Vatican Museums

The guided tour of the Vatican Museums was absolutely superb, nice guide with lots of knowledge who clearly cared about the art and the museum. Didn’t try and make it all about him like some guides. Museum was ridiculously overcrowded, to the point of danger to health due to the heat. Nowhere to buy water despite the presence of a gift shop on every corner. One water fountain at the beginning without a chance to go back. Very disappointed with the Sistine Chapel. An amazing room with fantastic art, let down by the decision to let far too many people in. Rules on silence or taking photos were ignored by all visitors and the staff did nothing. Instead, they told us off for not moving on too quickly, despite the fact there was nowhere to go as they were making people queue and wait to leave. Feels like they sold out for monetary gain.

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For anyone visiting Rome and thinking about the Vatican Museums, do it! If you can get tickets for yourself to go at your own leisure, then I certainly would recommend doing that, although a tour group would likely provide a more informative experience. We visited on an incredibly hot day, and having read up on the dress code rulings, made sure to cover knees and shoulders. Much to my dismay, when we arrived, sweating heaps while waiting for our timeslot allocation to be allowed in, I was baffled and slightly irritated to see people entering and leaving in above the knee shorts, vest tops, and ripped jean shorts etc. While I respect the rules of course, surely enforce these if you are going to have them? Granted, it is also those people deciding to not obey the rules who are being disrespectful, but there was I, sweating heaps, when I would have loved to have been in shorts and a vest top! Nevertheless, the museums are outstanding. Full of immense amounts of history, sculptures galore, and incredible art, it truly was astonishing! Highly recommend visiting, albeit maybe on a cooler day, as the intense heat and larger crowds indoors made it feel very stuffy and hot.

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