How to avoid lines into the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel is not difficult. In fact it is just common sense.
The worst time to visit the Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel is first thing in the morning as all the guide books say to avoid lines you must go first thing in the morning. The Vatican is much quieter in the afternoon as people mistakenly believe the museums and the Sistine Chapel become too busy the further into the day.
The Vatican Museums close at 6pm with the last entrance at 4.30pm. 3pm is a great time to visit the museums as this leaves you with a good 3 hours inside with the place, not quite but almost to yourself.
It is also very important to take note that the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel close on Sundays which means that Saturdays and Mondays are especially busy.
The exception would be the last Sunday of every month when the Vatican Museums open for free (as long as you are willing to wait in up to 3 hour lines). In this case, Saturday and the Monday very quiet as the majority of people will have visited on the free day.
But to guarantee avoiding all lines into the Vatican you can also purchase your tickets online which means you can go straight in just like a V.I.P. You can do this by taking our Vatican Tour and buying tickets ahead of time.
To take a five-star tour while avoiding all lines into the Vatican check out Roman Empire Tours Vatican tour.