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Preplanned City Guides and Travel Itineraries

Vatican Museums

On this page you find practical information, photos and videos about Vatican Museums.

Vatican Museums features in these preplanned City Guides:

3-day Rome City Guide5-day Rome City Guide

Why visit / Interesting facts:

  • One of the most known museums in the world
  • Fabulous collection

Time required: 150 minutes

Phone: +39 06 69884676

Web site: http://saintpetersbasili...

Opening hours:

Time period Opening hours
Mar - Oct, Mon-Fri: 8:45am - 3:20pm
Mar - Oct, Sat: 8:45am - 12:20pm
Nov - Feb: 8:45am - 12:20pm
Sun, except the last Sun of each month: Closed
Many holidays: Closed

Admission:

Ticket type Charge
General: 15 €
Reduced: 8 €
Under 6: Free
Last Sunday of every month: Free

Public transport:

  • Metro Line A: Ottaviano San Pietro station

Address: Viale Vaticano, 00165  Rome

Things you need to know:

  • The Vatican Museums are among the greatest and richest museums in the world
  • Pope Julius II founded the museums more than 500 years ago by displaying the sculpture of Laocoon to the public
  • It features some of the most renowned classical sculptures and most important Renaissance masterpieces
  • Highlights include The Sistine Chapel, the Gallery of maps and works from Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, Fra Angelico, Giotto, Raphael, Nicolas Poussin and Titian or the red marble papal throne
  • The Sistine's frescoes were decorations by some of the greatest Renaissance artists
  • Pope Sixtus IV commissioned wall frescoes for the Pope's Chapel in 1481-83
  • The frescoes were intended to underscore papal authority, in question at the time, by displaying a line of power from God to the pope

What to do there:

  • The Museums are made up of 10 collections plus the Sistine Chapel and papal apartments
  • To see highlights only, first visit the Pinacoteca, to the right of the entrance turnstile
  • The Sistine and other collections (Raphael Rooms, Apollo Belvedere, Laocoon) are to the left

Tips & Insights:

Vatican Museums features in these preplanned City Guides: