When in Rome, Do What Tourists Do [Insane Secret Tip Inside]

During our recent trip to Rome, we discovered a neat little trick that Romans keep secret from tourists: how to get in St. Peter’s Basilica without waiting in line. Mi dispiace, guys, the cat is out of the bag now.

A couple of months ago I took my mom on an impromptu weekend trip to Rome (I know, I know, living in Europe is the bomb for these kinds of getaways).

Before boarding our flight, we made a list of things we would like to city in the Eternal City, but we also agreed if wouldn’t be a big deal if we didn’t, as long as we were well-rested, well-fed (there’s no alternative to that in Italy!) and had fun. We wanted the trip to be really chill.

St. Peter’s Basilica from the dome

The one thing we did plan in advance was our visit to the Vatican Museums. A friend of mine had tipped me to buy tickets in advance as the lines there were quite long, and I splurged a few extra euros on the “skip the line” option.

So on the second day of our trip, we had coffee at our hotel right off the St. Peter’s square and headed for the Vatican Museums. As we were crossing the square, we noticed that the queue for the St. Peter’s Basilica was insane — there must have been hundreds and hundreds of people patiently waiting in line to get into the massive building.

Inside St. Peter’s Basilica

Now, let’s be clear — as patient as both my mother and I are, we appreciate efficiency and having coffee and gelato in a cosy Roman cafe rather than waiting for hours seemed way more efficient.

The line for the ticket office of the Vatican Museums was slightly better than the one for the Basilica but long enough for us to really enjoy the fact we could skip it under the jealous eyes of everyone queueing.

The museums are quite fabulous; eventually we arrived at the last hall — the Sistine Chapel. We took our time to take it in and enjoy it (well, as much as we could given the crowds). When we headed to the exit, clearly marked with a sign, I noticed a small, open door opposite it. There was no one there and no one stopped us walking through. We found ourselves in a long and spacious corridor that leads us to a small courtyard. What was there, you’d ask? Another line, of course! People were waiting in line for the lift or stairs to the dome of the St. Peter’s Basilica. We queued in, and in less than 15 minutes, we had already bought tickets for the lift.

The terrace of the St. Peter’s Basilica dome

The lift only takes you half the way up to the Basilica dome, and you need to climb an insane number of steps afterwards to get to the very top. On account of claustrophobia (my mother), fear of heights (also my mother) and general laziness (me), we didn’t do that. Instead, we made way to a terrace, where we had cappuccino, took about a million selfies and enjoyed the view.

Selfie time!

When we decided to head back down, we had to take another lift. Once on the ground level, the lift doors opened, we stepped out and realized that we were inside St. Peter’s Basilica. We discretely high-fived and began our stroll inside the magnificent building.

Full disclosure: I haven’t had a chance to replicate the entrance without waiting in line for half of my life. Maybe that’s an entrance for the paid tours of the Vatican Museums they do (about 20 EUR/person) and we were just lucky that there was nobody to stop us or check our credentials. Perhaps a guard left the door open by mistake. Either way, it’s worth giving this a try before taking your spot in the mile-long line on St. Peter’s square. You’re welcome.

To recap: How to skip the line at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome

1. Order online tickets for the Vatican Museums.
2. Stop by St. Peter’s square on the way there. Consider murder-suicide but don’t actually do it.
3. Enter the museums.
4. Reach the Sistine Chapel.
5. On your way out, look for the door on the right (not the one on the left with the exit sign).
6. Go out into the little courtyard, wait in a short line.
7. Buy tickets for the lift to the dome (8 EUR per person for the lift, 6 EUR if you take the stairs only).
8. Take the lift up, climb to the top of the dome if you feel like it, then take the other lift down. Ta-daa — you’re in the church already!

P.S. Rome is wonderful, I’m totally in love with it!

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