Beautiful city. We took part in the breakfast option where you get there before it opens to the general public, and there is a buffet spread to fuel you before you explore the beautiful city. I highly suggest doing this. You are ahead of the crowd and the food is very delicious. The day we were there the Pope was as well and was going to do a service. This made it particularly crowded. We decided to leave before this happened in order to avoid the chaos of the crowd. read more

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This place is just amazing , I was blown away at first sight , the place is iconic, the place is magical. I loved everything about it, loved the history of this place , I had a very spiritual moment here during the Popes mass and I can say that I will never ever forget that moment and will never forget this place. read more

Came here for my honeymoon and had an amazing time! I don't know why I didn't think their would be a yelp for the Vatican! I was amazed, it changed my life, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. The art, and beauty is so incredible and majestic. Da Vinci's art inside, and beautiful jaw dropping architecture! I can't wait to come back here. read more

My family and I went with such a beautiful and spiritual joy to the Vatican to encounter a horrible experience with one of their security man clearly incapable of being nice or even rational. My husband was making the line to go down to see the tombs were all the popes are resting while my two kids and I were taking pictures of the ceiling of the church , as my husband approached the stairs in the line , we ( myself and two kids) came close to my husband to all enter together the stairs, as we hear someone aggressively yelling at us with an Italian accent accusing us that we "skipped"the line . We explained that my husband was in the line prior and he proceeded to accuse us extremely aggressively and making us go at the end of the line which was moving fast anyway. Be aware of the demonic security guard the Vatican is hiring since they give a very negative vibe while you enter the house of Jesus Christ. A beautiful memory he put a dent to it ! What a disgusting experience. The Vatican should consider hiring people of God to work for them not this abusers of power called security guards . read more

Vatican City - Local Flavor Near Me - Rome, RM

The most popular museum in Rome that houses the Sistine Chapel commissioned artwork, Vatican City is located just west of the Rome city center where you can also visit St Peter's Basilica. Very easy to get to this area by Metro or bus, there are many people waiting in lines to purchase tickets, but you can bypass this nonsense by purchasing your tickets online. Definitely a must see if you're in Rome - Best, Charlie read more

Absolutely all beautiful. I believe every human on earth should see this at least once in their lifetime. Their next scheduled Jubilee year is 2025, so we'll be back. While you're at it, stay close in an AirBnb on Borgo Pio and book the private Vatican tour with the Bramante staircase. Worth it. read more

Vatican City is a city-state surrounded by Rome, and the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. Home to the Pope and cenutries of art, one finds not only Saint Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums here, but also stunning architecture. Always crowded, though less-so during winter, be sure to wear comfortable shoes and allow plenty of time if you desire to see everything offered during a single day. read more

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Beautiful, historical and magnificent. With that said, get ready for the massive crowds and the long lines. Remember that you don't have to pay for access to Saint Peter's Basilica, but there will be tons of people around. If you can, pay for the fast pass. read more

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Visited on a weekday end of September when we thought the crowds might be less... we were wrong! This site is so popular that it is very worth it if you can get a "Skip the line" tour or ticket. This can save you a few hours of waiting in line like Disneyland. You need a valid driver license with photo as ID to get in, or a copy of passport on your phone will work. For those of you who are Catholics and wish to get either a medal or jewelry from the gift shop blessed by the Pope you can do this. On the website their souvenir store you can order prior to your visit weeks ahead and they will get your items blessed with a photo of authenticity. Pick up your items at the Vatican gift shop on the day of your visit. Another great tip: bathroom lines are crazy long. But, at the gift shop they have a public pay to go restroom. It only costs 1 Euro and there is no line, or at least much less than the public restroom free restrooms. Everything in the Vatican and displays are worth the price. Unfortunately some might be covered up as they are getting cleaned up or restored for Jubilee. Such was the Pieta. You might want to check by contacting them before your visit. Sistine Chapel was incredible. Be forewarned, you might feel like a sardine in a can as you walk through. That's the only reason I gave a four star rating. The walk through even on a very crowded day takes about 2 hours, but if you stop and look at everything you can easily spend half a day there. St. Peter's Basilica was magnificent. If you've ever been to St. Patrick's cathedral in NY and you were impressed...this is 100 times more stunning and spiritually moving. God bless and peace be with you. read more

Had us waiting in line in the sun for 2 hours as they only operated 3 bag checkpoints for 1000's of people. Very devilish!

