• The Vatican Museums
  • The Vatican Museums
  • The Vatican Museums
  • The Vatican Museums
  • The Sistine Chapel
  • The Sistine Chapel: Ceiling
  • The Sistine Chapel: Ceiling
  • The Sistine Chapel: Last Judgement
  • The Sistine Chapel: Last Judgement
  • The Raphael Rooms
  • The Raphael Rooms
  • The Raphael Rooms: School of Athens
  • St. Peter's Basilica
  • St. Peter's Basilica
  • St. Peter's Basilica
  • St. Peter's Basilica
  • St. Peter's Basilica: La Peita
  • St. Peter's Square
  • St. Peter's Square
  • St. Peter's Square
  • Papal Tombs
  • Papal Tombs
  • Papal Tombs
  • Papal Tombs
  • St. Peter's Dome: Inside
  • St. Peter's Dome: Inside Looking Down
  • St. Peter's Dome: View from Dome
  • Pinacoteca: The Painting Gallery
  • Pinacoteca: The Raphael Tapestries
  • Pinacoteca: Transfiguration of Christ
  • Pinacoteca: The Painting Gallery
  • Vatican Gardens
  • Vatican Gardens
  • Vatican Gardens
  • Vatican Gardens
  • Vatican Gardens

How the Vatican Works

This page is for those who really want to know how the Vatican works in general. You don't have to read this article. It will answer general questions that some people have about the location. The following is true and is the same regardless of which guide you use, or if you just go in by yourself without a tour.

Where the Vatican is:
The Vatican refers to the entire complex, which is about 3.5 km² or 2.5 miles² in area, and is contained within huge walls on the left or west bank of the Tiber in Rome, Italy. You can click here to see a map.

What the Vatican is:
The Vatican is the offical residence of the Pope and is where the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica and other attractions are. Saint Peter, an apostle of Jesus, was killed on this hill in Rome in the 60s A.D. and the largest church in the world was built over his grave two hundred and fifty years later. The Catholic Church regards him as the first Pope or human leader of the Christians. Saint Peter's grave is believed to be beneath the church. For the majority of its history the Vatican was its own country, the Papal States, and since the 1930s has been known as Vatican City. It is independent of Italy.

What you can see:
About half the of the Vatican is open to the public.
These areas are: the Vatican Museums, the Raphael Rooms, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, the Papal Tombs, the Dome of St. Peter's, the Vatican Gardens and Necropolis. To visit the inside of the Vatican Gardens or the Necropolis you have to book an official Vatican tour with the Vatican themselves. These are hard to get on to, particularly the Necropolis. The rest of the things above are open to the public and tour guides like myself directly (you can go in when they are open). Very few people see the gardens or Necropolis, most people just go in to the Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica and that's what people mean when they say "we saw the Vatican".

When it's open:
The Vatican is open Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm (last entrance is about 4pm) and during the winter months (October to April), and from 9am to 6.00pm during the summer months (May to September) each year.
May to Ocotber are busy, particularly in the mornings, after that it gets quiet. Between 10 and 25,000 go through there everyday. It is closed on Catholic Holy days such as Christmas, Easter Sunday and three Sundays of every month in general. The last Sunday of every month the Vatican is open to the public for free as a Catholic charity principle, however it is so busy I would not recommend going on this day. If you book a tour with me, I will know the Vatican is open on that day (I have the timetable). One of the mistakes people make is to think it is not busy and they just show up. Be prepared to spend hours in line if this is the case.

One way system:
To see the Sistine Chapel, or the Raphael Rooms you have to go through the Vatican Museums. There is no other way.
This has been the case since the year 2000. Inside it is mono-directional; a one way system, although there are options along the way. For instance the Raphael Rooms are not compulsory and not all the museums are compulsory.

The Lines or Queue:
There are two lines or queues for the vatican.
One is to get in to the Vatican Museums (to see the Sistine Chapel) and the other line is for St. Peter's Basilica.
They are two seperate buildings which are beside each other. The Museums open at 9am and there is a line or queue with about 2,000 people or more in it who have been waiting since 7am. You can skip the line by booking a tour with a tour guide or by buying skip the line tickets online with the Vatican themselves. You do not need to book a tour to skip the lines.

You can skip the line for St. Peter's by going through the Vatican Museums and then exiting the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter's Basilica. This door is usually open although the Vatican has a habit of closing this door to the public at no notice for periods of time, maybe a month or so. This shortcut door is always closed on Wednesday mornings from 9am to 1pm as the Pope is giving a Papal Audience in St. Peter's Square. So if you want to skip the lines, book your tickets for the Museums online, or book a tour with a guide (s/he will get your tickets for you, as I do) and start in the Museums and end in St. Peters.

If your book a tour with me, we skip all lines. There is no waiting.

The Vatican Museums:
The Vatican Museums are one of the largest privately owned museums in the world.
They contain thousands of peices of sculpture and paintings collected by various Popes over the last 500 years. You have to go through the Museums to see the Sistine Chapel or the Raphael Rooms. In the afternoon, the sheer size of the museums will exhaust you. Until about 12 noon the Vatican has two ways of going through the Museums; the short and long itinerary.

