New Vatican Hours Astonish Rome

After years of moaning from tortured tourists and tour operators alike, the Vatican Museums have finally made the monumental decision to extend their opening hours to the public.

Previously open from 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM on Saturdays, the new hours as of January 1, 2008 are Monday through Friday 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM Monday through Saturday, all year long.

In order to compensate for the administrative costs associated with the new extended hours, the Vatican Museum has increased the general admission ticket to 14 Euro.

The new hours should drastically reduce the time spent waiting in line to enter the museums, which during peak season has been known to last up to two hours. The 2008 peak summer season will be the true test to show how well these new rules apply.

Although the Vatican Museum has still not granted access to the general public to book their entry tickets to the Vatican Museums in advance online, preferred entry is still possible by booking a Vatican Tour through an affiliated tour operator. 

© Copyright 2008, When In Rome Tours

When In Rome tours is a small company dedicated to providing innovative and thought-provoking Vatican Tours and Rome Tours for all audiences. Native-level English speaking guides of Rome and Italy help the tourist to discern between documented history and legend,  bringing the Eternal City to life like no other tour provider.

New articles are published on our site each week. To keep up to date with our news and current events, sign up for our free RSS feed.

If you are interested in publishing a version of this article on your website, contact us for consent and further information.