“I felt like cattle in the Vatican. I don’t think I even moved a foot while I was there. I just floated in a huge mass of people. And the pace was too fast, so I didn’t have time to appreciate everything I was looking at. It outraged me,” said a foreign traveler who visited the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, one of Europe’s main tourist attractions, the Express newspaper reported.
A whopping six million tourists visit the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel each year, which is about 30,000 people a day. About 2,000 tourists can be accommodated there at the same time. Travelers became enraged en masse on social networks. They criticized overcrowding, loud noise, and fast pace near the historical monument. “There were so many people there. I wanted to stay in the Sistine Chapel and admire the painting on the ceiling, but I was pushed forward and it was very noisy. The viewing of relics and paintings was spoiled,” complained another.
“Stay away. There were a lot of people in the room, and there was no way out. When you get to the chapel, it is very crowded,” the traveler added on the Tripadvisor website. However, among tourists there are also those who consider visiting the Sistine Chapel to be an amazing experience that is worth experiencing, despite the critical number of tourists.
Due to its incredible popularity, tourists began to look for ways to avoid crowds when visiting this attraction:
- Arrive very early.
- Visit the Sistine Chapel in less popular seasons.
- Reserve tickets in advance, as those arriving without pre-purchased tickets face long queues first to purchase them and then to tour the historic building.
Reference: The Sistine Chapel is a historic building in the Vatican, part of the Apostolic Chambers. It is one of the most famous and visited places in the world thanks to its stunning frescoes by Michelangelo, including the famous “Creation of Adam” on the ceiling. The Sistine Chapel is also used for ceremonies and conclaves for the selection of a new pope.