Vatican City. What to See? A Guide to Vatican Monuments and Attractions

Name: Vatican City
Rating: 5

The Vatican is the smallest country in the world and the only one inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. There are a lot of pilgrims here who visit their pope, the head of the Catholic church. But although the Vatican is a place full of spirituality, it will delight every tourist regardless of their religion, because this place is intimidating with its history, art and wonderful architecture. And it's located in the heart of Rome, one of the most beautiful cities in the world!

Vatican City attractions. What to see in the smallest country in the world? Experience map

In the article, I present the most important attractions of this unusual place, practical information and tips on getting there, buying tickets and sightseeing. Check out our guide to the best Vatican attractions!

Practical information

Getting there

The Vatican can be easily reached by public transport:

Metro: Line A (Ottaviano or Cipro stations), about 5 minutes' walk from the Vatican Museums
Bus: Line 64 from Termini Station, about 20 minutes on foot
Train: San Pietro Station, about 10 minutes walk to St. Peter's Square

Tickets and Vatican Sightseeing

The best time to visit is in the morning or late afternoon. It is possible to visit the most important attractions around Pl. St. Peter in 1 day, but you have to start early, preferably from the Museum, and then enter the dome, because you come down from it to the basilica. From there, you go straight to the square. It takes all day and you can hit the square with the tilting sun, which looks magical. Just visiting the Museums will take 3-4 hours, so after them there is a good time for a meal, there is a restaurant and a cafe at the exit.
Free entry: to St Peter's Square and St Peter's Basilica (with audio guide €16)
Tickets to the Vatican Museums: I recommend buying them online in advance. This costs €25 per adult and €13 for children under 18. This is 5 euros more expensive than on the spot (20 euros and 8 euros), but in this way you avoid very long queues
Visiting the Vatican Museums takes about 3–4 hours, the tour is over 7 km!
Tickets for the scenic dome of the basilica: 10 euros by stairs for an adult, or 15 euros by elevator and stairs (it does not pay off with an elevator, because there are a lot of more difficult stairs left, and you still have to wait for the elevator). Here we bought tickets on the spot, you also have to stand still, but shorter than in the Museums and we did not want to choose a specific date and hour earlier, due to the fact that we did not know how much we would get in the Museums and whether the weather would be nice, which is important in the case of a viewpoint.
Free entrance to the Museums: every last Sunday of the month, museums can be visited for free, but there is no ticket booking
Tape inspection: You'll be inspected before entering the experience (including the free basilica). Similar to the security check at the airport. It is best to put everything in a backpack or bag beforehand, both mobile phones and other equipment. Long tripods are not welcome, it is worth storing them in your backpack if possible. Jackets don't need to be taken off
Clothing: When visiting the Vatican, remember to dress appropriately, i.e. keep your shoulders and knees covered. It is not very strictly monitored here, but it is not worth upsetting others and exposing yourself to unpleasantness, so it is better to have at least some scarf in your bag or backpack
Attention!! When visiting the Vatican and Rome, keep an eye on your belongings and watch out for pickpockets and thieves, especially in the tourist crowd. Thefts happen here very often and are extremely sophisticated. Things can dissolve in the air. We ourselves were the victims of theft, because our backpack was lost in front of our eyes. There are gangs here. First of all, keep an eye on your documents, because temporary passports are issued every day in Rome due to theft. It is particularly dangerous in the vicinity of the MB Śnieżna Basilica and the main station

Saint Peter's Square - the heart of the Vatican

St. Peter's Square is the heart of the Vatican and one of the most recognizable places in the world. It was designed, together with the basilica, by Bernini in the 17th century. It has an ellipse shape with a length of 372 meters. The square is surrounded by a monumental colonnade, consisting of 140 statues of saints. Among them there is also a Pole - Saint Jacek Odrowąż. The central point of the square is marked by an Egyptian obelisk and two fountains. This place often gathers thousands of pilgrims during religious celebrations, such as papal audiences or solemn masses. This place looks extremely charming when the tilting sun breaks through its rays in a warm color through the columns and floods with the splendor of the fountain.
Info: this place is available to tourists for free

