More than 4 million people a year visit the Vatican Museums, whose visitor route includes the Sistine Chapel and Raphael's Rooms and ends with entry into St. Peter's Basilica. According to the Vatican, the museums originated with a group of sculptures collected by Pope Julius II in the early 1500s. As you already know from earlier sections in this chapter, Julius II was a fan of then-contemporary artists Michelangelo and Raphael. Thus, it's no surprise that the museums include decorative works by both. You can also find works here by Leonardo da Vinci and Fra Angelico.

There are a baker's dozen sections in the Vatican Museums:

• Gregorian Egyptian Museum

• Gregorian Etruscan Museum

• Classical Greek and Roman Antiquities

• Pio Christian Museum

• Picture gallery

• Tapestries

• Ceramics

• Miniature mosaics

• Modern Religious Art

• Missionary-Ethnological Museum

• Museo Sacro (previously part of the Vatican Library)

• Gregorian Profane Museum

• Vatican Historical Museum

There are both guided and audio tours available; audio tours are offered in eight languages, including English. As with most museums, you'll also find a gift shop and bookstore, along with a cafeteria and pizzeria to help recharge your engine should you decide to try to at least take a cursory look at all the collections in a single day.

Note that if you intend to see the Sistine Chapel, it will be included in your ticket price when you purchase entry into the Vatican Museums. If you want to get a better idea what kinds of works you will be able to see throughout the museums, then check out the (albeit limited) virtual tours at the Vatican's website, www.mv.vatican.va.

If you're visiting the Vatican Museums with a group, opt for the “radio services” option of the audio tour. It is a multichannel broadcast system that lets everyone in your party wear headphones and hear the guide at the same time, thus eliminating any confusion about which audio recording refers to which artwork.