After about 12 noon they close off the short itinerary and you have to go the long way.
This baffles me, but it is the way things are. The Museums are one way and have been so for the last ten years. There is little or nowhere to sit down inside the Museums (except for 2 cafe's and a set of benches in two rooms) and there are only four bathrooms in the entire complex (one at the entrance, one in the downstairs cafe, one in the Raphael Rooms, and one near Sistine Chapel). I give stops for bathrooms and coffee on my tours. Information about the museums with pictures is here.

The Raphael Rooms:
The Raphael Rooms are a series of previous Papal Apartments used in the 15 and 1600s painted by Raphael Sanzio.
Four of the original seven Raphael Rooms are open to the public (at the time of writing). These rooms are optional; you can skip these rooms altogether or you can go through them. Doing the Raphael Rooms (which usually takes 20 to 30 minutes) means you will, more often than not, have to go through the Boriga Apartments and the Modern Art Gallery to get to the Sistine Chapel. The Boriga Apartment, downstairs, are where the Popes lived before they occupied the Raphael Rooms.
I provide historical information about the Raphael Rooms with pictures here.

The Sistine Chapel:
The Sistine Chapel is the private chapel of the Pope and is where any Pope in the last 500 years has been elected (conclave).
It contains some of the greatest paintings ever done and it is the reason most people visit the Vatican or Rome. The chapel is its own purpose built building and is separate to St. Peter's Basilica although they are beside each other. You cannot talk inside the Chapel (you can whisper) nor can you take photos or film. It's best to put your camera away before you go inside. It takes at least an hour to get to the Sistine Chapel and you cannot just go straight in to it. I provide actual historical information about the chapel with pictures here.

St. Peter's Basilica:
The Basilica (or royal building) of Saint Peter is the largest church in the world of any Christian denomination.
It is free to go inside but it has a permanent line or queue which is big in the summer months and in the mornings in particular. You can skip this line by going through the Vatican Museums and when you get to the Sistine Chapel by exiting out to the Basilica. You then walk straight in. The Sistine chapel administration has a habit of closing this door to the public periodically without notice for long periods of time. You should be aware of this when you come to Rome; you may have to exit the museums and walk around to St. Peter's and line up. It happens. No tour guides are allowed in the basilica after 4.30pm due to mass services. I provide actual historical information about the Basilica with pictures here.

St. Peter's Dome:
The Dome of St. Peter's Basilica provides majestic views of the inside of the church and of the outside of Rome.
It is open from 9am to 5pm in the winter months and 9am to 6pm in the summer months. It is the only thing related to the church which costs money. Prices change every couple of years but it costs less than 10 euros per person. Walking, there is 600 steps to the top, or you can take the elevator or lift half-way and only have 300 steps. You decide at the ticket office inside St. Peter's portico, to the right. It is sign posted once you reach the portico or porch of the church. I do not include this on tours, but I show you where it is. I provide actual historical information about the Dome with pictures here.

The Papal Tombs:
The Papal Tombs are the official resting places of the Popes although not all the Popes are down there.
The tombs are in the basement or grottoes section of St. Peter's; they are beneath the basilica floor. Some of the men in there include: John Paul I, Paul VI among other popes, cardinals, kings and queens. The tombs are free (the Catholic Church does not charge for church entrance) but they are mono-directional; once you go in to the tombs you cannot go in to the Basilica. If you want to see the tombs and the church, go in to the church first. About 60% of the tombs are visible to the public. This is the closest the public can get to the grave of Saint Peter without paying money. To see all of the tombs including the grave of St. Peter up close you have to take the Necropolis tour. No photos or filming is allowed in there at all.

The Necropolis:
Literally the City of the Dead, the necropolis is the original ground level and cemetery where St. Peter is believed to be buried.
The tombs are on the floor above it and the Basilica church floor is on the level above that. To visit the Necropolis you have to book a tour with the Fabbrica of St. Peter through the Vatican's website. When you receive confirmation you meet them at the Ufficio Scavi (Excavation's office) to the left of St. Peter's. They also show you some parts of the tombs which are not available to the public in general.

Vatican Gardens:
It is only possible to visit or go inside the Vatican Gardens on an offical tour of the Vatican provided by the Vatican themselves. Details are available on their website. You can see and take photos of the Vatican Gardens on any tour, including my own, from the viewing decks in the museums. The Vatican is more gardens than anything else.

Summary:
The Vatican is a large 3.5 km² complex in Rome. It is open to the public 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday. You can skip the line by booking tickets with the vatican or by booking a tour with a guide like me. You have to go through the Vatican Museums to see the Sistine Chapel and to skip the line for St. Peter's. The Museums are huge and are one way system. It is best to do a tour in the morning. It is best not to bring children on the tour. You can take photos everywhere except the Sistine Chapel and it takes at least an hour to walk to the Sistine Chapel. There are very few bathrooms inside and hardly anywhere to sit down. The Vatican is popular and usually crowded. St. Peter's is free but maybe closed when you visit. You will be tired at the end of your visit but it is worth it. Sounds great, doesn't it?

Conclusion:
The above is a list of what is open to the the public and the parameters and other limitations. The above list is not perfect and should not be used as a definitive reference guide although it is true based on my experience of being in there twice a day, six days a week for almost 5 years. If you have read the above you now know how the Vatican works and can make a very informed decision about what kind of tour you want, whereas most people just show up. The worst thing you can do is show up with assumptions and have those notions shattered by what the Vatican is actually like.
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