Visit the Vatican in Rome: tickets, prices, schedules

How to visit the Vatican, what to do and see in this state city that is called the Holy See? Follow our Vatican guide!

No Rome visit is complete if you do not plan visit the Vatican . The smallest state in the world is just west of the Tiber and receives the visit of millions of pilgrims and tourists every year. While most travellers visit the must-see places of City such as St.Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, there is much more to see and do during your visit to the Vatican.

Our complete dossier on the Vatican will allow you to organize your visit in an optimal way. Follow the guide step by step!

What to do and see in the Vatican?

1. The Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums, which are 11 in number, are considered among the most beautiful museums in the world, home to many of the most famous masterpieces of paintings, sculptures and art collected by the popes over the centuries. The simple entry for an adult is 16 €. You may wish to consider booking your ticket online (4€ more, on the official website ) to avoid long queues. Be careful, the entrance to the museum is not on Place Saint-Pierre, but a 10-15 minute walk to the right. Look at it this map . Also check on the site the closing days, many during the year.

How to visit the Vatican Museums without queue?

- You can buy tickets in advance for Vatican Museums via the Vatican official website . This means that you will not have to queue on site to buy tickets. However, you will have to wait in a short queue for other people like you, who have booked tickets in advance and have to pick them up. You'll also have to go through security, like everyone else.

- You can buy the Omnia Card . This pass will also allow you to get a guided tour with a guide of the Vatican Museums, as above. The Omnia Card also offers the entrance to other monuments of the Vatican and Rome. If you visit Rome for 3 days, the ideal remains to take the Pass Rome .

- You can also book a guided tour of the Vatican Museums . Several formulas exist. Your guide buys tickets in advance for you and you enter the Vatican Museums with your guide without having to wait in the queue.

- If you book one visit of the Vatican Gardens , the ticket for the Vatican Museums is included!

The main attractions that most travelers want to see by visiting the Vatican are the Basilica of St.Peter and the Vatican Museums. To be precise, Pietà Michelangelo is located inside the Basilica of Saint Peter and the Chapel Sixtine (whose Michelangelo painted the ceiling) is located inside the Vatican Museums.

You can see either one or the other. However, it is very easy to visit both in one day. Just try not to plan another big visit (like another museum, or Colosseum ) for that day, because you will be exhausted enough later.

2. The Sixtine Chapel

After visiting the Vatican Museums, you can visit the Sistine Chapel. This chapel is very famous and the interior is constantly crowded because the chapel is not very large and once people are inside, they tend not to want to leave.

The Sistine Chapel is certainly a site to be seen in the Vatican. The famous scenes at the Michelangelo ceiling that stage the Genesis (as) The creation of Adam ), and Judgement Last on the back wall are beautiful. Admire the side walls decorated with frescoes by Botticelli, Pérugin, Rosselli and Raphaël. Attention, the photos inside are forbidden.

It is not possible to visit only the Sistine Chapel. To see the Sistine Chapel, you must visit all the Vatican Museums, which will take you at least 2 hours. The Sixtine chapel is at the very end. However, if you are interested in a "express visit" of the Sixtine Chapel, you can book an exclusive visit , which avoids queues at the Sixtine Chapel and ends with a visit to the Saint-Pierre Basilica.

This visit lasts only 90 minutes and does not include the visit of the rest of the Vatican Museums. You will pass through the museums, but the guide will focus on the Sistine Chapel and Saint-Pierre Basilica.

3. Saint-Pierre Basilica

Saint Pierre Basilica is open to the public for free. Before you enter, you will have to go through a security check. Be clothed respectfully. The first thing you will notice before entering the basilica is the size of it, it is huge! Take your time to see everything here: The baldaquin of the Bernin in bronze carved above the great altar where only the Pope celebrates Mass is magnificent and dominates the center of the basilica. This altar, which is directly under the dome, was built above the old tomb of Saint-Pierre. Before leaving the Basilica do not forget to stop you to see La Pietà de Michel-Ange, the only sculpture that Michelangelo has ever made, and considered one of his greatest masterpieces.

