GetYourGuide uses cookies to give you the best possible service. If you continue browsing, you agree to the use of cookies. More details can be found in our privacy policy.
Immerse yourself in the Vatican's awe-inspiring art with no-wait access to the Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museums, St. Peter’s Basilica, and more.
Choose your preferred time and enter with no line within the booked slot! Enter St. Peter’s Basilica and the tombs (crypt) and enjoy the freedom to…
See priceless works of art from the Papal collections in the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel. Marvel at masterpieces from antiquity to…
Join this 3-hour tour of the Vatican with skip-the-line access. Explore the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and the St. Peter's Basilica, and…
See priceless works of art from the papal collections with your skip-the-line ticket to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel. Receive a 15%…
See all the most important sights of the Vatican City with a guide in your chosen language. Skip the long lines to the Vatican Museums, Sistine…
Take the worry out of your transfer between Vatican City and Fiumicino Airport and save money on expensive taxis with a convenient shuttle bus…
Skip the lines and discover one of the world's top art collections at the Vatican Museums. Marvel at Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.
Take a guided tour of Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. Enter through an exclusive privileged entry for Vatican Museums…
Rome
See all 1376 tickets & toursSign up for our newsletter and discover travel experiences you’ll really want to try.
Vatican City – everyone’s heard about it, but what is it exactly? Is it a part of Rome, is it independent, are only priests allowed in? There are a lot of mysteries and misconceptions surrounding Vatican City, so here are 5 fascinating facts.
With a tiny population of 842 and an area of 110 acres (roughly an eighth of New York’s Central Park), Vatican City is the world's smallest independent nation-state.
As a completely non-commercial economy, all of Vatican City’s money comes from donations, museum admission fees and the sale of postage stamps, books and tourist souvenirs.
Featuring the world-famous Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City is a highly popular tourist destination, attracting over 4 million visitors yearly.
In 1277, a secret passageway was built between the Vatican City and the nearby fortified castle Castel Sant’Angelo, providing an escape route for the pope if the city was attacked.
The colorfully dressed men standing in front of the city’s entrances are the famous Swiss Guards. Former mercenaries, they are now the permanent de facto army of Vatican City.
Although Vatican City is extremely popular with tourists all year around, if you’re looking for a quieter visit, your best bet is during the low season between November and February.
There is so much to see in Vatican City, make sure you’re not pressed for time. Importantly, if you want to see the Sistine Chapel, it’s essential that you enter the Vatican Museums before 3:00 PM so you can reach the chapel before it closes.
Although there is more than enough to take in as an individual visitor, those who want to learn about Vatican City’s rich history would benefit from one of the many excellent tours offered. There are public as well as private tours. Note that latter need to be booked well in advance.
You’re unlikely to run into the pope on your visit to Vatican City. However, every Wednesday the pope holds a public audience on St. Peter’s Square in the summer and in the Audience Hall during winter. The audience starts at 10:30 AM, but most visitors arrive earlier to secure a good seat. Security opens between 8:00 AM and 8:30 AM.
We visited the Vatican Museums, incl the Sistine Chapel, using Get Your Guide. It was a last minute booking after being advised by a friend to buy fast track tickets. Good job we did because the Queues were very long, and in the August heat would probably have resulted in us missing the whole thing. The meeting point was just outside the main entrance, and our guide was easily identifiable and was there on time. We only bought the fast track ticket, not the full guided tour which was also available. Our guide gained our group entrance to the museuems, gave us our tickets once inside, and then we walked round at our own pace. The Get Your Guide app was very easy to use, and held our purchase voucher electronically, although I also printed ours out as a backup. We may have paid a little more than we would have paid if we'd joined the long queue to pay on the door, but it was very, very worth it. Thanks for a great experience !
Unfortunately the noise and crowd in Vatican Museum especially Sistine Chapell is more than annoying. Stuff screaming all over the place- go, do not stop. If so... how am I supposed to see anything. Waste of time. Seen something but did not feel anything amazing about and in that place.
Barbara guided our group. Her knowledge and insight made for an amazing experience. Only draw back was the temperature and sun. Even so she was very accommodating stopping along the 3hr tour for water and shade.
The guide was very well-informed, highly perceptive, and always smiling. The tour was well planned. It covers the most important parts of the museum (in the given timeframe), the Basilica, and the Chapel.
Five stars for guide. Negative stars to Vatican for allowing unmanageable number of tourists access to museum and Sistine Chapel in one hundred degree weather.
