How to visit the Vatican City: Best Tips + Tours for Vatican Visit

Vatican City. The seat of the Roman Catholic Church. Home to many beautiful and important works of art. You can’t go to Rome and not visit the Vatican City. And for some, a visit to the Vatican City is the key reason for a trip to Rome! Even with high expectations and despite the crowds, the opulence, history and the breathtaking art and architecture will leave you speechless. This post covers the best attractions as well as the travel tips on how to visit the Vatican City.

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Overview of Vatican City

Vatican City is a sovereign state and enclave, with its own government, diplomatic relations, and jurisdiction. The pope is the head of state and has absolute power within the city. Vatican City is surrounded by Rome. It maintains an open border with Italy and is considered part of the Schengen Area.

With multiple places to visit within Vatican City, multiple tickets to purchase, and massive crowds, you may be wondering what is the best way to visit Vatican City. What we will cover here is information and tips on how to visit the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, and more. Vatican is a must-visit attraction on any Italy trip, so prior planning will help you get the most out of your visit.

The Vatican Museum is a bucket-list place you absolutely should visit at least once in your lifetime, irrespective of your religious affiliation. The Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel are visited on one ticket. You will enter the Sistine Chapel through the Vatican Museums. 

St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Peter’s Square is the second area you will visit. The Basilica is one of the most beautiful churches in the world. St. Peter’s Square is an immense open plaza. It is surrounded by impressive colonnades, a soaring obelisk and of course the grand exterior of the Basilica. You can climb St. Peter’s Dome, and I will cover that later in the post. You can book an online ticket to climb the Dome and take a self-guided audio tour of the Basilica.

Vatican Museums

The Museum and the art collection therein is everything that it promises to be. To reach the Vatican Museum first, take the museum entrance located on the northern side of the city from Viale Vaticano. We had bought our tickets online in advance and recommend you do the same. If you haven’t booked your tickets in advance, you might have to wait 2+ hours to gain entry, especially during the peak season between April and October.

We didn’t take a day tour but in hindsight, a tour can not just add incredible information and history to everything you see, but also make the logistics easier within the Vatican City. Even with an online ticket or day tour, you will go through the security check line. There in NO skipping the security check! Browse through some of the tour options here:

Attractions and Suggested Itinerary for Vatican Museum

There are too many spectacular works of art and architecture to be admired, so this visit would take about 2-4 hours depending on your interest. I have highlighted the main attractions in the order in which you will see them.

• Pinecone Courtyard: This is a massive courtyard that connects the main galleries leading to the Sistine Chapel with the Pio Clementino and Braccio Nuovo Galleries. You will see the sculpture of the “Sphere with Sphere” by Arnaldo Pomodoro.
• Spiral Staircase: The staircase was built by the famous architect Giuseppe Momo in 1932.  
• Pio Clementino Gallery: You will see the collection of classical statues in these galleries. It was started at the 16th century beginning by Pope Julius II.
• Gallery of Candelabra: This gallery owes its name to the enormous marble candlesticks that you’ll find in each section as you walk down the hallway.
• Gallery of Tapestries: As you walk through the gallery, you will see tapestries on the right-hand side dedicated to stories of the life of the Barberini Pope Urban VIII. On the left-hand side, are stories from the Bible.

• Gallery of Maps: By far one of the most over-the-top galleries as far as decor goes, this room is literally a gigantic mural with frescoes on both sides of maps depicting Italy. 
• Raphael Rooms: The 4 rooms known as the Raphael rooms were painted by Raphael and his students between 1508 and 1524. If you choose to go to the Raphael Rooms, you will first walk through the Room of the Immaculate Conception. 
• Sistine Chapel: This needs no introduction! The frescoes on the walls were painted by Botticelli, Perugino, and other famous artists. And Michelangelo would later steal the show by painting the ceiling in 1508. 

St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Peter’s Square

To get from Vatican City to St. Peter’s Basilica, you will have to exit the Vatican Museums and walk for about 20 minutes to reach the Basilica. Instead, if you start your visit wth St. Peter’s Basilica first, then use the Vatican entrance located on the southeastern side of the city from Via Della Conciliazione. It is free to enter St. Peter’s Basilica.

The splendour and beauty of St Peter’s Basilica will leave you speechless. Its lavish interior contains many spectacular works of art, including 3 of Italy’s most celebrated masterpieces: Michelangelo’s Pietà, his soaring dome, and Bernini’s 29m-high baldachin over the papal altar.

The dome of St. Peter’s Basilica was designed by Michelangelo. The Papal altar sits below the dome. You will see St. Peter’s Chair, also called the Throne of Saint Peter, with the altar. Michelangelo was only 23 years old when he carved beautiful La Pietà. It is one of the most famous statues in the world and bears his signature across Maria’s chest.

More attractions at St. Peter’s Basilica

Graves of the Popes. There are several popes that are buried on the main level of the basilica and you can see their graves.

Vatican Grottoes. The grottoes are the Papal tombs that sit underneath of St. Peter’s Basilica. 

The Treasury Museum. This museum, which is located inside of the basilica, contains artifacts collected over the centuries.

Climbing St. Peter’s Dome

During our Rome itinerary, it wasn’t possible for us to climb the 500 plus steps to the top of St. Peter’s Dome with our young daughter. But the 360-degree views of Vatican City and Rome from the top are supposed to be stunning. If you want to climb the dome, you have to reverse the itinerary – climbing the dome early in the morning is the best thing to do, then visit the St. Peter’s Basilica and finally the Vatican Museums.

There are 2 ticket options. The cheaper option is for €8, where you climb 551 steps in total to get to the top. If you enjoy some physical activity, go for this option. The second option is for €10 which gives you access to an elevator. You still have 300 odd steps to climb after that. Opt for this, there is quite a bit of walking to be done to explore the rest of Vatican City.

Pro-Tip: The ticket office does not take cards, so be sure to bring exact cash with you. The best time to start this activity is around 8 am, so you won’t have to wait in a long security line or the line to climb the dome.

Some more tips for Vatican visit

Do remember to be in modest attire while visiting the Vatican City. Ladies, don’t show any cleavage. And shoulders and knees need to be covered for both men and women. Wear comfortable shoes to walk everywhere. You will do a lot of walking around in Vatican City, so comfort comes first. See my complete guide on what to pack for Italy for 2 weeks in summer. 

You can bring a small bag with you inside Vatican Museum. Large bags, backpacks, umbrellas, tripods are not allowed into the Vatican Museums and must be checked at the cloakroom. Passport is NOT required to enter the Vatican City.

Planning a trip to Italy? Here are some more guides to help you plan your trip –

Italy Itinerary: The classic two-week Italy Itinerary

Italian cities: 4 days in Rome, One day in Florence, 2 days in Venice

Italian regions: Amalfi coast itinerary for 4 days, Lake Towns in Northern Italy, Lake Como in 3 days, Cinque Terre

Souvenirs: Good Souvenirs from Italy

Food in Italy: 21 of the Best Local & Traditional Italian Food you must try

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Have you visited the Vatican? Which part of the Vatican City impressed you the most?

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