The Vatican closes on Sunday. The Vatican Museums open Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. with last entry at 6 p.m., and close every Sunday except the last of the month, when entry is free from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and the line wraps the walls. Treat that Sunday as closed too. Book a timed ticket on tickets.museivaticani.va, the only official site: €20 plus a €5 booking fee.
The Sistine Chapel is the end, not the middle. The museums run one way and the chapel is at the far end, about two hours in. Silence, no photographs. The side door into St Peter’s is for guided groups only; everyone else leaves through the museums and walks round the walls to the square, 15 minutes.
St Peter’s is free, and the line is the price. Security is on the right of the square: 10 minutes at 7 a.m., over an hour by late morning, and Wednesday mornings belong to the papal audience. The dress code is enforced at the scanner: knees and shoulders covered, for men too. The dome is €8 by stairs or €10 with the elevator part of the way.
The Colosseum sells out. Tickets go on sale 30 days ahead on ticketing.colosseo.it, the only official seller, and summer slots go within minutes. The standard ticket (€18) covers the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine over two days. The Full Experience (€24) adds the arena floor and the underground and is tied to the timed slot. Both carry a €2 fee.
The Pantheon costs money now. €7 since July 2026, free for under 18s and worshippers, and free for everyone on the first Sunday of the month. Buy on the Musei Italiani portal or at the door. Daily 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Borghese is two hours, no more. The Galleria Borghese admits a fixed number of people in five slots a day (9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m.) and clears the rooms after two hours. Book two to four weeks ahead on the official site, around €18 with the fee; the 11 a.m. slot goes first. Closed Monday.
Monday. Borghese and a few smaller museums are shut. The Colosseum, the Vatican Museums, the Capitoline Museums (daily 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.) and the churches are open. Put the Vatican on Monday and Borghese on another day.
At the gate. Keep the QR codes in Waystop’s Documents; the Colosseum checks the name on the ticket against ID. Be at St Peter’s security at 7 a.m. or after 4 p.m., wear long pants, and travel light, because every bag goes through a scanner. Waystop’s hours check will flag a Vatican stop that lands on a Sunday.