New opening hours at Vatican Museums from 2024.
The Vatican Museums will extend its opening hours from 08.00 until 19.00, with effect from 1 January 2024, as part of a major shake-up of its admission policies ahead of Jubilee 2025.
In a statement the Vatican Museums said the aim is to "guarantee the best usability of the pontifical collections, emphasizing broader inclusion and high experiential quality" as well as overcoming "some critical issues" in relation to the full recovery of tourism after the covid pandemic.
The museums' current opening hours are from 09.00 until 18.00, with final entry at 16.00, however from next year visitors will have access from 08.00 to 19.00 with last admission at 17.00.
During the high season, from March, opening hours on Fridays and Saturdays will be extended to 20.00, with last entry at 18.00. These hours will also be in operation on select days during the year.
The move is designed to divide attendance over a longer time in order to "improve the quality and safety" of visits, with each accredited tour guide entitled to take a maximum of 20 visitors.
The Vatican Museums says it will also combat "secondary ticketing", a practice that involves tickets being bought in bulk by bots and resold to tourists at inflated prices, by introducing tickets with visitors' names and carrying out identity checks.
Meanwhile a project is underway to gradually expand the museums' air conditioning system throughout its exhibition rooms, as part of measures to conserve works of art and "protect the health and well-being of visitors".
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