How to visit Vatican City: what to see, documents needed, how to get tickets, dress code and all you need to know for a smooth and pleasant visit to the world’s smallest country.
Vatican City is the world’s smallest country yet one of the most fascinating and significant to visit.
Entirely enclosed within the city of Rome, Vatican City doesn’t necessarily look like a city at all.
Approach from St. Peter’s Square and you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d simply wandered into another of Italy’s beautiful piazzas: golden stone, open sky, and the distant murmur of tourists and pigeons. But look a little closer and you’ll realise you’re standing in a sovereign state!
Just like in all countries, parts of Vatican City are open to the public; parts are ticketed; others again are closed to the general public and only accessible if you have special permits or arrangements.
I am from Rome and I have visited Vatican City more times than I can count: I highly recommend you come over here to see at least part of it, if you happen to be in Rome.
No matter your religious background, the Vatican will impress you with its incredible architecture and art, it really is a fantastic place to see!
In this guide to Vatican City, I share what you can see in Vatican City, how to get tickets and special things you need to know to visit this fascinating State.
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The best things to see in Vatican City
The most popular things to see in Vatican City are:
St. Peter’s Square, the city’s main piazza – marvel at the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica and the sweeping colonnade by the master architect Bernini (free entry)
St. Peter’s Basilica(free entry), center of Catholicism, and climb to the top of the iconic Dome (ticketed)
Visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel (ticketed), one of the most famous museums in the world for ancient sculpture and figurative art especially
Other top things to do in Vatican City
Other wonderful things to do in Vatican City include:
Explore the beautiful Vatican Gardens (ticketed))
Visit the Scavi (ticketed) — the ancient excavations beneath the Basilica, where you’ll find the tomb of St. Peter
Meet the Pope at a Papal Audience or by attending a celebration such as the Sunday Angelus, the Urbi et Orbi Blessing, or Christmas Mass
I will give details on each of this further in this post!
How long do you need to visit Vatican City
How long you need to visit Vatican City depends on what you want to see and do.
If you want to see everything and meet the Pope, plan for two days.
If you want to see the highlights and tick off your bucket list the most popular spots, a day will do.
Most visitors focus on the Museums, Sistine Chapel, Basilica, dome, and a wander around the piazza and in this case you can fit it into half a day to a full day, depending on how long you linger in the museums (and trust me, if you love art, you will linger!).
Here’s how to think about it:
Half a day (One morning or one afternoon): You can visit the museums, Basilica, and piazza if you start early, while the light is still soft and the crowds haven’t yet thickened.
Alternatively, join the Papal Audience (Wednesdays) or the Angelus (Sundays), both of which take place in the morning.
One full day: Visit the Museums and Sistine Chapel in the morning, then the Basilica and Dome in the afternoon.
It’s a lovely, manageable day — enough to feel immersed without ending it on your knees with exhaustion. In theory you could also squeeze in the Gardens or Scavi, but honestly I wouldn’t recommend it. Spread those over a second day instead
After a morning Papal event: You’ll still have time to visit the Museums and the Basilica — a really satisfying combination.
Recommended one day itinerary Vatican City – my favorite way to see it
My favorite way to visit Vatican City us a bit of a treat, as is involves a very special tour that very much falls under the ‘living my best life’ end of the budget spectrum!
I’ll start with it and then give alternatives, there is always another way in Rome!
Early Morning: The Early morning Turning On the Lights Early Morning Tour of Vatican Museums is, without question, one of the most incredible things you can do in Rome.
You visit the Museums and Sistine Chapel before they open to the general public, with a guide and only a handful of other visitors, no more than 20. Twenty! In the whole museum! You are basically alone!
Coming with this setup up, you find that galleries are hushed, the colours vivid, and the Sistine Chapel — usually so crammed you can barely breathe — feels like a private audience with Michelangelo himself.
When I went, I was actually the one to open the Sistine Chapel, I went I before the light got turned on. It was an unbelievably powerful moment!
Breakfast is included, and you continue exploring at your own pace through late morning. It is incredibly hard to get, so I’ve listed my trusted booking options below.
Late morning/lunchtime: Lunch near the Vatican — the neighbourhood has wonderful restaurants for every taste and budget. You can find here > my guide to delicious and local restaurants neat the Vatican
Early afternoon: St. Peter’s Square, followed by a timed ticket visit to the Basilica and Dome for views in over Rome in the soft afternoon light.
How to visit Vatican City
How to visit Vatican City depends on what part of th vatican you decide to visit. In general:
You do not need a document to enter Vatican City: there is no border control, no passport stamping etc.
In reality, you don’t even really realise you are in a different country: if you didn’t know, you’d just think you are visiting one of Rome Piazzas and one of its museums. The give-away is the color of the postboxes: in Vatican City they are yellow, while in Italy they are red!
You do need a document to enter the Vatican Museum / Sistine Chapel and for most guided tours in this area: this is not because the Vatican is a country but because tickets are nominative, like for most other museums and they need to check you are the rightful ticket holder.