St. Peter's Basilica - the largest monument of the Vatican

St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is the largest church in Europe and the second in the world, after the Basilica of Our Lady Queen of Peace in Jamusukro, the capital of Côte d 'Ivoire. It is a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture, which also impresses with elements of the Baroque. The construction lasted over 120 years, in the years 1506 - 1626, and outstanding artists such as Michelangelo and Bramante participated in its creation. The enormity of the building and its decorations take your breath away. We had to stop every step and in bewilderment, delightedly admire the grandeur of the temple. It is difficult to find a place not covered with frescoes, mosaics or sculptures. Michelangelo's famous Pieta on the right attracts attention, but the eyes immediately turn to the main altar, decorated by Bernini's fascinating canopy. It is underneath the tomb of St. Peter, the first pope. 91 popes are buried in this basilica, including our Polish Pope, St. John Paul II. He was honored because he rests in the chapel of St. Sebastian, on the right side of the basilica.
Info: the temple is available free of charge, but you must pass a tape check before entering

Dome of the Basilica - the best viewpoint in Rome with a wonderful panorama of the city

The dome of St. Peter's Basilica was designed by Michelangelo. It is the highest point of the Vatican, 132 meters high and 42 meters in diameter. Its weight is about 14,000 tons! From its observation deck, we admired the spectacular panorama of Rome and the Vatican with its square and Vatican Gardens lying at our feet.
Info: tickets 10 euros by stairs, 15 euros by elevator and stairs. To reach the top of the dome, you need to climb more than 500 steps. There is also an elevator, but you still have to climb a lot of stairs above it, so the viewpoint is not accessible to people with disabilities and struggling with mobility problems. The view from the top is limited by a lattice, but it is still great. This is the best vantage point on Rome

Vatican Museums with Sistine Chapel

The Vatican Museums is one of the largest museum complexes in the world. It includes dozens of museums and more than 70,000 works of art. It presents both ancient Greek and Roman sculptures, as well as Renaissance masterpieces by Michelangelo and Raphael. This place is quite a difficult nut to crack. It's not cheap, a lot of walking and in addition in the crowd. So maybe you have doubts whether to visit them? I strongly encourage you! It's absolutely amazing and wonderful. I had heard a lot of good things about these museums before and I was not disappointed. It's all true. They're just Cossack. It starts the least (if you can say so), but the further we go, our excitement grew and reached its zenith already in the gallery with giant maps (here I found our next destinations: Sardinia and Sicily). The culminating moment is the Sistine Chapel with frescoes by Michelangelo and the Last Judgment. There, a few moments of breathing, you can sit on a bench and contemplate. I imagined it smaller, but it's also not what shocked me most about this museum. The ceilings here are so captivating that the neck hurts from raising the head.
Info: The route is 7 km long, spend 3-4 hours on it! Online tickets for adults cost 25 euros. On the spot 20 euros, but I do not recommend it, because you stand in very long queues. There is a tape check waiting in front of the entrance. There are benches and a bar in the courtyard. Museums can be photographed and filmed, but the Sistine Chapel is forbidden. At the exit, there is a restaurant and cafe, toilets and a souvenir shop.

Vatican Gardens

The Vatican Gardens were once a hunting ground for popes. Wild animals were brought here. Once, however, the pope was attacked while walking and this custom was abandoned. Since then, only green parrots reign here, as in many places in Rome.
Info: The gardens are available for visiting for a fee, only in groups

Polish accents in St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican

On the right side of the Vatican Basilica, in the chapel of St. Sebastian, there is the tomb of the Polish Pope, St. John Paul II. After his death, he was buried underground, like most popes, but after his beatification, on May 1, 2011, his remains were transferred to the basilica, which is a great honor
On the left side of St. Peter's Basilica there is a sculpture of Maria Clementina Sobieska, granddaughter of King John III Sobieski, Queen of Great Britain, France and Ireland. She abandoned her husband and sons to pray at the monastery of St. Cecilia in Rome
In the Vatican Museums, among the numerous works there is also a huge painting by Jan Matejko "Jan Sobieski near Vienna". It is hung in Sobieski's room. The painter personally presented the work to Pope Leo XIII as a gift of the Polish nation. The painting was created in 1883
St. Peter's Square is decorated with a colonnade consisting of 140 statues. Among them is one Pole, Saint Jacek Odrowąż, crowned by Giovanni Bernini in the 17th century

