Vatican city in 3 hours

Vatican City in 3 hours · What you need to know

The Vatican State is one of the most important attractions for pilgrims and visitors to Rome. Visiting the museums and St. Peter’s Basilica in three hours is a logistical challenge.

Read how you can succeed and what you need to consider in order not to be turned away at the entrance.

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The Vatican City is an own state. When you enter St. Peter’s Square or the Vatican Museums, you cross the state border from Italy to the Vatican. The Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica with its treasury, the Dome and the Grottoes are all publicly accessible. In half a day, you can visit a good part of the Vatican Museums and the St. Peter’s Basilica.

The Vatican gardens and the necropolis under the St. Peter’s Basilica are only accessible through a guided tour. In particular, the tour of the necropolis must be reserved in advance and is quickly booked.

At the Vatican, special rules apply to access to the pharmacy, to the main post office and to the Campo Santo Teutonico.

Opening times Vatican City

Der Petersplatz öffnet um 6:30, der Petersdom um 7, die Kuppel um 8. Petersdom und Kuppel sind während Papstmessen geschlossen und am Mittwochvormittag, wenn die Papstaudienz auf dem Petersplatz stattfindet.

Der Petersplatz schließt um 23:00, der Petersdom im Sommer um 19 und im Winter um 18:30.

St. Peter’s Square opens at 6:30 a.m., St. Peter’s Basilica at 7 a.m., the dome at 8 p.m. St. Peter’s Basilica and dome are closed on Wednesday morning until the end of the papal audience and during papal masses. The Vatican Museums are open from 9 a.m.to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, but there are also early entry options. During the summer there is a special opening on Friday evening 7 – 11 p.m.

St. Peter’s Square closes at 11 p.m., St. Peter’s Basilica in summer at 7 p.m. and in winter at 6:30 p.m.

You can find more details in our articles on opening times of St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums. You can find the opening times of the Vatican Museums in our monthly overview.

Organize the visit

Many visitors ask us whether they should visit the Vatican Museums or St. Peter’s Basilica first. That depends on when you want to visit St. Peter’s Basilica. While you have a reserved entrance time for the Vatican Museums, if you have not booked an audio guide or a guided tour you will have to queue at the security checkpoint at St. Peter’s Basilica. This can take a long time during the day, while there are hardly any waiting times in the early morning and late afternoon.

So if you can be at St. Peter’s no later than 8 a.m., visit St. Peter’s first and then the Vatican Museums; in the afternoon, it’s better to do it the other way around.

Three-hour guided tours

If you’re short on time, the answer is clear: book a guided tour that takes you straight from the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel to St. Peter’s Basilica. You are only allowed to take this passage with guided groups. This passage saves you several kilometers of walking. Otherwise you will have to go back from the Sistine Chapel to the exit of the Vatican Museums and then around the complex to St. Peter’s Basilica. There you would have to queue at the security check again. The tours last 3 hours. Without going straight through it takes at least two hours longer.

The guided tours with passage to St. Peter’s Basilica are available when the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica are open at the same time. This is usually Monday to Saturday, but not on Wednesday mornings and not during papal masses.

Besuch der Vatikanischen Museen

Die Vatikanischen Museen gehören zu den größten und interessantesten Museen der Welt. Hier könnte man viele Tage verbringen. Mit einer Führung bekommen Sie in zwei bis drei Stunden einen Überblick über die wichtigsten Stücke der Sammlung.

Visit to the Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums are among the largest and most interesting museums in the world. You could spend many days here. A guided tour gives you an overview of the most important pieces in the collection in two to three hours.

The Vatican Museums are always very busy and a large number of visitors push their way through the halls and corridors during normal opening times. You can avoid this by booking an early-entry guided tour. While the large crowds of visitors rush in, you disappear through the passage from the Sistine Chapel into St. Peter’s Basilica.

Die Vatikanischen Museen sind immer sehr stark besucht und während der normalen Öffnungszeiten schieben sich sehr viele Besucher durch Säle und Gänge. Das können Sie vermeiden, wenn Sie eine Führung mit frühem Eintritt buchen. Während die großen Besuchermassen heranstürmen, verschwinden Sie durch den Durchgang von der Sixtinischen Kapelle in den Petersdom.

Visit to St. Peter’s Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica

Entry to St. Peter’s Basilica is free of charge. If you do not use the passage from the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter’s Basilica, you have to go through the security check at St. Peter’s Square. Unfortunately there is almost always a queue. Sometimes the queue extends throughout half the square and you have to queue for more than an hour. If you have paid a lot of money for travel and hotel, it is a shame for your valuable time.

You can avoid the queue at St. Peter’s Basilica by visiting very early in the morning, before 9 am, or in the late afternoon.

Visit of the Grottoes

Although there are official opening times for the Grottoes, you need a bit of luck to visit them. By the way, the name Grottoes is a bit misleading. The Grottoes are the floor of the first St. Peter’s Basilica, built by Emperor Constantine in the 4th century. They were created by the fact that the new Basilica was built elevated. The Grottoes consist of a three-aisled church as well as niches, corridors and chapels. Many popes, kings and queens are buried here to be close to the tomb of St. Peter.

