Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica Tour

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The Vatican is a must-see when visiting Rome and it’s popularity ensures there will be a line up outside the Vatican. There are thousands upon thousands  of people that flock to the holy city to marvel at its architecture and massive collection of Renaissance artworks and paintings from other periods of time. The queue of people waiting to get inside the Vatican is known to stretch for hours on end. If you end up at the Vatican without tickets, then you will be in for a long wait! Unlike the Colosseum, you must purchase tickets ahead of time to cut your wait time and gain entry into the museum. You can purchase a tour from an online company or go directly to the website for the Vatican Museum and purchase tickets direct (here). 

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The main attractions in Vatican City are St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel.

St. Peter’s Basilica, along with St. Peter’s Square, sits in the heart of the Vatican. It is a renowned work of Renaissance architecture and was designed by the likes of Bramante, Michelangelo, Giacomo della Porta, Maderno and Bernini. On the other hand, the Vatican Museums and its collections are considered to be of the highest historical, scientific and cultural importance. The greatest of all though are the frescoes which adorn the Sistine Chapel, a chapel in the Apostolic Palace and a part of the Vatican Museums. (Source: Vatican Website)

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The Vatican Museums are a group of art and Christian museums situated within the walls of Vatican City. The Vatican Museums collections consist of over 70,000 paintings and sculptures, displayed prominently in over 54 galleries, making it one of the most impressive collections of Renaissance art anywhere in the world. The museums are home to a number of classical sculptures, tapestries, and paintings by Renaissance greats such as Raphael, Caravaggio, Michelangelo, Bernini and Leonardo da Vinci. The Vatican Museums also have a collection of Modern Religious Art with paintings and sculptures from artists like Carlo Carrà, Vincent van Gogh, Giorgio de Chirico, Paul Gauguin, Salvador Dalí, and Pablo Picasso. (Source: Vatican Website)

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The Sistine Chapel is undoubtedly the highlight of every Vatican Museum visit. You will instantly know when you’re in the Sistine Chapel as the room gets extremely quiet and everyone inside can be found looking up, staring at the magnificent ceiling. Michelangelo’s frescoes adorn the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, with paintings depicting stories from the life Jesus and Moses painted on the eastern, northern and southern walls.

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The Basilica of St. Peter is an Italian Renaissance church that was designed primarily by Donato Bramante, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Michelangelo and Carlo Maderno. Today, St. Peter's is not only the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture but also the largest church in the world. Construction of the basilica began in 1506 and was completed in 1626. The Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel are a ten-minute walk from St. Peter’s Basilica. Adjacent to the basilica is St. Peter’s Square, a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter’s Basilica. An ancient Egyptian obelisk stands at the center of the basilica, erected at the current site in 1586. Some of the most popular aspects of the basilica are Michelangelo’s La Pietà sculpture, Bernini’s Baldachin, the statue of St. Peter, Pope John Paul II’s tomb as well as the cupolone - St Peter’s famous dome. One is not required to purchase a ticket in order to access the main basilica, though certain sections such as the cupola require a ticket. (Source: Vatican Website)

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I strongly suggest visiting the site and review the options for purchasing tickets ahead of time. It will save you a couple hours of standing in line in the sun, rain, or wind. 

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                                                                           All the information listed above comes from the Vatican Website.