If you’re going to Rome, you’ll likely want to visit the Vatican Museum which includes the Sistine Chapel with its spectacular ceiling by Michelangelo, and St. Peter’s Basilica.

Here are our top 5 tips to make the most of your visit.

The line-up for the Vatican Museum is ridiculously long, worse than the Louvre in Paris. In 2017, they had over 6.4 million visitors, so do the math on the number of people per day. With a quick search, you can buy advance Skip the Line tickets. There may be a small surcharge, but it’s so worth it. Either print them out, or make sure you can display them on your mobile so they can scan the barcode.

Do NOT try to save money by going on the “free Sunday”, the last Sunday of every month. The line-up is beyond insane and you won’t have a good time once you get inside either.

The Vatican Museum is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Saturday. With your Skip the Line tickets ready, get there at 8:45. You’ll have a much more relaxing visit. Soon it will get crowded but by being first in, you’ll have many galleries nearly to yourself.

Before you go, do a little research to figure out what galleries you really want to see. There are 20,000 pieces of art on display, so, you’ll have to choose.

For most of the rooms in the Vatican Museum and in St. Peter’s Basilica, the usual museum photography rules apply. You can take photos but no selfie sticks, no flash and no tripods. But in the Sistine Chapel, no photos or videos of any kind. The eagle-eyed security will see you and you may get a rude escort out the door. If you want pictures of the ceiling, do a quick Google image search. Here, I’ve done it for you. Sistine Chapel ceiling pictures.

Why no pictures in the chapel? The reason for this is surprising. Here’s the story of the “no photo rule in the Sistine Chapel”.

If you really just want to have the Sistine Chapel mostly to yourself for a few minutes, here’s how. Be among the first ones in the museum (see above) and then walk quickly (don’t run – the security guards will firmly remind you) through the museum all the way to the end to get there first. Aside from the security guys, you will have the whole room to yourself.

Sit and contemplate. Shhh, no talking.

But here’s a caveat. If you do this, there’s no going back to see the rest of the museum. Security will stop you. So, this is for those who just want to see the Sistine Chapel. Oh, and St. Peter’s. Here comes the best tip of all…

If you look at a floorplan of the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica, you’ll see they connect, with the back of the Sistine Chapel right up to St. Peter’s. The trick is how to get into St. Peter’s directly from the Sistine Chapel.

Here’s the tip, from a good friend who’s been to the Vatican many times…

You enter the Chapel at one end and exit at the other. If you look at the back wall, in the left corner, you’ll see a sign above the doorway that says Exit. And that’s where most people go. DO NOT go out that door. If you do, you’ll find yourself in a small side street, and your visit is over.

Instead, look in the other corner, on the right side. There you’ll see a sign that says Tour Groups. When you’re ready to leave, it’s time to get a little sneaky.

Wait until you see a tour group about to go (you’ll notice the tour leader holding a flag on a stick), and just unobtrusively tag along at the end of the group. You’ll go down a ramp, and when they open the door at the bottom, you’ll be right inside the back of St. Peter’s Basilica!

Now, there’s no admission to get into St. Peter’s, so you didn’t cheat anyone, but when you have a peak out front, you’ll see that you’ve just skipped another massive line. That little tip is worth at least another two hours of your time! How much time did we already save you?

There’s nothing like having WiFi wherever you go. We rented a Teppy portable WiFi and carried it with us everywhere. With a Teppy, you can connect your phones, tablets, laptops and gaming consoles just like you connect to WiFi at home.

Use the apps on your phone including your favorite GPS apps without paying expensive cellular service fees.

It’s also perfect for uploading pictures, sending emails or just web browsing. We also used it for online work on the road including web updates and social media.

Teppy portable WiFi works around the world. Try it on your next trip.

We’ve also rented Airbnb throughout USA and Europe. We wrote an article about renting Airbnb, 12 Tips for a Great Renting Experience to help you make the right decision. If it’s your first time renting Airbnb, click here to get the equivalent of $50 CDN off your first booking.

These days there are many things that can happen when you travel, aside from getting bumped from a flight. That’s why we always get insurance for our trips. It covers damage, loss or theft of our belongings, health issues and if necessary, emergency evacuation. Better safe than sorry.

Whether you’ve just booked your trip or are already underway, you can get covered by World Nomads. It’s one of the most popular insurance companies designed specifically for travellers. See if it’s right for you.

Everything you need to know about renting a car in Italy. Read it before you go. Could save you a fortune.

Venice for 11 days just for photography? How did it go? (Hint: Wasn’t enough time, believe it or not!)

Thoughts before taking an 11-day photo trip to Venice. Would it be worth it? Would I enjoy it? Yes and yes…

Read about the exceptional week we spent in Venice in September – including opera at La Fenice.

Join us in learning about Mariano Fortuny, a true renaissance man of Venice, and make sure you visit his palazzo.

Read about the extraordinary kindness from Italians we experienced every day in Italy.

This account of Monticchiello, a small Italian hilltop village, will open your eyes to its history and brush with annihilation.

We planned to go to Cinque Terre, but didn’t. Why not?

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