For sacred areas in Vatican City such as the Basilica and Museums (because of the Sistine Chapel, which is inside them) there is a dress code that demands modest clothing. See here full details.
Please note! A word on this: no matter how hot a Roman summer is, no matter your personal views on the policy, please respect the dress code. These are sacred spaces for millions of Catholics, and abiding by their rules is simply good manners. If you don’t comply, they can and will refuse entry — and you’ll lose your ticket with no recourse.
How to visit St Peter’s Square
Piazza San Pietro is the grand entrance to Vatican City, a masterpiece of Renaissance design, presided over by the imposing Basilica.
It’s completely free to visit, no tickets or checks required.
Just walk in as you would any piazza in Rome. It’s an outdoor space, open to everyone.
Step into Piazza San Pietro and take a moment to just stand still. The vast oval piazza opens up around you, framed by Bernini’s colonnade curving in like two welcoming arms, with the Basilica’s great façade rising ahead. It is one of the most arresting arrivals in all of Rome.
The square has several significant architectural element worth noticing. You can find here >> my guide to St peter’s Square.
How to visit St Peter’s Basilica and Dome
St. Peter’s Basilica is the heart of Catholicism and one of the greatest achievements of Renaissance and Baroque art anywhere in the world.
Step inside and the scale of it hits you immediately: the soaring ceilings, the gilded altars, the hushed reverence of the crowd. It really is a place to experience in person!
The main floor of the Basilica is free to visit and no tickets, nor planning are needed, you can just walk in.
In practice, though, ‘just walk in’ comes with a caveat: you will almost certainly have to queue, and you’ll need to pass through airport-style security first.
The line moves fairly quickly, but allow around 40 minutes or longer to be safe.
If you’d rather skip most of the wait, timed entry tickets are available — the queue for ticket holders is usually much shorter. You can get them from the official site here.
The Dome is ticketed.
You can choose between a ticket that includes an elevator (followed by around 350 steps) or stairs only.
Fair warning: even with the elevator, the final stretch of staircase is narrow and steep but when you emerge at the top, breathless and a little squashed, the panorama over Rome spread out below you makes every step feel completely worth it. The climb is not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs, and a reasonable level of fitness is a must. You can get tickets form the same official site as above
How to visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel
The Vatican Museums are among the most significant art collections on earth.
They are made of corridor after corridor with collections of ancient sculpture, tapestries, maps, and gilded ceilings that you could spend days here and still feel you’d barely scratched the surface.
The building itself is so spectacular it would be worth seeing even if it were completely empty!
Inside the, you also find Raphael’s Rooms and the Sistine Chapel: Michelangelo’s ceiling blazing above you, every inch alive with colour and muscle and drama. Absolutely stunning.
There are many ways to visit; here’s my shortlist of the best ways to visit the Vatican Museums:
Top of the top / high budget – Keymaster / Turning on the Lights Tour. As mentioned above, this is a very special unique tour that allows you to enter the museums and the Sistine Chapel before the official opening hours of the museums, with only a handful of additional visitors (max 20) and a guide.
The tour is a privileged way to see the museums before they get swamped by mass tourism and is pretty much the only chance to see the Sistine Chapel as it should be seen: with time, no crowds and sufficient space for the guide to actually explain what you are seeing.
If you are catholic to love art, this easily also becomes an emotional moment as being in the Chapel in that quiet setting truly is a powerful thing!
This tour is only offered by very selected providers: I trust GetYourGuide which I used the last time I did this and LivTours, which is my favourite provider in Rome for all tours.
LivTours Express Early Morning Tour: an excellent, time efficient and comprehensive small group tour with a maximum of 6 paritcipants (also available privately).
This is a great tour with a live guide that focuses especially on the Sistine Chapel – perfect for visitors who come more specifically for it and are ok with a shorter visit to the rest of the museum
LivTours Vatican Museums and St Peter Basilica Tour — a longer, more thorough visit that covers Vatican Museums highlights, the Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica, which you can access to a dedicated internal passage only open to tour guides (saves you from the long-ish walk from the Museum entrance to the Basilica’s one) . Excellent and available both as semi-private and private.
GetYourGuide Certified Group Tour – a good group tour with live guide and a good mid range option of small group or private tours are out of reach. The tour comes with tickets, guide and includes Museums highlights, Sistine Chapel and Basilica.
Budget option The cheapest way is to book directly through the official Vatican Museums website.
Tickets are affordable and reliable, and you explore at your own pace.
If possible, book the earliest morning slot or a late afternoon one, when the crowds are lighter. Tickets go on sale months in advance; book as soon as your travel dates are confirmed.
Should your date not be available, GetYourGuide often comes to the rescue with tickets that are more expensive than going direct, yet significantly more affordable than a full tour.
Visiting the Vatican with kids – Need to know
The Vatican Museums are not the easiest place to visit with children: they are vast, crowded, and traditional in format (no touching, no interactive experiences) and can be a real challenge for little ones and for older kids who don’t yet have much experience of museum visits.
