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Went there August 2004, so things were very much in Summer season - huge amounts of sunburnt tourists. Went around the Vatican Art Museums one day (full day, near enough), queue early (45m to an hour in advance of opening) or leave it until about 14h to go, or it will feel like all day queuing (there was a 2 km queue when we were intending to go first - we decided to go the next day, but earlier to the Museums, and instead spent nearly full day to see St. Peter's, etc. That included a tomb trip from within St. Peter's, if I recall correctly. They are fairly flash, marble and papally glamorous, so almost a disappointment, though pretty stunning all the same.
Don't know if the current pontiff is into all this kind of thing, but you could get tickets on a Tuesday for an Audience with the Pope on the Wednesday, where up to 3000 people or so (could be 5000) are blessed and addressed - majorly weird buzz - brass bands from Colombia, choirs from Croatia, flags from hundreds of nations, and loads of about to be married couples in full regalia. Well worth the trip if Catholic, and a look if not. That said John Paul II did have that charisma and attraction, that B16 doesn't seem to have as much of.
You should try to get out to the Catacombs off the Via Appia South of the city where you get a fascinating view of the old Christianity, near enough to an old ruined Circus (it's a field, but the old track is there still - bloody huge), and the rustic pleasure of the Via Appia itself - bring your own water, they rip you off major time and there aren't exactly a lot of shops there to do it anyway. The Catacombs close at lunch, and I'd check in advance to see what their times are because it is a long way out by public transport, and you don't want to be waiting around for ages to get in (like we were). Have a great time either way.
Originally Posted by Dodge
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