The grottoes are newly renovated and there is not much to see except for the tomb of St. Peter and some papal tombs. Taking pictures is prohibited in the grottoes. The visit doesn’t take up more than 15 minutes.

The cash register for the access to the dome of the Basilica of St. Peter is at the exit of the Grottoes.

If you want to learn more about the grottoes, read the history and description of St. Peter’s Basilica

Visit of the dome of St. Peter’s

To visit the dome, the ticket office is located next to the exit of the grottoes, above the visitor center on the right side of St. Peter’s Basilica. With the elevator you can easily reach the roof of the St. Peter’s Basilica, otherwise you can also take the stairs. From the roof you have a breathtaking view of Rome. In the dome, there is a corridor from which you can look down into the cathedral and on the papal altar.

For the ascent to the lantern, a staircase winds upwards in the dome and another path leads down from above. You cannot turn back and if you suffer from claustrophobia, you should refrain from climbing. From the top you have a spectacular view of the city of Rome and the Vatican.

St. Peter’s Dome Price: € 10 with elevator, € 8 without elevator

Vatican City dress code and shoes

Please note the dress code for Vatican City. It applies to all sacred sites of the Catholic Church in Rome. These include the Vatican Museums, all the basilicas and churches and the catacombs.

The dress code provides for acceptable clothing. This means no low neckline, shoulders and knees must be covered. This applies to men, women and children. If you are wearing a strapless dress or a shirt, you should have a light shawl with you. No matter if skirt or pants, they have to reach over your knee.

Regarding the shoes, there are no specific rules published. If you are not traveling with a folklore group, you will not get into the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica with beach sandals or clogs. Even if you are barefoot, you will be refused. Jesus too went barefoot. You can try to quote the Bible, for example, Luke 10:4 or Exodus 3:5.

Luke 10:4 “Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.”

Exodus 3:5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

But for your visit to Rome, you should definitely wear sturdy, comfortable footwear, as you will be walking for many miles and the most paths and paved roads are usually very rough. For the same reason you should also refrain from high heels.

Visit to Castel Sant’Angelo

For the Castel Sant’Angelo you can book the preferred entrance without waiting.

In Castel Sant’Angelo, the ascent goes over several levels and is easily possible for all. People with disabilities can take the elevator to the middle level. Castel Sant’Angelo tickets with fast entry

Lunch in the Vatican area

In the Borgo between the Vatican and Castel Sant’Angelo, there are many nice restaurants, street food and a McDonald’s. The Borgo is where the staff of the Vatican used to live. It’s behind the wall on which runs the “Passetto”, the escape route of the popes between the Vatican and Castel Sant’Angelo.

The McDonald’s is at Borgo Pio, if you go from St. Peter’s Square to Piazza Risorgimento, turn right at the traffic lights .  Two blocks down on Via di Porta Angelica, in Via delle Grazie, is Alice Pizza selling pizza from the tin at the street .

An excellent seafood restaurant for an extensive banquet can be found in the Borgo in Via del Falco 19, Da Benito e Gilberto .

If you are at Castel Sant’Angelo, you can cross the Angel’s Bridge. Continue straight ahead to Campo de’ Fiori, half left, through Via di Panico to Piazza Navona. Already at the next intersection you will find nice bars offering sandwiches and small dishes. In the area you will find many nice bars and restaurants, both half-way in Via dei Coronari and through winding streets to Via del Governo Vecchio. In Via dei Coronari you can also find one of the best ice cream parlors in Rome, the “Gelateria del Teatro” , in the next street on the right, Via della Vetrina, you will get a selection of fresh homemade pasta at “Solo Pasta” for less than 10 euros . Solo Pasta is open at lunchtime until late afternoon and is closed on Sunday.

After visiting the Vatican City

After visiting the museums and St. Peter’s Basilica, you have already made a few kilometers. Perhaps you would like to take a rest on a hop on hop off bus or in one of the nice bars on the way to Piazza Navona.

If you are still full of energy, make your way to the center, the Colosseum, the Basilica of St. Paul or the catacombs.

To get to Piazza Navona from the Vatican, go over the Angel’s Bridge and then through Via dei Coronari.

To get to the Colosseum and Caelius Hill, take bus 81 from Piazza del Risorgimento or one of the buses to Piazza Venezia.

For the Basilica of St. Paul, take bus 23 from Piazza del Risorgimento or at the Ospedale Santo Spirito. For the catacombs, take Metro A to San Giovanni and from there bus 218 or bus 118 at the Forum des Trajan near Piazza Venezia.

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How to get to the Vatican City

The Vatican is well connected. Bus route 64 is the best for St. Peter’s Basilica. Bus 23 goes to the Pyramid and St. Paul’s Basilica, buses 62 and 492 go through the center to the Tiburtina train station and bus 81 goes to the center, to the Colosseum and the Basilica of St. John.

The trams in Rome are very slow. Line 19 runs from Piazza Risorgimento to the zoo and continues through the Parioli district. The Ottaviano and Cipro metro stations are good for the Vatican Museums. However, the metro is often overcrowded.

The train is a fast means of transport. Travel times between Ostiense, Trastevere and San Pietro stations are unbeatable and there are several trains per hour.

More about the Vatican

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