Across Rome from where we are staying, is the small country of Vatican City. Two months ago I set a timer and frantically clicked through their official webpage in order to buy tickets to tour the Vatican museum and Sistine chapel. No tickets are issued for St. Peter’s Basilica, so we decided to head over early in order to tour the Basilica (since you have to stand in an entry line) before our ticketed entry to the other areas.
A prayer service was occurring inside the Basilica so we were unable to get close to the altar, but it only added to our visit by seeing the church in use.
A quick stop at the Vatican City post office, and we were off to the other side of the city for our entrance time into the museum.
We followed a pre-recorded audio tour courtesy of Rick Steves Travel (FREE!) and spent two hours touring the highlights of the Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel. No photos were allowed in the Sistine Chapel, so if you need to see what it looks like ask a rule breaker who took pictures 😉.
The audio tour was perfect for our group and greatly increased our appreciation for the sights. I highly recommend it if you ever visit yourself. We were exhausted afterwards and used the last of our energy to navigate the maze of corridors to find the exit.