4. Place Saint-Pierre

Located right in front of the Saint-Pierre Basilica, we find the Piazza monumental Saint-Pierre that was designed by Lorenzo Bernini ("Bern"). This is the unmistakable place in the Vatican. It is a high place of assembly from which one can admire the colonnade of 284 columns arranged on 4 rows with their 140 statues. In the centre of the square we find the Vatican obelisk. There are also a few fountains, but it is especially since this place that we can see the Pope on Mass Days and on Holy Days.

5. Attend a papal hearing

The papal hearings take place on Wednesday mornings at 10:30 am, either on Place Saint-Pierre or in the Paul VI hearing room (or both according to the number of people). To attend a audience of the Pope, you will need to make a request in writing or by fax to the Pope. Prefecture of the Pontifical House . Tickets are free but must be removed the day before or early on Wednesday morning. If you are a believer, it is truly an event not to be missed given the joy and animation that you feel at this moment. You can also book your place online for a papal audience , which will give you access to the Vatican Museums later.

6. Attend Mass in the Basilica of Saint-Pierre

There are many Masses every day and attending one of them is such a great experience for believers. Do not forget that this is a mass and not a photo session for tourists, so respect the places and mass. To see the daily schedules of the Masses in the Basilica of Saint Peter and in the other Basilicas, see the official website .

7. La coupole de la Basilique Saint-Pierre

If you are looking for a magnificent view of St Peter’s Square and Rome then the St Peter’s Basilica Cup is the perfect place. Being the highest point in Rome, the dome offers stunning views in all directions. Climbing at the top of the Coupole costs 7 euros by elevator and 6 euros by taking the 320 steps. Note that you may want to avoid climbing the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica if you suffer from dizziness or claustrophobia.

8. The Sacred Caves of the Vatican

After visiting the Basilica, visit the sacred caves (or crypt) where the tombs of many popes and other dignitaries are buried. The crypt is under the church and contained the tomb of John Paul II until its beatification in May 2011. At the bottom of the crypt is a glass wall that offers a plunging view of the tomb of Saint Peter, which is located directly under the papal altar of the Basilica.

9. Visit Vatican Necropolis (Scavi)

The Scavi Tour is a circuit that takes you below the crypt, a place known as the Vatican Necropolis (not confusing with the Sacred Caves), and which is the supposed site of the tomb of Saint-Pierre. Attention, however, if you want to explore this Necropolis, you must take it in advance (sometimes months in advance) because only 200 people are allowed inside each day. To book, send an email to [email protected] indicating the number of people in your group, the name and first name of each person (the organizer must give his address), the language you speak (for the guide), the day or the period you would like to visit (give a large period), and to which address you stay in Rome (name and number of such). Visiting hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Sundays and holidays.

10. The Vatican Gardens

The Vatican Gardens cover more than half of the space occupied by Vatican City and are located behind St. Peter’s Basilica. The only way to see the gardens is to organize a guided tour through the Vatican, because one cannot walk without supervision in the gardens. The cost of this visit is 31 euro and includes the guided tour of the gardens, the entrance to the museums of the Vatican without a guide, and the rental of audio guides.

How do I go to the Vatican?

To visit the Vatican, you have several options to go there. But the most important factor to consider is what you visit first.

To visit the Vatican Museums first

The entrance of the Vatican Museums is on the Viale Vaticano . If you take a taxi, just tell the driver "Musei Vaticani" in Italian or "Vatican Museums" in English.

By metro Otherwise, the most common way to get there is the metro. Line A (red metro) of Rome has two stops, at the same distance from the entrance of the museums (about 10-12 minutes walking): Ottaviano and Cipro.

The Ottaviano metro stop is the first to arrive if you come from the centre of Rome. When you leave the subway station, just follow the crowd towards the Vatican, and once you see the walls of the Vatican, follow them to the right and you will arrive at the entrance of the Vatican Museums.

If you come to the Vatican from the opposite direction, or if you forget to go down to Ottaviano, or, better yet, if you want to go down to the next stop to take a delicious slice of pizza at Pizzarium Bonci, then go down to the Cipro stop.

