Rom: Vatikanische Museen & Sixtinische Kapelle mit frühem Einlass

Zunächst: unser Guide war fantastisch, tolle Kentnis und extrem freundlich und lustig. Aber!! Ich habe eine Tour gebucht, die versprach dass es leerer sein würde im Vatikan und den Museen, da es vor den offiziellen Öffnungszeiten beginnt. Es war dennoch wahnsinnig voll, man schob sich nur so durch die Gänge, keine Ruhe, keine Zeit, sich die Dinge wirklich anzuschauen, geschweige denn zu genießen. Die Nachteile: ich habe mehr Geld bezahlt, bin viel zu früh aufgestanden und habe mich am Ende wirklich ver***scht gefühlt. Sehr schade!

This was crazy and stressful! We arrived at 7am, with anticipation of a 7:30 departure, but didn’t start until 8a. “Early entry” is a misleading description, because there’s nothing special or valuable about joining thousands of other people in an enormous crowd at that hour. Paolo was clearly knowledgeable, but we were ushered through room after room with hardly a moment to pause, until finally getting to the Sistine Chapel hours later. Our group was all disappointed with the event.

The guide was very knowledgeable and polite, but his strong Italian accent made his English difficult to understand, particularly for the several non-native English speakers in our group. If a tour is advertised as being conducted in English, the guide should be able to speak clearly and understandably in English. This significantly affected our ability to follow and enjoy the tour. He also spent far too much time on the Renaissance artwork in the first half of the museum, going into painstaking detail. As a result, we had very little time for the modern art exhibits and other areas closer to the Sistine Chapel.

We booked the Early Entry Vatican to avoid crowds and possibly to have an explanation of the Sistine Chapel while we were inside. Instead our guide waited late and did the standard tour (which I have done two times before). The guide explained the Sistine Chapel at the start using large posters in a courtyard before the real tour actually began. By the time we reached the Sistine Chapel, much was forgotten and there wasn’t an option to ask questions. The other great disappointment of this tour was missing St. Peter’s Basilica. We asked the guide multiple times if we could use the entrance at the end of our tour so we could Skip the Line to St. Peter’s. However the guide took us outside and told us that it was not possible. The lines were long, as usual. Some members of our party came back hours later to wait but others never had the chance to return. Nearly all 3rd Party tours that I am aware of offer skip the line to St. Peter’s Basilica. This was not the advertised experience.

Paulo was fantastic ! Don’t skip on or miss this tour. It was truly a blessing to see the beauty of the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. We couldn’t have seen as much nor understood as much without Paulo. His knowledge was incredible. He is passionate of his country and its history. He answered all of the groups questions in detail and made sure we all saw the “details”. My daughter and I not only got a world history lesson, but a much better understanding of the Bible. We are thankful we booked this tour. It was one of the highlights of our trip.

Paolo was amazing! He was so passionate about the cultural and historical significance of each piece of art. Paolo was so knowledgeable and took the time to tell us each aspect of the paintings and the era in which they were created. He was respectful of the chapel and ended the tour before we entered so we can honor the masterpiece in silent awe. We truly saw the chapel through a local’s eyes.