The Vatican Museums are the museums of Vatican City located within the city’s boundaries. They contain masterpieces of artworks collected by popes throughout the centuries. A trip to see the Vatican Museums is one of the highlights of a visit to Rome. Depending on where you are in Rome, it should take about 40 minutes to get there and it only makes sense to visit after travelling all that way.
I had the intention of seeing St. Peter’s Basilica and the museums on the same day. Unfortunately, I didn’t get anywhere close to the Pope. Some scouts beat me to it! By some, I mean many!
After getting over the disappointment of missing out on St. Peter’s Basilica, I made my way to the Vatican Museum without reservation. Luckily I was there really early and was able to beat the queue.
The Vatican Museums…
The Vatican Museums are one of the largest and most visited in the world, receiving up to 6 million visitors per year. It’s very common to hear of or see people waiting in line for 2-3 hours just to get in and as such, a reservation makes a lot of sense.
Once you’re inside, the museums tend to be very crowded, they were when I visited but this didn’t ruin the experience for me. I was too fascinated by the sheer amount of artwork on display. It was quite overwhelming.
As part of the Vatican Museum tour, visitors would make their way to the Sistine Chapel. There is no extra charge for admission since this forms part of the museum.
The chapel contains a stunning display of paintings, decorated by Michelangelo and the Stanze di Raffaello decorated by Raphael. The paintings on the ceilings are remarkable. I was particularly excited to see the ‘Creation of Adam’ and the spiral stairs when exiting the chapel…
I recommend a visit to Vatican City (and museums) if you find yourself in Rome. Perhaps you should also know that it is recognized as a separate country, so you’ll be killing two ‘birds’ with one visa stone! If you decide to opt for a tour, you can check out the guides below to find one suitable for you.
Are you a fan of Museums? If you are, then you would certainly enjoy a visit to the Museums and Chapel!
Museums are so special. Each one is pretty unique from another.
It’s impressive to see that Popes have good artistic taste, these artworks should have taken a really long time to gather.
I’m amused by the ceiling paintings by Michaelangelo, read once that he did them on his back!
They’re great.
Somewhere in my subconscious, I remember someone saying at the Sistine Chapel, that he created it (the creation of Adam painting) standing. I am impressed either way!
Your information is very accurate.
I got it all wrong, most people assume he was lying on his back while painting the ceiling.
“Contrary to popular belief, Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel in a standing position.”
https://www.history.com/.amp/news/7-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-sistine-chapel