Must see. Go with a tour. Makes a big difference. Shoulders must be Cicero's. Beautiful

Amazing place but beware of the queue. If you want to skip the line, I recommend booking a tour guide from one of the tour agencies in Rome unless you really like standing in a 3-hour queue then treat yo self with the standing lol. It costs money to go up in the tower of the Basilica with over 550 steps so i opt out of that, ya girl was tired soooo no. Take all the pics you want except at the Sistine chapel unless you wanna get yelled at by the Swiss guard or get escorted out and be an embarrassment to yourself and the whole catholic world. Other than that, just don't be dumb and so dumb things, ok? read more

Wow! Smallest City in the world and so glad got to come #dreams fulfilled! For me, the Vatican Museums were absolutely worth it as was walking around St. Peter's square and seeing the Pope's Swiss Guard in their traditional uniforms - just such a treat! St Peter's Church not so great, except for the statue of Michelangelo's Pieta. Beware of the beggars, peddlers and hustlers (there is NO ticket needed to enter St. Peter's!!) and keep an awareness of your surroundings, but otherwise enjoy being here! Yelp 265/ 2018 read more

Amazing, opulent, grandiose Just wow!!!! Took a private tour below the basilica to St. Peter's tomb. Wonderful for history buffs,archeologists etc read more

Amazing experience! Definitely go early morning. No lines and no crowds to deal with when on the tour!

Truly amazing and awe inspiring. A must see! I won't attempt to ramble about all there is to do and see here. Just go. I recommend: don't try to do this in a few hours. Plan at least most of a full day. Also, pay the extra money for a guided tour of the museums if it's your first visit. You won't be able to dawdle but you can't see everything in a single visit anyway, and they'll be sure to point out and explain the major pieces of interest which you'd likely miss. Also, you'll avoid some wait time getting in as the queue lines are long and they have pre scheduled time slots. read more

This is it. This is the Catholic Mecca. This is the holiest place in christianity along with Jerusalem. "You are my rock, and upon you I shall build my church" Jesus said to Peter. Truly amazing. Only downside are the tremendous queues and costs to get in. I personally recommend getting one of those tours that cover your admission for one fee and let you cut the queue. read more

Vatican City is a traveler's dream. Within the world's smallest country is a full day's worth of world-class exploration. Book ahead of time the Scavi Tour through the Vatican website itself. In this tour, you can go in a small group underneath St. Peter's Basilica and see the excavated pagan and Christian tombs and mausoleum rooms that St. Peter's was built on. One of those tombs is assumed to be of St. Peter himself. Walking into St. Peter's is free and also gives you access to the lower level grotto where you can see the sarcophagi of several Popes from history. You can pay a fee to climb to the top of the dome (or cupola) or St. Peter's Basilica, which may be fun for some people who haven't done the cupola climb in Florence. Totally separately are the Vatican Museums, which have an entrance far away from the front of St. Peter's on the northwest corner of the walled city. This museum is gigantic and is easily Italy's most impressive museum aside from perhaps the Uffizi in Florence. The Vatican Museums take several hours to tour culminating with Michelangelo's frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. read more

Didn't go inside but it is truly a historical place. Great place to take lots and lots of pictures.

Stunning. Highly recommend, but take your time. Don't book anything else for the day, because most things close at 4:30.

I love the Vatican City! The architecture is beautiful and there are many opportunities for good photography. If you have time, you can pay an extra 5 euros and walk up to the highest point in Vatican City for a panoramic view of the city and Rome! The hike is hard on a hot day but a lot of people do it. I think it's definitely something worth checking off the bucket list. read more

