Vatican City

Vatican City is a country: the world’s smallest independent state, covering about half a square kilometre inside the city of Rome. For visitors it means three main experiences: St Peter’s Square, St Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums with the Sistine Chapel. St Peter’s Square and the Basilica are free to enter (with security checks), while the Museums are ticketed, and the two have separate entrances.

This is our overview of the whole place and how the sights fit together. For bookable options, see the Vatican Museums tours and tickets page.

Is Vatican City a country?

Yes. The Vatican’s sovereignty comes from the Lateran Treaty, signed on 11 February 1929 between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy, which took effect on 7 June 1929. The state is the territory through which the Holy See, the government of the Catholic Church, operates, and the Pope is its head. Its population is under a thousand people. It has its own postal service, radio, a small railway station and the Pontifical Swiss Guard, who have been in service since 1506.

In practice, you enter from Italy without passport checks. A white line in St Peter’s Square marks the boundary, so you walk into another country as you cross into the Square.

A short history of the Vatican

The area west of the Tiber was once outside the ancient city, with a circus built by Caligula and Nero, where tradition places the martyrdom of St Peter. A shrine was built over what was believed to be his tomb, and Emperor Constantine began a large basilica on the site in the early fourth century. Over the following centuries the popes made the Vatican their main residence, and in the Renaissance it became a centre of art and building, as popes commissioned Michelangelo, Raphael and Bernini.

The present St Peter’s Basilica was begun in 1506 and consecrated in 1626. The Vatican Museums grew from the papal art collection, with antiquities collected by popes from the early sixteenth century, including the famous Laocoön sculpture, which was displayed in 1506.

St Peter’s Square

The Square is a great elliptical space framed by Bernini’s colonnades, designed in the 1650s-60s to embrace visitors “like the arms of the Church”. At its centre stands an Egyptian obelisk brought to Rome by Caligula and moved here by Pope Sixtus V in 1586. Two fountains and a marked disc on the pavement help you find the best viewing points for the colonnades. The Square is open to the public at most times, although it can be restricted during major events. Tickets (free) are required for papal general audiences, which are normally held on Wednesday mornings, and for special ceremonies. Check the Holy See’s official channels for current details.

St Peter’s Basilica

St Peter’s is among the largest churches in the world and is free to enter, though you pass through security first and a queue forms in the busiest hours. A strict dress code applies: shoulders and knees must be covered, for men and women. Our article on the Vatican dress code covers what to wear.

Highlights inside:

• The Pietà: Michelangelo’s marble of Mary holding Christ, completed in the late 1490s, in the first chapel on the right.
• The Baldacchino: Bernini’s bronze canopy over the papal altar, made in the 1620s-30s.
• The Dome: Michelangelo’s design, completed after his death. You can climb it for a view over the Square and Rome. Part of the way is by lift, and the rest is stairs. Check the Basilica’s site for current dome access and fees.
• The Treasury and grottoes: papal tombs and relics, visited separately.

Visits to the excavations beneath the Basilica (the Scavi, or necropolis) are controlled and must be requested in advance with the Vatican’s excavations office. Do not assume you can add this on the day.

The Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel

The Vatican Museums are a vast complex of galleries. The Sistine Chapel is part of the same visit and ticket, so you do not need a separate Sistine ticket. Expect a long, one-way route through the galleries that ends at the Chapel, with a shortcut direct to the Chapel offered in places. Key stops:

• Pio-Clementino Museum: classical sculpture, including the Laocoön and the Belvedere Torso.
• Gallery of Maps and Gallery of Tapestries: long corridors with painted maps of Italy and woven tapestries.
• Raphael Rooms: frescoes painted in the early sixteenth century, including The School of Athens.
• Sistine Chapel: built under Sixtus IV in the 1470s. Michelangelo painted the ceiling between 1508 and 1512 and The Last Judgment from 1536 to 1541. Silence is requested, and photography is not allowed.

Museum opening days include closures on Sundays, apart from a free-entry day usually held on the last Sunday of the month which is extremely crowded, and on church holidays. Because hours and prices change, check the official site, museivaticani.va, before planning. For tickets and tour formats, compare the options in early access, skip-the-line or private, and use our step-by-step booking guide. For the current picks, see the early-access tour and the small-group Sistine Chapel highlights tour.

How long do you need in Vatican City?

Allow half a day for the Museums and the Sistine Chapel (about three hours), and another hour or more for the Basilica, longer if you climb the dome. A full day is realistic if you do both without rushing. If you only have a few hours, the Museums with a guide, followed by a short visit to the Basilica, is a common order, because the Museums route can lead you out near the Basilica. Check the current rules on whether the Museums-to-Basilica shortcut is open.

Best time to visit

• Early morning on a weekday for both the Museums and Basilica.
• The last two hours before closing, when queues are shorter.
• Avoid Wednesday mornings for the Basilica if a papal audience is held in the Square, and avoid the free Sunday.

For crowd timing tactics, see Vatican without the crowds.

Why the Vatican crowds are what they are

Millions of people visit each year, and most want the same thing: the Sistine Chapel. The Museums route funnels everyone toward it, so the galleries before it can feel like a moving corridor. Early-access visits, small-group tours and late-afternoon entries all try to change when you reach the Chapel rather than whether other people are there. If crowds worry you, read about the three main ticket styles before you choose. Our skip-the-line ticket listing is the simplest independent option.

Getting there

Metro Line A to Ottaviano or Cipro, then walk about ten minutes to the Museums entrance or to the Square. Many buses and trams also serve the area. From Castel Sant’Angelo you can walk along Via della Conciliazione straight to the Square, a route that gives the Basilica’s dome as a backdrop. Details of Rome’s transport are in our getting around guide.

Sample plans for a Vatican day

Whichever order you choose, do not schedule a second big sight straight after. The Museums route is long, and the Basilica queue and dome climb add more time than most people expect.

Who the Vatican suits, and mistakes to avoid

The Vatican suits anyone interested in art, architecture or religious history, and it is a strong rainy-day choice because most of it is indoors. It is less suited to small children on a tight schedule, because the Museums route is long and quiet behaviour is expected in the Sistine Chapel.

• Do not turn up without a ticket and expect to buy one at the entrance in peak season.
• Do not wear shorts, a sleeveless top or a short skirt to the Basilica without a cover-up.
• Do not plan the Museums and the Basilica as a 90-minute stop. Most visitors need far longer.
• Do not assume a guide is needed for the Square or the Basilica, but one adds a great deal in the Museums, where labels are limited for the size of the collection.
• Do not queue with unofficial sellers outside the walls. Official sites and trusted providers are listed on our hub page.

Practical tips

• Check current opening days and prices on the official sites; those are time-sensitive.
• Carry a lightweight scarf or shawl in summer if you plan to enter the Basilica.
• Large bags and sharp objects are not allowed. Expect security checks.
• Be wary of touts offering “skip the line” near the Museums entrance. Book directly or through a trustworthy provider.
• The Vatican Gardens are not open for independent visits, and are accessible only with guided visits arranged in advance.

Nearby sights

Castel Sant’Angelo is a short walk away; see our Castel Sant’Angelo guide. The Prati district has shops and restaurants for lunch away from the tourist menus. If you plan to combine the Vatican with other big sights, read Vatican and Colosseum in one day, and for a wider plan see Rome in three days.