Vatican City may be small, but there is an incredible amount of history and interesting things to see here. After spending the early morning visiting St. Peter’s Basilica, we headed over to the Vatican Museums. Yes, the iconic Sistine Chapel sits within the museum, but there are so many other amazing pieces of art, pretty rooms, and interesting items that have been collected and displayed here. Read on for some basic information to plan your visit.
Getting to the Vatican Museums
The Vatican can be reached on foot from the heart of Rome. However, it sits a bit outside of the city center, so visitors commonly travel there via public transport.
There are a few metro stations around Vatican City – Ottaviano, Cipro, and Valle Aurelia. These are all served by Line A. There are also various buses that stop at points all around the Vatican, including 23, 40, 62, 64, 81, and more. Lastly, Tram 19 stops at the Risorgimento hub just outside the Vatican. Check routes and timetables here.
If coming from outside Rome into the city, you can take a train to Stazione San Pietro or Valle Aurelia. See tickets and routes on Tren Italia.
Despite being its own little country and governing entity, the Vatican has an open-border policy with Italy, so there is no customs or passport/visa control to pass through when entering. You may have to go through basic security checks at individual sites though.
Once at Vatican City, you’ll find the entrance to the Vatican Museums on the north end of this little country along Viale Vaticano. This is where you’ll que based on your ticket status.
Tickets & Hours
The Vatican Museums are open Monday through Saturday from 8a.m. to 8p.m. with the last entry at 6p.m. The last Sunday of each month, hours are 9a.m. to 2p.m. with the last entry at 12:30p.m.
Tickets cost €20 per adult, which includes access to the Vatican Museums collections and the Sistine Chapel. If you want an audio guide, you can purchase one for €8. There are also tours available for an additional charge if you’d like a more structured visit. The last Sunday of each month, visits to the museums are by tour only.
We’d recommend booking tickets online with a time slot online in advance to avoid having to wait in the ticketing line upon arrival. When booking online, there’s a €5 booking fee, but we think that’s worth it to guarantee your entrance and avoid having to wait extra hours in line.
Regulations
Before entering the Vatican Museums, visitors go through a security check. Large bags, food and drink, selfie sticks, and other bulky items are not permitted. These can be stored in the museum cloakroom during your visit free of charge.
There are sacred places within the museums, so visitors to the Vatican Museums must be wearing appropriate clothing. This includes bottoms that go below the knee, covered shoulders, and no low-cut tops. Visitors also cannot wear hats. If your outfit isn’t deemed appropriate, you may be denied entry to the museums.
Photography is allowed in the many of the exhibit areas, but do not use flash. Visitors cannot take pictures in the Sistine Chapel.
Visiting the Vatican Museums
We arrived at the entrance to the Vatican Museums a while before our time slot and began to que when instructed by an official there. Because we had bought tickets in advance, the line for security and ticket check to get inside moved pretty quickly.
The Vatican Museums are multiple connected exhibitions/collections that display different topics, including Egyptian artifacts, Christian catacombs, carriages, art from various eras, and so much more. This place is huge and you really could spend many hours in here, so we’d recommend checking out the museum topics online and planning your visit a bit beforehand. Here’s a map if you’re interested.
The various museum collections are well-marked with signage inside, directing visitors on where to head. Once inside, we noticed people pretty consistently rushing straight towards the Sistine Chapel. This left many of the works of art and exhibits on the way somewhat uncrowded, which surprised us a bit. There were some other popular spots that were congested though, including the Raphael Rooms and the Hall of Maps, which was really packed full of people shuffling their way down the hall.
There are so many cool things to see in here that we enjoyed taking the time to admire – it’s much more than just the Sistine Chapel!
The Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel is an icon of Vatican City and perhaps the main reason most tourists visit the Vatican Museums. The incredible paintings that cover the walls and ceilings were done in the early 1480s shortly after the chapel’s restoration. Multiple painters worked on the chapel, most notably Michelangelo, who painted the ceiling and a portion of the upper walls in the early 1500s.
Thousands of people pass through the chapel per day, and even on a February (off-season) morning, it was pretty busy in there. Remember that photos are not allowed. You will be scolded and made to delete the photo if you are caught trying to snap a pic. There are officials stationed around the room keeping a watchful eye over visitors. Guests are also expected to remain silent inside the chapel. For about 20mins, we walked about the room, taking in as much of the detail as possible before moving on to other exhibits.
Other Amenities in the Vatican Museums
There are free restrooms inside the Vatican Museums.
If you’re feeling hungry, there is also a cafeteria that sells a variety of food, such as pizza, sandwiches, salads, and sweet treats.
For a souvenir or something to remember your visit by, there’s a gift shop in the museum as well. Another unique thing visitors do to commemorate their trip is visit the Vatican Post Office inside the museum area. Here, you can buy postage from Vatican City and even send yourself or a loved one a post card from the smallest country in the world!
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