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GuideWorld audio tour
Vatican Museums Highlights
The statue Michelangelo ran to see0:00 / 2:03Free
Vatican Museums
See the Laocoön, the Gallery of Maps, the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel, which comes last on the one-way route; photos aren't allowed inside. GuideWorld's audio tour of ten works along the route plays for 22 minutes.
Vatican Museums Highlights, first stop: Laocoön
The statue Michelangelo ran to see0:00 / 2:03Free
The route
The museums are one long, one-way walk. You start with ancient sculpture and end in the Sistine Chapel, so pace yourself: the best rooms come late.
Pio Clementino Museum. The Laocoön, an ancient sculpture dug out of a vineyard on the Esquiline Hill in 1506, stands in the Octagonal Court. Pope Julius II bought it as soon as it was found.
Gallery of Maps. A corridor 120 meters long, lined with 40 painted maps of Italy, frescoed around 1580. Look up: the ceiling is as busy as the walls.
Raphael Rooms. Four rooms of the apartment Julius II chose as his residence, painted by Raphael and his school between 1508 and 1524. The School of Athens is in the Room of the Segnatura.
Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo painted the ceiling between 1508 and 1512, and the Last Judgment on the altar wall between 1536 and 1541. It’s still a chapel: photos and video aren’t allowed.
Highlights
Audio guides
GuideWorld’s own tours, independent of the Vatican Museums.
Plan your visit
Book a timed ticket on the official site, cover your shoulders and knees, and leave big bags at the free cloakroom.
- Booking
- Timed tickets on the official site. Booking online costs €5 extra and skips the ticket queue.
- Dress code
- Shoulders and knees covered. No sleeveless or low-cut tops, shorts above the knee, miniskirts or hats.
- Bags
- Large bags, rucksacks and bigger umbrellas go to the cloakroom, which is free.
- Photos
- Allowed without flash, except in the Sistine Chapel, where photos and video aren’t allowed.
- Entrance
- Viale Vaticano, on the north side of the Vatican walls, not in St Peter’s Square. Metro line A, Ottaviano or Cipro.
Getting in
The entrance is on Viale Vaticano, on the north side of the Vatican walls. It isn’t in St Peter’s Square. Metro line A, Ottaviano or Cipro.
When to go
Weekday mornings at opening, or late afternoon before the last entry at 18:00. The free last Sunday is the busiest day of the month, and it’s skipped when it falls on Easter, 29 June or 25, 26 or 31 December.
Booking online
Booking on the official site adds €5 to the €20 ticket and lets you skip the ticket queue. You still go through the security check.