The Vatican Museums open at 8:00 AM and close at 8:00 PM, Monday through Saturday, with the last entry at 6:00 PM. St. Peter’s Basilica opens an hour earlier, at 7:00 AM. That one hour makes a real difference if you’re trying to get ahead of the crowds, and so does knowing which days to avoid.
When do the Vatican Museums actually open?
The Museums, and the Sistine Chapel inside them, run the same hours all year:
| Day | Hours | Last entry |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Saturday | 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM | 6:00 PM |
| Last Sunday of the month | 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM (free) | 12:30 PM |
| All other Sundays | Closed | — |
The guards start clearing the galleries half an hour before closing, so the Sistine Chapel empties out before the posted time. Leave yourself more than the last thirty minutes.
Free entry on the last Sunday of the month is a real bargain, and also the most crowded few hours you’ll see all month. It gets canceled when that Sunday falls on Easter, June 29, or the Christmas holidays. The Museums also close on January 1 and a scattering of feast days, so check the official calendar against your dates before you commit.
St. Peter’s Basilica keeps its own hours
St. Peter’s runs on a different schedule from the Museums, and it’s free to enter. Doors open daily at 7:00 AM, a full hour before the Museums, and close in the early evening, roughly 7:00 PM in summer and a little earlier in winter. The dome opens at 7:30 AM if you’re up for the climb.
Wednesday is the one to watch. On Wednesday mornings, the Basilica closes to visitors for the Papal Audience, then reopens around 12:30 PM. It’s only the morning, and only when the Pope is in Rome, so the audience often pauses for parts of the summer. It’s held out in St. Peter’s Square (or the Paul VI Hall in bad weather), not inside the Basilica. Visiting on a Wednesday? Turn up after 1:00 PM, and you’ll walk straight in.
How to beat the crowds
1. Go early, or go late
We tell our guests the same thing every time: book first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon. The line outside starts building up to ninety minutes before opening, so either get there early or book a skip-the-line tour and walk past it. If you go late, mind the gap between closing at 8:00 PM and last entry at 6:00 PM, and don’t cut it fine.
2. Pick your day
Tuesday and Thursday are the calmest days of the week. Skip Wednesdays and weekends if you can. Wednesday pulls in the Papal Audience crowds, and with the Basilica shut that morning, those visitors flood into the Museums instead, so the galleries fill up rather than clear out. Saturday is the busiest of the lot. Get there for the 8:00 AM opening and you’ll catch the Sistine Chapel about as quiet as it ever gets.
3. Dress for it
Security checks the dress code before you reach the metal detectors, and they don’t bend it. Knees and shoulders covered, everyone. No shorts or skirts above the knee, nothing sleeveless or low-cut, and hats off inside the churches. Even a paid ticket won’t get you past bare knees, so sort it out before you queue. A light scarf in your bag covers your shoulders in a second. Sandals are fine; leave the flip-flops, because the route to the Sistine Chapel is close to three hours on marble.
4. Take a tour
Arriving early helps. An early-access tour helps more. Our guides walk you in and into the art while the rest of the queue is still shuffling forward. Have a look at our Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel tours.
If you’d rather see the chapel nearly empty, our Alone in the Sistine Chapel tours, private and semi-private, get you inside before the public doors open. There aren’t many places you can do that.
