Early entry to Vatican museum/Sistine chapel -- some cautions

While reading another thread, I thought it might be worthwhile to start this one regarding the early-morning entry tours to the Sistine chapel as I suspect there are some misunderstandings about these tours (that tour companies do not clarify very well, for obvious reasons)....

I read an article last year that was a bit mind boggling: the Vatican museums were visited by 5.89 million people in 2015, four times more than in 1980. In peak season, more than 25,000 people pass through every day. Most of these visitors want to see the Sistine chapel. As those who've been there know, the chapel is not that big!

In order to try to accommodate everyone, the Vatican in recent years has started to have both early morning entries and late evening tours on some days. These tickets are usually considered premium, since you have the chance to view the museum with fewer people. However, fewer can be relative.

Don't be misled -- there are several tour groups that sell tickets (especially for the early morning opening), including the Vatican itself. When a tour group says 'exclusive', it doesn't necessarily mean exclusive to them, but perhaps just in the sense that it is only available to a limited number of people. You won't see the Sistine chapel with only 25 people, but you also won't see it with 500 people. (Arguably.)

A bit late to the game, the Vatican has also started to be concerned about the number of people passing through the museums daily, and how these large crowds may be contributing to damage of the delicate frescoes that represent a significant part of what tourists most want to see. Slowly they are starting to update their systems that control humidity, temperature, etc. and to monitor CO2 levels.

In regard to crowd control, it's also been suggested that if the number of tourists continues to increase (6 million was mentioned as a possible benchmark), the Vatican may require advanced purchase of tickets and stop letting in those who queue on the day of, without having already purchased a ticket or a tour.

Great information! Thank you and I am happy to say I was one of the many in 2015 and will be back in 2019. I fell in love with Italy....:hearteyes:

The first time I was in the Sistine Chapel was in 1984, and it was a zoo then. I can't imagine what it's like now.