Vatican City Travel Answers

I'm not sure but it is best to just leave your Ipad in your place. You can just bring a camera for pictures.

That's not answering the questions.

Here is the Official Web Site in English. I read through most of it and could see nothing to indicate that an iPad would not be allowed. mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_... Since I don't have an iPad, the only thing I'll say is that it would probably be a lot easier to carry the museum audio guide which is quite compact. You also know it was put together by the museum curators who presumably know the collection better than a third party who may have developed an app. Consider the time difference here and you will probably get a few more answers . . . hopefully from someone who knows the apps available. Whatever you choose, the Vatican Museum is an awesome experience and I hope you enjoy both the museum and the city of Rome.

The official Vatican Museums website doesn't mention anything but I think the only way you will know for certain is to try. I see no reason why there would be a problem but it is up to individual security staff to decide what is/is not appropriate. Policies can change quickly. The big advantage over a downloaded guide, imo, is that it *may* take you on a slightly different route to the audioguide. Audioguids, in my experience, always mean clusters of people at stopping points, which can be irritating. Personally, I just took myself round looking at the things which caught my eye and using my guidebook for specifics. I didn't have Fugu's experience of being 'pushed' although the Sistine Chapel is definitely a sardine experience, sadly. (To address this I'd rather they limited daily visitor numbers and made it something for which you had to book in advance). So I suggest that you take your ipad if you wish and, if a guard suggests you can't use it, stick it into the bag storage facility: mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-I... and get an audioguide (or not).

I recently received an email from a VT member who mentioned that he used his Ipad just last week to make notes while wandering around the museums so no, that doesn't appear to be a problem.

Yeah, it's clear from the various descriptions of one app awesomeaudiotours.com/#!__au... itunes.apple.com/it/app/muse... ipaditalia.com/musei-vatican... that it and the iPad are intended to be used in the Museums. Indeed, one of the features of this app is that all content can be downloaded in advance so that you don't have to incur roaming charges while wandering through the Museums. I have not used this app - indeed, I don't own an iPad - but I am tickled by what the Italian iTunes website says... "Valutato 12+ per: * Raro/Moderato Contenuto sessuale o nudità" [For ages 12 and up: slight to moderate sexual content or nudity] heh heh, those rascals in the Vatican ;-) Bill

Thank you goodfish for your very much appreciated reply. Good to hear about anecdotal evidence. McCalpin, u know what? I also saw that before and lol, so I lol again when you mentioned it to me- is unreal, eh?! They show so much violence on tv that is unedited, but they better never show a Madonna's breast from a Master! lolol And if I can give a 'nice' suggestion to others- I didn't ask whether I should take it or not, so to be honest I wanted answers to my question, not your advice as to what I should do. And I appreciate the time spent in reading the Vatican website, but 1) If they don't mention that you can't, that doesnt mean you can now, does it? and 2) I certainly wouldnt want to take it with me because I "should be able" to- dont want to carry the thing around and be frustrated not being able to use it, or worse, having to leave it behind the desk! For those interested, I want to take it if the guide is better than the audio. For example, it would be extremely valuable to take the iPad if the app shows history and pictures of the artist, and video or pictures of some detail in the paintings and explains it, something the audio obviously wouldn't do as well, as it is more general. That's why McCalpin's mentioning that you could download it b4 going inside is extremely valuable info to me. Also, I have a travel app on my Ipad which lets me take explicit notes and audio of my travels with the ability to insert pictures and notes from other apps, which I would find a very nice integration with my iPad Vatican app. There is, of course, a camera on the iPad, so I wouldnt have to carry 2 things. And finally, I have actually downloaded a (free) text-to-mp3 program online and have customized guide notes for myself and family. We will download them onto each of our iphones/iPad and I think will get a lot more out of it. So the reasons for taking the iPad are quite numerous. I googled the app and it turns out it got 4 1/2 stars from 49 people so I think I will get it. Again, thanks for all the advice.

Just as kindly, Barry... A question is often going to get all sorts of responses depending on the individual experience, and a post is often read not only by the OP but by others researching the destination. Just as most of us on this thread have done the museums and are probably not particularly interested in what apps you decided to take and why, someone also reading this thread may find that info very useful. A potential visitor to Rome following this discussion may also find the links to the website helpful (amazing how many of our posters don't know where to find those), may decide that the compactness of the audio guide is a better choice for them, or be interested to know that a book can work in lieu of a tour or other form of guidance. Just sayin' - the replies were all well-intentioned.

Goodfish: you said that so much more courteously than I could have managed.

Thanks for your reply goodfish. Can appreciate your take on it, but I just don't agree. You are suggesting that readers read thru posts which have nothing to do with the question. Isnt the purpose of a posted question to get an answer to it? Unfortunately, this is the case with many threads on here that are, in some cases, many pages long. Why not start a specific thread on whether or not to bring an ipad or not? This will also help the person wanting the answer to that question, instead of forcing them to look up all the posts in regards to an iPad. I think it makes for a better quality website. But, that's only my opinion :)