Among the abundance of striking sights in the capital of Italy, the unique city-state located in the heart of Rome is especially popular. This is the center of the Catholic world - the Vatican. The Pope's residence attracts millions of tourists and pilgrims from all over the world. On 44 hectares of land, there is a real treasury, consisting of Christian relics, architectural values, as well as sculptural and pictorial exhibits. Guests of the Vatican can take a walk through the famous St. Peter's Square and admire the majestic façade of the legendary cathedral completely free of charge. Travelers need to purchase tickets to see the masterpieces of the great masters and see the beautiful works of art. It is recommended to plan your visit to a small country well in advance. A huge number of people want to feel the thousand-year history of Christianity and spiritually imbued with the creations of brilliant artists. Step-by-step instructions on how to buy a ticket to the Vatican will help you avoid languishing in a large crowd of people.
What are the tickets and how much do they cost?
There are several types of tickets. They can be purchased directly at the box office of the Vatican Museums or online on the official website. Among the guests of the Papal Residence, the following types of tickets are in special demand:
- Standard package. It includes visits to museums, palaces, exhibition halls and galleries, as well as the world famous Sistine Chapel. Price - 17 euros + 4 euros (reservation). For children under 18 years old and students under 25 years old, there is a reduced ticket price with a discount of 8 euros.
- Evening visit. The € 16 program provides an overview of works of art, relics and artifacts from 19:00 to 23:00.
- Guided tour in Russian. Professional Vatican connoisseurs lead fascinating excursions to the museum exhibits. Tourists will meet with the Basilica of St. Peter and the Sistine Chapel, as well as a walk through the halls with paintings, sculptures, tapestries and various ancient artifacts.
- Early visit. Travelers are offered a wonderful chance to enjoy the masterpieces of art in complete silence before the influx of the bulk of inquisitive visitors. A walk through the territory of one of the smallest states in the world starts at 7:00. Early visits include a light buffet breakfast. Price - 68 euros per person.
- Vatican Gardens. For 37 euros, tourists will take a walk through the amazingly picturesque well-kept parks of the Vatican, visit the Sistine Chapel and museum complexes.
How to buy online
Every day, about 50 thousand people strive to enjoy the greatest collection of art in the Vatican Museum Fund. Therefore, many people have to wait their turn to enter the famous exhibition halls filled with world famous paintings, sculptures, tapestries, Christian relics and many other outstanding artifacts. By purchasing a ticket online in advance, tourists are given the opportunity to skip the numerous queues.
To successfully purchase a ticket, you must complete the following steps:
- Go to the Vatican Museums website - biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/. Press Enter. You can choose English or Italian.
- Next, you need to select the ADMISSION TICKETS item. It means booking an admission ticket to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel without waiting in line for hours.
- Website visitors are advised that tickets can be reserved 90 days prior to the actual date of the visit. To do this, click on VATICAN MUSEUMS AND SISTINE CHAPEL.
- A price with possible discounts appears in the window that appears. It also describes the rules for confirming a reservation and receiving an e-voucher. Select the month and the number of people, then press NEXT.
- On the calendar provided, mark the desired date of the visit. Available dates are displayed with a green circle.
- Next, the exact time of the visit is selected from 9:00 to 15:00.
- In the next window, you need to define the type of tickets based on the number of adults and children. In this case, the total number of visitors must correspond to the previously announced number of participants. Adults will cost 17 euros to visit, and 8 euros for children under 18. There is an additional charge for booking services in the amount of EUR 4.
- There is a transition of registration of tickets. To do this, you must specify information about the customer. The fields should contain the last name, first name, gender, city of residence, date of birth, email address. If necessary, you can add the names and surnames of all members of the group. The checkboxes are put in front of I accept the Conditions and I know all the rules to purchase reduced tickets, which in translation means: I accept the conditions and have read the rules for purchasing reduced tickets. The specified code is entered at the bottom of the page.
- Payment processing. The payment procedure must be completed within five minutes. Otherwise, the booking will be canceled. The Conclude Reservation button is pressed, after which a window appears for entering bank card data (Visa, MasterCard). The PAY button confirms the purchase of tickets.
- The final step of the booking is to confirm the payment and receive an email with the voucher. The barcode can be printed or saved on the phone, and then presented at a special cash desk intended for customers of the online booking system. Tourists are given paper tickets.
How to buy skip-the-line tickets
Travelers can purchase tickets in advance online through the official website, use the services of a guide or buy a special Vatican multicard. This will avoid the huge queues at the ticket office of the Vatican Museums. It includes priority access to the Sistine Chapel, Pinacoteca, Pio Clementino, Pio Cristiano, Borgia Apartments, Raphael's Stanza and many other rooms of the Pope's residence.
On the site, you must indicate the date and time of visiting the attraction, enter your personal data and make a payment. After that, a voucher will be sent to the email address, which can be printed or saved in a smartphone. On the day of the visit, the voucher will need to be shown at a special box office, where it will be exchanged for paper tickets.
Buy a multi-map of the sights of Rome and the Vatican online for € 79. Also included in the price is a city map, where all the sights and an audio guide are marked in the application on a smartphone. A very good offer.
Professional Russian-speaking guides offer tourists to go to the Vatican treasury and get acquainted with the masterpieces of world art. The price of individual tours includes the purchase of tickets, as well as access to galleries and exhibition halls with masterpieces by Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, Titian and many other prominent masters of their time. Sculptures, frescoes, tapestries and various artifacts collected by the heads of the Catholic Church over many centuries will appear in all their splendor.
Things to consider when buying
It is important to know that tickets purchased online will cost a little more. A booking service fee is added to their price. You should pay attention to the specific date and time of visiting museums. A delay of no more than half an hour is allowed. It is recommended that you check in advance the opening hours of galleries, showrooms and legendary rooms.
Museums are closed on Sundays. However, on the last Sunday of every month, entry to the Pope's State Treasury is absolutely free. Tourists should not forget to print the e-voucher or save it to their smartphone.The issuance of a real ticket is carried out after checking the barcode. The e-voucher must be booked up to 60 days prior to the planned visit. When buying online, tourists need to enter their personal data. Surname, name and date of birth are indicated as in a foreign passport.
What to do if you didn’t receive a letter with a voucher
After confirmation of payment for tickets, a letter with a voucher should be sent to the customer's email address within one hour. If this did not happen, then you need to go back to the official website of the Vatican Museums and select Voucher Resending. Then fill in the appropriate fields, which indicate the e-mail and the code of the automatic booking system. It is also possible to contact support: [email protected].
Travel tips before visiting
Visiting numerous exhibitions requires adherence to the dress code. Visiting places of worship in too open clothes is not encouraged. Comfortable shoes are recommended, as viewing the art and exhibits requires spending a full day on your feet.
The Vatican is famous for its various collections and exhibitions of particular interest. It is impossible to cover everything with close attention in one visit. It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the expositions on the site in advance. This will allow you to better plan your visit so as not to miss out on the world famous attractions of the Vatican. Before entering the museum halls, tourists are inspected with the help of metal detectors. It is forbidden to take bulky bags, suitcases, glass products. Large personal items will have to be left in the storage room.
