Covid-19 Emergency

Procedures and rules for visits to Vatican Museums and Gardens

Dear Visitors!

Starting next June 1, the Vatican Museums will return to open their doors to the public, after the long months of the health emergency due to infection with COVID-19. For a period still difficult to determine in its duration, the visits will be set according to the criteria that are briefly described below.

They are necessary rules for your visit to take place in the best and safest conditions.

In this sense, they prevail over the ordinary conditions, reported in the individual sections of our official website (www.museivaticani.va).

For this reason, we invite you to take a due look at it before proceeding with the booking and to keep them in mind during your stay in the museums.

1. TIMETABLES

The opening hours to the public will be as follows: – Monday – Tuesday – Wednesday – Thursday: from 10.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m., with last entry at 6.00 p.m. (the exit from the museum and exhibition sectors starts at 19.30). Friday – Saturday: from 10.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m., with last entry at 8.00 p.m. (the exit from the museum and exhibition sectors starts at 9.30 p.m.).

The extraordinary openings of the last Sunday of the month are suspended.

It should be remembered that the Vatican Museums are closed to the public not only on Sundays but also on the following dates: 11 June, 29 June, 14 and 15 August.

2. METHOD OF ACCESS

To access the Museums, you will need to book your visit through our website or the official portal.

In this period, the reservation will be free of charge (free of rights, ordinarily equal to 4 Euros).

The accesses will be contingent and organized on entry slots of 15 minutes each.

At the time of booking, it will be necessary to select the preferred time from among those available.

On the day of the visit, the time indicated on the booking voucher must be observed with extreme precision (for example: those who have booked for 10.00 will be able to access no earlier than 10.00 and no later than 10.15). Once the chosen 15 minutes period has elapsed, the staff of the Custody responsible for checking vouchers can prevent access to the Museums and in this case, you will not be entitled to any refund.

Only for guided tours organized by the Management of the Vatican Museums (see point 3) and for visits to the Vatican Gardens on foot or by minibus (see point 6) visitors are requested to present themselves 15 minutes in advance of the timetable shown on the voucher, so as to be able to carry out the necessary reception operations and thus ensure compliance with the departure times of the tours.

To access the Museums and the Vatican Gardens it is mandatory to wear a mask covering the nose and mouth.

The mask will be kept worn for the duration of the visit.

Each visitor will be subjected to body temperature control through suitable thermometric instruments. Checking is mandatory. Access will be denied to anyone with a body temperature of 37.5 ° C or above.

Inside the museums it will be necessary to keep the interpersonal distance of more than 1 meter and avoid gatherings. The Custody Corps will monitor scrupulous compliance with the law.

It is recommended to carefully follow the health rules, set to guarantee the health and safety of all and reported at the bottom of this document. It is the duty of each visitor to read these rules carefully before the visit and then to observe them throughout his stay in the Museums or the Vatican Gardens.

When booking the visit, it will be understood that all people who will have access to the Museums with the booking voucher that they will receive will have read, understood and fully accepted all these rules, none excluded. Any violation will be brought to consideration by the competent authorities. The removal of those who do not follow the provisions may be ordered from the Museums.

3. GUIDED TOURS AND GROUP VISITS 

Visits by groups of up to 10 people (plus guide) will be possible.

The guide will be responsible for raising awareness of the respect for the interpersonal distance between the members of the group and that of all the other regulations and provisions in force.

As regards the guided visits to the archaeological areas, it should be remembered that visits to the excavations of San Giovanni in Laterano are temporarily suspended.

Instead, visits to the Via Triumphalis Necropolis will be organized.

The use of radio-transmitting equipment (group tour / whisper systems) will not be allowed.

Therefore, tourist guides are recommended to moderate their tone of voice during explanations in order not to disturb other visitors.

4. AUDIOGUIDE

It will be possible to rent audio and video guide equipment, supplied by the official Vatican Museums dealer.

The rental can take place both on site and, preferably for hygienic reasons, through the ticket portal when booking the visit. The dealer will guarantee the scrupulous sanitation of the equipment.

5. ACCESS TO THE BASILICA OF SAN PIETRO

The exit that from the Sistine Chapel gives direct access to St. Peter’s Basilica will remain closed until differently arranged.

6. VISIT OF THE VATICAN GARDENS

The Museum Management will offer traditional walking tours of the Vatican Gardens, entrusted to its educational operators, for groups of 10 people. They will be bookable through the official ticket office.

It will also be possible to book a new visit of the Vatican Gardens only with ecological and panoramic minibuses, which does not include the passage through the Museums. There are 12 places available for each ride, in order to ensure the appropriate spacing.

For both visits, please note that participants are required to arrive 15 minutes before the time shown on the voucher, in order to carry out the necessary reception operations and thus ensure compliance with the departure time of the

tour.

