St Peter's Basilica open during Papal Audience?

[AnnGirl]

We will be in Rome on a Wednesday (Sept. 29th 2010) and there is a Papal Audience scheduled for that morning. We want to tour both the Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel and also St Peter's Basilica.

 

I've read that there might be less of a crowd inside the museum during the Papal Audience, since everyone's outside trying to catch a glimpse of the Pope. Is there any truth to that?

 

Ideally we would tour the museum and then head out from the Sistine Chapel into St. Peter's Basilica. Is this possible during the Papal Audience? Or will the basilica be closed?

 

I like the idea of touring the museum and seeing the Sistine Chapel when crowds are lighter, and also of potentially seeing the Pope (even if it is from a far distance and only for a moment). However, I don't want to run the risk of missing out on getting to tour the inside of the church...

 

Should we just avoid Vatican City altogether in the morning and instead go in the afternoon once the Papal Audience is over?

[carlmm]

When the audience takes place in St. Peter's square, the basilica is closed. It reopens maybe around 12 o'clock.

When the audience takes place in the Aula Paolo VI. the basilica might be open.

 

Lines to enter the basilica after the audience can be long. Thus it might indeed be a good idea to visit the museum first and to exit from the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter's basilica after 12. Yet if you do take this exit, make sure that you have seen everything inside the museum you want to see. If you, like unfortunately too many here recommend, head only one way to the chapel and exit there, you miss out many splendous masterpieces.

[euro cruiser]

When the audience takes place in St. Peter's square, the basilica is closed. It reopens maybe around 12 o'clock.

Are you sure about this, because I'm not. I could swear there were people coming in and out of the basilica while we were at the audience, but I'm not positive. When not going to the audience, I've always avoided the Vatican on Wednesday mornings, so I don't have any other first hand information.