Interesting facts about the Vatican

He first changed the secular name to papal in the 6th century, and more precisely in 533, John II (earlier Mercury). However, the custom became widespread only in the 11th century, and it became a practice only in the 16th century
Many statues in the Vatican Museums have fig leaves in place of the genitals, and some are even cut off. They were not made this way. In the 16th century, Pope Paul IV ordered the removal of intimate parts and the insertion of fig leaves in their place. The Council of Trent, which took place at that time, prohibited nudity in sacred art. Such censorship lasted for 300 years
The Pope is protected by the so-called Swiss Guard - a military infantry formation, formally existing since the 16th century. Considered the smallest and oldest existing army in the world
St. Angel's Castle - this is the former castle of the popes, here they protected themselves during the Roman revolts. It was built for Emperor Hadrian, and today houses the Museum of Medieval Weapons. (13 euros). This is where the Illuminati church was located in the movie Angels and Demons
Nearby is the oldest window of life in the world. It was established in the 12th century, or more precisely in 1198, initiated by Pope Innocent III in the hospital of the Holy Spirit
The film Quo vadis by Kawalerowicz, based on the novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz, tells about the times of the first Christians and ancient Rome. In Rome, the last scenes of the film were shot, during which St. Peter suddenly changes his mind when fleeing the city and returns to accompany his fellow believers in misery

Other Papal Basilicas

In addition to St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, it is worth visiting the other papal basilicas in Rome. By virtue of the Lateran Treaties of February 11, 1929, they are the extra-territorial property of the Vatican. These are:

St. John Lateran Basilica - the oldest papal basilica, the first seat of popes
Info: free admission, as in other papal churches
Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore - famous for its beautiful mosaics
St. Paul's Basilica Outside the Walls - the burial place of St. Paul
Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls - in sources it is mentioned less often, it is a patriarchal basilica, which is also included in papal basilicas

You will find an equally magnificent basilica in Italian Venice

Lateran. What to see in Lateran, the first seat of the popes

Basilica on the Lateran - the church of St. John was the first seat of the popes after the emperor Constantine the Great recognized Christianity as a binding religion and donated the Lateran area to the bishop of Rome and the head of the Church
Info: free admission, tape check before entry
An integral part of St. John's Basilica is the Baptistery, which played an important role in the beginnings of Christianity. It was built in the 4th century and is one of the oldest early Christian buildings of this type in Rome. One of the legends says that St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, was baptized here
Info: the entrance is located at the back of the basilica, free admission, a break in sightseeing begins around noon (siesta)
An Egyptian obelisk decorated with hieroglyphs rises opposite the baptistery. A fountain was glued to its base in the 17th century. There is no taller ancient Egyptian obelisk anywhere in the world. It is over 32 meters high, and if you add the base and the top in the form of lions and a cross, it reaches over 45 meters in height
Basilica of the Four Coronations - one of the most interesting churches in Rome, from the outside it resembles a fortress. The temple was created to commemorate four soldiers (as well as five stonemasons) who, according to legend, were sentenced to death by Emperor Diocletian because they did not want to renounce the Christian faith

A Brief History of the Vatican City State

The Vatican did not become the seat of popes until 1377, when Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome from Avignon. Ending the so-called Avignon slavery. Previously, the popes lived in Rome, and their main residence was on the Lateran. In the year of the pope's return, it was destroyed after a fire at the beginning of the 16th century. Interestingly, in 756 Pepin the Short, king of the Franks, handed over to the Church, Pope Stephen II, lands in central Italy, creating the Papal States. It existed until 1870, when it was absorbed into the United Kingdom of Italy. Then the popes declared themselves "Slaves of the Vatican".

The present Basilica was built in the sixteenth century and at the beginning of the seventeenth century, and stood on the site of an older early Christian basilica, the foundation of Emperor Constantine the Great. According to tradition, the basilica is built on the tomb of St. Peter, who died crucified upside down on the Vatican Hill. He was also buried there. Over the millennia, the traces have been erased. It was not until Pope Pius XII, around 1950, ordered archaeological research in the underground, aimed at discovering the body of St. Peter. A tomb from the first century was discovered, but it was empty. However, a box was found in which there were bones of a man about 70 years old, along with the designation "PETROS EN" (Piotr is here). The remains had to be revered because there are traces of purple interwoven with gold. They were probably moved to this place to celebrate or protect them. The reliquary with the remains of the first pope is today located under the main altar of the Basilica.

The current Pope Francis is the 266th official pope. Throughout history, there have been about 40 antipopes. They were people elected to office illegally.

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What's worth seeing in the area?

If you have already visited this attraction, it is also worth visiting several other interesting ones places nearby. Within a radius of 100 kilometers you will find many interesting places places that can diversify your stay in this part of Poland.

Pantheon in Rome, distance: 1.7 km
Trevi Fountain in Rome, distance: 2.2 km
Altar of the Fatherland in Rome, distance: 2.3 km
Colosseum in Rome, distance: 3.1 km
Rome, distance: 3.1 km