That said, there are good ways to make it work!
If you love exploring independently and at your own pace, the official Vatican Museums website offers a dedicated children’s audioguide, complete with a kids’ map.
It’s a lovely way to make the experience accessible and age-appropriate without the pressure of keeping up with a group.
If your budget allows, a specialist family tour is well worth considering.
These are led by a live guide and designed around games and scavenger hunts rather than traditional museum format — brilliant for primary school-aged children and even teenagers who might otherwise switch off.
I am usually not a tour person but I make an exception for the Vatican Museums as I feel you really want one here – if you only spend for one tour experience in Rome, I would make it this one.
My favourite provider for this is LivTours (find here their family tour) , and I’d highly recommend them: they source tickets for you, know how to handle the crowds, what to see and the kids’ focus means they make the place come to life for the children, really not a small feat considering the nature of the place!
The tour comes with an activity booklet with activities, puzzles, games and all guides are chosen for being good with kids. The owner of LivTours have young kids themselves so they know well what kids need!
How to visit St Peter’s Grave (Scavi)
Beneath St. Peter’s Basilica lies an ancient Roman necropolis and, at its heart, the tomb believed to be St. Peter’s own.
To visit, you need to book in advance through the Ufficio Scavi (the Excavations Office) directly on the Vatican website: tours are small, limited to around 12 people, adults only, and they sell out weeks or even months ahead, so don’t leave it to the last minute.
The tour lasts about an hour and a half, takes you deep below the Basilica through narrow underground passages, and is genuinely one of the most atmospheric and moving experiences in all of Rome.
It’s not for the very claustrophobic, but if you can manage it, it’s absolutely worth it. Go with an open mind — what you’ll see is more archaeology than spectacle, but the sense of history is something else entirely.
How to Visit the Vatican Gardens
The Vatican Gardens cover more than half of Vatican City, yet most visitors never set foot in them — which is exactly why you should consider going!
They’re a beautiful, peaceful escape from the crowds, full of fountains, manicured lawns, ancient walls, and views you simply won’t get anywhere else.
They are as manicured as it can be so don’t expect it to be a walk into unspoilt nature: they are the beautiful gardens of the Popes, made to be beautiful and serene, not a place for kids to run around or kick a ball.
Access is only possible on a guided tour, which you book through the Vatican Museums website.
You can usually choose between a walking tour or an open-top bus tour — the bus tour is handy if you are doing this after many hours in the museums as your legs will be tired! Book ahead, especially in spring and summer.
How to meet the pope
This is more achievable than you might think!
Every Wednesday morning (when the Pope is in Rome), the Papal Audience takes place, either in St. Peter’s Square or, in cooler months, inside the Paul VI Audience Hall.
It’s open to everyone, but you do need a free ticket, which you request in advance through the Prefecture of the Papal Household on the Vatican website.
Tickets go quickly, so apply as early as possible. The website is this one.
The audience lasts a couple of hours but you want to arrive early, so this will take up a large part of your morning: the Pope speaks in multiple languages, blesses the crowd, and sometimes moves through the square in the Popemobile.
It’s a really special experience even if you’re not Catholic; there’s a warmth and energy to it that tends to surprise people. Just go with patience, arrive early for a good spot, and soak it in.
As well as by booking an audience, you can also see the Pope during his weekly blessing in St Peter’s Square (Sundays at 12 usually when he is in Rome) or by participating into Papal Mass (free, official site here)
How to get to Vatican City
Vatican City is inside Rome and you can reach it on foot, by metro or by bus, depending on where in Rome you are coming from.
The closest metro stations are Ottaviano and Cipro and they leave you 5-10 mins walk from the entrance to the basilica and museum.
If you were to walk from Piazza Navona area (historic center) it is safe to consider about 20 minutes. Taxis are also an option: they can leave you just outside the Vatican Museums or at the edge of St Peter’s Square – there is no car access to the square itself so to make it to the basilica entrance, it it a short walk across the piazza.
I hope you enjoyed this quick overview of how to visit Vatican City and it answered your questions. Safe travels!
Do I need tickets to visit Vatican City?
No. You only need tickets to enter specific attractions in Vatican City, such as the Vatican Museums or St Peter’s Dome
Does the Vatican have a dress code?
Yes, in their sacred areas. The Vatican requires modest clothing in sacred areas and these include St Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums where you find the Sistine Chapel. Modest clothing means covering knees and shoulders, avoiding revealing clothing of all sorts, and any attire that can be considered offensive to the catholic faith and sensitivity. This applies to men and women alike.
Do I need a passport to enter Vatican City?
No, but you need ID to enter ticketed attraction with named tickets, for instance the Vatican Museums
How long do I need to visit Vatican City?
Depending on what you want to see, a few hours to a couple of days.
Can I walk to Vatican City?
Yes, you can enter Vatican City on foot like you would any other part of Rome.
