Sistine Chapel (Cappella Sistina) Tours and Tickets

Yes. The Sistine Chapel is part of Rome’s Vatican Museums and to visit it, you need to book either an admission ticket or a tour of the museums in advance. You can’t turn up at the Sistine Chapel on the day and wait in line for a ticket.

Yes. The Sistine Chapel is one of Rome’s top attractions, so admission tickets to the Vatican Museums—which include access to the chapel—sell out fast. If you can’t get admission tickets for a self-guided visit on your chosen day, try booking a tour that includes admission instead.

You can’t enter the Sistine Chapel directly as there’s no exterior entrance—you can only reach it indirectly via the Vatican Museums’ entrance at Viale Vaticano, on the northern edge of Vatican City. After going through this entrance, follow the signposted one-way walking route through the museums’ galleries, which leads to the chapel.

Yes, visiting the Sistine Chapel is worth it—it’s one of the world’s greatest artistic and religious treasures. The chapel boasts magnificent Renaissance artworks, the finest being Michelangelo’s early 16th-century ceiling frescoes of biblical scenes. His central, iconic image, The Creation of Adam, is universally acknowledged as a masterpiece.

Measuring 131 feet (40 meters) by 46 feet (14 meters), the Sistine Chapel is roughly the size of two tennis courts placed end-to-end—so walking through doesn’t take long. As it’s usually crowded, most people find that 15-20 minutes is enough time to admire its stunning interior.

The Sistine Chapel is busiest from late morning to early afternoon, on Saturdays, public holidays, and from early spring through fall. For thinner crowds, aim for early morning or mid-afternoon or visit from November through March, except on Easter and Christmas. Alternatively, consider early-access or after-hours tours for the least amount of other visitors.