-helix design allows visitors to ascend and descend the staircase without ever crossing paths, creating a smooth flow of movement.

Practical Information

How to Get to the Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums are located within Vatican City, just a short walk from St. Peter’s Square, St. Peter’s Basilica, and Castel Sant’Angelo.

The closest metro station is Cipro-Musei Vaticani on line A. Many bus lines, including hop-on-hop-off tourist buses, also stop near the Vatican Museums.

Opening hours of the Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums are open Monday to Saturday from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM (last entry at 5:00 PM). During the summer months, closing time is extended to 8:00 PM (last entry at 6:00 PM).

The museums are closed on Sundays except for the last Sunday of the month (open from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, with the ticket office closing at 12:30 PM).

They are also closed on religious holidays.

Ticket Prices

The entry ticket to the Vatican Museums is priced at €20 for a full ticket and €8 for a reduced ticket. Tickets can be booked in advance with skip-the-line access for an additional €5.

Additionally, skip-the-line entry to both the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel is included in the Omnia Card and the Rome Tourist Card.

Guided tour of the Vatican Museums

To avoid getting lost in the maze of rooms and corridors of the Vatican Museums, to avoid missing any of the must-see works and to avoid the endless queues, Captain Ulysses strongly recommends that you take a guided tour!

He particularly suggests this tour: Guided tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel (several languages available)

Credits
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