By bus Another option to get to the entrance of the Vatican Museums is to take a bus (or several). Many buses will take you close to the entrance of the Vatican Museums. These include lines 492, 49, 23 and 81.

Getting to the Basilica of Saint-Pierre first

The entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica is on St. Peter’s Square. It is about 15-20 minutes walk from the Vatican Museums, so if you don’t visit the Vatican Museums (or do not visit them first), and you want to go directly to the Basilica, you can always take the metro, but make sure to get off at the Ottaviano stop, not Cipro.

From the Ottaviano Metro stop, Saint-Pierre Square is about 15 minutes’ walk away. Follow the crowd, but arrived at the walls of the Vatican, do not turn right in the direction of museums, continue straight ahead.

The buses that arrive closest to Place Saint-Pierre are lines 40 and 64. The 64 bus is probably the one that takes you closest to Place Saint-Pierre.

To visit the tomb of Saint-Pierre first

If you visit the Vatican starting with the tomb of Saint Peter, the fastest and easiest way to arrive is the taxi. They can deposit you right in front of the entrance where you have to go, which is at the level of the Swiss Guard, to the left of the Basilica when you face it.

If you take the bus, take the 64, because it takes you to a block.

To take the metro, make sure to get off to Ottaviano, and give yourself about 20 minutes’ walk from there to get to the entrance of the tomb of Saint Pierre.

FAQ – Vatican

What is the best time to visit the Vatican?

There is not really a “best time” to visit the Vatican. The Vatican is the most popular tourist destination in Rome and is almost always very busy. You can consider Tuesday and Thursday like the best of the week to visit the Vatican City. Weekends (from Friday to Monday) are more frequented, and Wednesdays usually take place the papal audience, which causes long queues.

That said, from April to October, you can book a visit of the Vatican Museums and the Sixtine Chapel on Friday evening . And there's a lot less people at that time. This night visit may be one of the best-kept secrets in Rome.

In the morning, most groups of tourists present themselves at the entrance of the Vatican to try to avoid queues. Try to visit the Vatican Museums instead in the afternoon when they are less crowded.

The Vatican Museums are closed on Sunday, except on the last Sunday of each month, when they are free. This is the most frequent day to visit the Vatican Museums, as you can imagine.

On Wednesday (except in July, when the Pope pauses), the pope held a hearing at the Basilica of Saint Peter. In the summer, it takes place on the square. In winter it takes place in a room, just to the left of the basilica. This means that the entire area will be crowded because of tens of thousands of people attending the papal audience, many of whom decide to visit the Vatican Museums after the hearing. If you visit the Vatican on a Wednesday, when the papal hearing takes place on St. Peter’s Square, you should know that St. Peter’s Basilica will be closed until the end of the papal hearing (about 12-13h).

The best season of the year to visit the Vatican is in winter. You will have less people in December (except December 8 and Christmas until the Epiphany on January 6), January and February. There are as many people in the Vatican between Christmas and January 6 as in summer.

How to get dressed to visit the Vatican?

To visit St. Peter’s Basilica, you must be properly dressed: no knees, belly or naked shoulders. If you wear a short and a skirt that comes to the knee, note that it will be at the discretion of the Vatican Guards, the level of apparel can therefore vary. In doubt, you will easily find many vendors just outside the Vatican, who sell t-shirts or scarves.

Are the photos allowed inside the Vatican?

Photos and videos are prohibited inside the Sixtine Chapel. The camera is allowed anywhere else, but without flash.

Is there a record where to drop his business?

There is a free locker room at the museum entrance.

Visitors should leave to the dressing room everything that is drink, food, suitcases or bags with a size exceeding 40 x 35 x 15 cm, umbrellas, knives and scissors, anything considered dangerous.

What are the paid Vatican monuments?

The Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and the Saint-Pierre Basilica dome require a reservation and are charged.

What are the free Vatican monuments?

Place Saint-Pierre and Saint-Pierre Basilica are free of charge.

Main Photo Credit: Flickr – Christopher Lance