The minibuses will depart from access to the Vatican City State called “Petriano” in Largo del Sant’Uffizio (see the map here).

Museum staff will be present on site and will offer useful assistance. The specific rules are shown on the booking voucher.

Remember that also in this case it is compulsory to show up with the mask, covering the nose and mouth, which will be kept worn for the duration of the visit.

Similarly to what happens for access to museums, each visitor will be subjected to body temperature control through suitable thermometric instruments. Checking is mandatory.

Access to minibuses will be denied to anyone with a body temperature of 37.5 ° C or above.

It should also be noted that access to the minibus will not be allowed with luggage (suitcases, bags, parcels and containers in general) that are larger than cm. 40 x 35 x 15. Cloakroom service is not provided.

Maximum punctuality is recommended. Once the minibus has started its tour, it will not be possible to participate in the visit. The ticket will in no case be refunded.

6. RESTAURANT SERVICES

Inside the Vatican Museums it will be possible to stock up on drinks and snacks through the vending machines located along the route.

The concessionaire company will guarantee the most effective machinery sanitation.

Until otherwise available, the bar, cafeteria and restaurant service will be provided exclusively in the Bistrot in the Cortile della Pigna. The other refreshment points will remain closed to the public.

The bar, cafeteria and restaurant service observes the following times:

– Monday – Tuesday – Wednesday – Thursday: from 10.00 a.m. to 7.30p.m.

– Friday – Saturday: from 10.00 a.m.  to 9.30 p.m.

Seats will be quota, in order to guarantee respect for interpersonal distances and between tables.

The bar, cafeteria and restaurant service will be exclusively at the table. The removal of food and drinks will not be allowed. It will be possible to book lunch through the official ticket portal.

Lunch will be served at the table in two distinct time slots: 12.00a.m. and 1.30 p.m.

The duration of the lunch is fixed in 45 minutes, at the end of which it will be necessary to leave the table.

In fact, between one shift and the next, the total sanitation of the spaces will be guaranteed by the company that is the concessionaire of the restaurant service.

During the prolonged openings on Friday and Saturday, it will be possible to book the happy hour service through the official ticket system, in two distinct time slots: 6.00 p.m. and 7.30 p.m.

The aperitif service will last 60 minutes, after which you will have to leave the table.

In fact, between one shift and the next, the total sanitation of the spaces will be guaranteed by the company that is the concessionaire of the restaurant service.

The service will be at the table, with a fixed menu. The buffet service is temporarily suspended.

APPENDIX

Health standards for the containment of COVID infection

(as dictated by the Health and Hygiene Directorate of the Governorate of Vatican City State)

1) Obligation to use masks

The masks serve to reduce the risk that the wearer may infect others, since they stop a good part of the tiny droplets emitted by the mouth and nose when we cough, sneeze, talk.

The use of the mask therefore helps to limit the spread of the virus, but must be adopted in addition to hand washing and respiratory hygiene measures (sneezing and coughing inside the elbow). Even with the mask it is still necessary to maintain the safety distance (over 1 meter).

How to wear the mask:

• before putting on the mask, wash your hands with soap and water or with a hydro-alcoholic solution
• cover the mouth and nose with the mask making sure that it adheres well to the face
• avoid touching the inside of the mask while wearing it.
• if the mask becomes wet, it is advisable to replace it with a new one and not reuse it; in fact the masks are disposable.
• the mask must be removed by taking it from the elastics and without touching the front; immediately afterwards it must be thrown into the unsorted waste.

In any case, surgical-type masks should not be used for more than a day.

It is advisable to wear the mask even in outdoor spaces if frequented by several people, always and in any case continuing to maintain the safety distance of more than 1 meter.

2) Wash your hands often.

Hand washing and disinfection are decisive for preventing infection. Hands should be washed with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, a disinfectant hydroalcoholic gel can be used. Distributors of sanitizing liquid will be available inside the Museums.

3) Do not touch your eyes, nose and mouth with your hands

The virus is mainly transmitted by the respiratory tract, but can also enter the body through the eyes, nose and mouth. Therefore, avoid touching your face with your hands not well washed. In fact, the hands coming into contact with surfaces contaminated by the virus can cause contagion.

4) Avoid close contact with other people

Maintain an interpersonal distance of more than 1 meter from other people.

5) Use of elevators

The use of lifts will ordinarily be reserved for people with walking difficulties or with particular health conditions that suggest it. Normally it will be allowed only for uphill movements, except for particular conditions that suggest its use even when going downhill. Access to the cabins will ordinarily be possible only for one person at a time. Disabled visitors will be able to access the lifts with a companion.

6) Avoid the promiscuous use of bottles and glasses.