Planning a trip to Italy? You’re in the right place! After spending a month exploring Italy and visiting some of the most iconic sites, we’re sharing all our knowledge to help you plan your bucket list trip to Italy. In this blog, we’ll cover all the MUST-KNOW tips for visiting the Vatican City!
As the world’s smallest country and the heart of the Catholic Church, the Vatican City attracts millions of visitors each year who come to marvel at St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums, and the awe-inspiring Sistine Chapel. However, navigating the crowds, dress codes, and ticketing systems can be overwhelming if you’re unprepared.
To make the most of your visit, keep reading our blog to learn essential tips for visiting the Vatican City to ensure a smooth, enjoyable, and unforgettable experience!
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Tips for Visiting the Vatican City Table of Contents:
- What is the Vatican City?
- When to Visit
- Tips for Visiting the Vatican City
- Best Tours in the Vatican City
What is the Vatican City?
In case you didn’t know, the Vatican City is not a city in Italy or a neighborhood of Rome. While it is located within the city of Rome, it’s actually its own country. The smallest country in the world, with an area of just 0.17 square miles!
That said, you will hardly know you’ve left Italy and entered a new country! There’s no official border crossing or passport control checkpoint. Making it the perfect place to visit on your trip to Italy!
When to Visit the Vatican City
The most popular time of year to visit the Vatican City used to be just during the summer season, but now it’s April to October. The shoulder seasons of Spring and Fall are blended together with the peak season, with the off-peak season being November to March.
We visited during the last week of October, and it was still very, very busy. After speaking with some locals, we learned there’s no real “slow season” regarding tourism in Italy—just more busy and less busy times.
If you want to avoid insane crowds and endless lines, we’d recommend avoiding summer completely! But keep in mind that even during the less busy months, there will still be crowds and long lines. Don’t believe us? Just watch this video about some of the lines we experienced during our month-long trip to Italy (end of October to mid-November).
Tips for Visiting the Vatican City – Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, & St. Peter’s Basilica
#1. Book your Vatican Museum Ticket in Advance
It’s no surprise that visiting the Vatican Museum is at the top of everyone’s list when visiting the Vatican City. Tickets will easily sell out year-round, so it’s best to buy them online in advance. While they do have a ticket office where you can buy tickets on-site, the line was crazy long, and there’s no guarantee you’ll even get in for the day.
We booked tickets for the Vatican Museum a few months in advance for the earliest time slot on a weekday, right when they opened. We’d definitely recommend the earliest time slot available on a weekday!
Note: The Sistine Chapel is inside the Vatican Museum, so you don’t need a separate ticket to visit It. Similarly, you do not need a ticket to visit St. Peter’s Basilica; it’s free to enter (but more on this below).
#2. Arrive BEFORE the Vatican Museum Opens
This may sound a little crazy since you have a timed entry ticket into the museum. However, something we quickly learned about Italian museums is that time entry does NOT mean there will be no line. It simply means you cannot enter the museum before that time (and usually a certain time after that slot).
During out visit in late October, we booked the first time slot of the day (8:00 a.m.) but arrived around 7:00 a.m. to grab a quick breakfast nearby. We were shocked to see people already lining up around 7:00 a.m. We jumped in line around 7:30 a.m. and were so glad we did. By the time it was 8:00 a.m., there were thousands of people lining up. Which was wild to us!!
Being one of the first few hundred people inside made SUCH a huge difference! We felt like generally speaking, it was a very peaceful experience and we didn’t have to fight crowds much at all. But by the time we left the museum (around 10:00 am), some of the same areas we were in earlier people were standing shoulder to shoulder.
#3. Sistine Chapel Visiting Tips
The Vatican Museum is HUGE! It reminded us a lot of the Lourve in Paris. There is a flow to the museum so everyone is walking through the exhibits in the same direction. While we were strolling through each room, we saw so many people racing through the museum to get to the Sistine Chapel. Which honestly stressed us out because we thought maybe we needed to do that too.
But we encourage you to take your time walking through each exhibit! It’s incredible and we wish we’d spent more time taking it all in. The Sistine Chapel will still be there when you’ve finished AND it’s on a ceiling. So no matter how crowded the room gets, you still have a great view since you are looking straight up. :)
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Also, there are absolutely NO photos or videos allowed in the Sistine Chapel. While we were pretty bummed at first, we actually love this rule. It forces you (and everyone else) to slow down and truly enjoy it with your eyes only! As much as we love taking photos and videos to capture our travels, sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of a moment because you’re seeing it through a camera lens vs. your own naked eyes. Please be respectful of this rule – there’s signs everywhere and museum staff watching to see if if you trying to take a photo or video (and they WILL yell at you lol, we saw this a few times).
#4. To Minimize Crowds, Visit the Vatican Museum & St. Peter’s Basilica on DIFFERENT Days
Okay, we know this sounds weird because, logistically, it doesn’t make sense, so let us explain…
Although they are right next to each other, we’d recommend visiting the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica on different days to minimize the crowds. The reason is you’ll want to visit both early in the morning, which of course is not possible to do on the same day. If you go to the Vatican Museum right when they open, it’ll be a few hours before you are done and ready to visit St. Peter’s Basilica. And by that time, there will be hundreds, if not thousands of people in line.
Since there are no tickets or timed entry for St. Peter’s Basilica, you will want to be there to get in line EARLY. When we arrived around 9:30 am on a weekday in October, the line was already wrapped around Saint Peter’s Square with thousands of people waiting. It would have taken hours to get through, and there’s no covering, so you’re waiting in the direct sun. If you ask us, waiting for hours in direct sun to enter sounds like our WORST nightmare. Which is why we’d recommend getting there as early as possible too!
We were about to give up and return another morning when we saw a sign with a separate entrance for pregnant women (I was 5 months pregnant at the time of our trip) called the “Prayer Path” (Percorso Preghiera). There was no line, and we walked right through the security checkpoint within minutes. But unless you’re pregnant, disabled, or are there ONLY to pray or visit the confessional, you need to wait in the normal line.
#5. How to Climb the Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica
As we’ve mentioned a few times, you don’t need a ticket to enter St. Peter’s Basilica. But, if you plan to climb to the top of the dome in the Basilica, you’ll need a ticket. It’s highly recommended to book those tickets in advance to avoid long waits since you will need to wait in another line after entering through the main security area. But if there’s still availability for the day, you can purchase on-site once inside the Basilica area.
There are 2 options to reach the top of the Dome:
- The Dome with Stairs – 17 €
- You will climb 551 steps to reach the top of the Dome.
- The Dome with Lift – 22 €
- You will take a lift to the first level. Once at the first level, you must climb 320 steps to reach the top.
You can learn more about climbing to the top of St. Peter’s Basilica Dome on their website.
#6. Dress Modestly
Italy is a Catholic country, so most famous sites and stunning churches require modest attire to enter. This means that shoulders and knees need to be covered for both men and women to visit all sites in the Vatican City. For women, nothing too low or revealing either. You’ll see many street vendors around the Vatican selling shawls for anyone who needs to cover their shoulders!
Ladies, if you want to wear a sun dress during the warm months but it doesn’t cover your shoulders, we’d recommend packing a shawl to take with you all over Italy. That way, you’re always prepared, even if you don’t plan on visiting a church that day!
Watch our experience in the Vatican City in our Rome Travel Vlog!
If you’re planning a trip to Italy? Read all of our other Italy itineraries & helpful blog posts – Best Things to Do in Rome, Top Things to See in Florence, Best Towns in Tuscany, and 10 Best Things to Do in Verona!
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