Vatican City - Local Flavor Near Me - Rome, RM

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Vatican City is the smallest city-state in the world. It is located on the west side of the Tiber River and is completely surrounded by the city of Rome. It has its own post office and in Rome most countries have embassies that either represent the Holy See or Italy depending on what flag is posted on the building. While the Pope is known as the Bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic faithful, he is also is the sovereign entity of the city-state. Practically speaking, most people visit this city-state as part of a Rome itinerary. While some folks manage to cram in half a day along with the Colosseum if they're in a huge time crunch (*ahem*cruiseshipexcursion*ahem*), a more typical visit will last most if not all the day and consist of the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica. The Sistine Chapel is inside the Vatican Museums (and is covered by the ticket) towards the end of your visit. For some Catholic faithful, a general audience visit to see the pope is a pilgrimage worth doing once in your life. Being an atheist I'll write this review as a tourist. Despite my many misgivings about the Catholic Church its influence was substantial in Western European civilization - hence why I go to lots of churches in my Europe travels. You know the spiel with churches, modest dress required (nothing above the knees, no bare shoulders) but you would think that if they were to strictly enforce this during the summer at least they would put measures such as AC or fans to keep the visitors cool? My other gripe was also the minders that kept on shouting the rules via megaphone and disrupted the peace and serenity of the visit, especially during the Sistine Chapel portion. NOT COOL. 1. MUSEI VATICANI https://www.yelp.com/biz/musei-vaticani-roma-2?hrid=J5cWSNaZWA5he65wXkrTGQ https://www.yelp.com/biz/cappella-sistina-roma?hrid=KB1KhJ0qGMh3Hk2kVb4yJw One of the biggest collections in the entire world. It's actually comprised of several museums based on theme, hence the plural. It is said that even if you look at one piece of their collection for a minute, you still wouldn't have time in your life to see everything the museum had to offer. If art history isn't your strong suit I highly suggest getting a guided tour to explain the highlights. The Vatican offers one of just the museum and one that combines museum visit with St. Peter's Basilica, but tour starts at 8:30. Several third-party offering (most notably Walks of Italy's signature Pristine Sistine) have a 7:30am start time. All tickets bought are timed tickets so skip the line privilege. Regardless of whether you do a guided tour buying tickets in advance is highly encouraged so you are not waiting in line for god-knows-how-long. Tickets can be purchased through the Vatican website 2 months in advance. 2. ST. PETER'S BASILICA https://www.yelp.com/biz/basilica-di-san-pietro-roma-4?hrid=Y-LtfqyAGrAzPLRIPxv_dw The biggest church in the world BUT surprisingly it's not the seat of the pope (actually St. John Lateran). It is, however, one of four major basilicas and the only one to be located inside Vatican City. There's no admission fee to see the basilica but most people tack this onto a Vatican Museums visit. Aside from the church itself you can climb up the dome (€8, 551 steps), visit the grottoes underground or if you can get advance reservation do a scavi tour (€13) where you can see the tomb of St Peter. Misc: My mom asked for jewelry so I went inside one of the souvenir shops for religious paraphernalia. The people manning the shop were very nice as they were able to help me and my mom, who I was speaking via FaceTime audio. I was able to get her a nice bracelet consisting of miraculous medals. Note that you cannot buy pre-blessed items. However you can buy something and ask to have it blessed. Not sure how you would be able to obtain the items after the fact. While this visit did nothing to convert me back to Catholicism I learned a lot from my guide about the key pieces in the collection and was able to check off notable art pieces such as the Sistine Chapel ceiling, Michelangelo's Pieta and Raphael's School of Athens. read more

A experience that i will always remember. I definitely recommend to put it on your bucket list . Beautiful and life changing.

One of the most amazing places I've ever been! They keep the old bodies of the Pope's under glass on displace in the Vatican something I didn't know! It was amazing when we visited the Pope had come to pray and we got to witness the most amazing thing with everyone coming in leading him and the priest in front with choir and smoking things. It was truly a one in a lifetime event. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time but seeing the Pope up close and personal was something I'll never forget! read more

Didn't see the pope. Lost my favorite pen going through security. Adam and God is underwhelming. Smells weird.

Beautiful beyond belief. Worth any wait or price tag. The chapel alone is one of the most unique things I have ever seen in my life. The museums you will walk through leave you wanting more. I will certainly be returning here when I find the time. read more

The smallest country in the world has a lot to offer. Whether you are Catholic or not, this place has the potential to change your life.

It's stunning but only 4 stars because I didn't get to see the Pope pop out of the window and wave. Maybe that only happens in movies? Anyway, "when I'm Rome" it's a pretty cool spot. read more

If you get there extremely early there is no lines and you get to quietly look around at the architecture and paintings without it being a excess in crowds. read more

Terrible people there working, no one puts in effort and they discriminate against specific people. I was not happy with my visit after. Over crowded with people and did not give you a cultural feeling. More of a feeling that they just wanted your money then for you to get in and out. As a Christian person very very disappointed in the Pope that he allows this to happen. read more

If you are in need for a public toilet, you might want to try the Vatican ones. They are located on the south side of St. Peter's Square, near the bookstore and the first aid point (on the right side when you are coming out of the basilica). I have never seen such clean and nice public toilets in Italy before and after. And they are free. read more

This should be an amazing place to visit but it is sadly overshadowed by scammers and hustlers. I was cursed at and insulted by the ticket scalper when I didn't fall for their scams. I was harassed constantly, even with my husband by my side. I can't imagine what single women go through, and none of us should endure anything remotely like that in what is supposed to be a holy place. It has become profane, and the police who look away are complicit and every bit as culpable as the ones who commit the offenses. read more

I am giving this only 1 star based on our experience here. The Vatican City has a lot of history to see, yet it has a cold empty feel to it. The art history is wonderful, however, the rudeness of every worker we encountered overshadowed the historical beauty. There is little warmth to this place. The art is worth a 1 time visit, that's about it. We love visiting cathedrals/etc. of all faiths, all over the world. I was excited to visit this place, thinking it would be the crown jewel, but left feeling disappointed. It's a been there done that kind of place now, will probably never go back. It's underwhelming... read more