Vatican in 2 days! What to see, what to wear and money saving tips!!

Set dramatically across from the mighty Tiber River, is a country that is mightier, more beautiful and more historic than history - The Vatican.
Vatican City is a country in Europe and it is the smallest country in the world. It may be small for a country but has enormous history behind it.
It is also the house of the Pope and is a headquarters of the Catholic Church around the world.
A believer or not, no trip to Italy can be complete without visiting The Vatican!!

However, visiting the Vatican City can be a daunting experience if you are not used to walking for hours, or you are not familiar with its ancient past. We walked 25-30,000 steps almost every day while we were in Italy. Vatican was going to be no different. 

Number of steps walked in 1 day in Vatican

In addition to that, I did not have much idea about its history. So, I was a little skeptical when I decided to add Vatican to my Italian itinerary. I am not a person who likes to visit museums and art galleries  as I believe the true culture of the place is reflected in the living-breathing people surrounding you, and not in the artifacts laying in the museums for years.



However, Italy and Vatican are rich in art history. So I would be missing out on the essence of the place, if I did not visit the museums and the architecture. Art is the has a great influence on the Vatican culture and Italian culture. Hence, it was imperative to visit these places.

So, I had to come up with a plan wherein I would be able to enjoy the experience and also learn something about this place. I was definitely not taking the guided tour, because I need to explore a place on my own time.

Well… Rick Steves comes to the rescue. He is an American travel writer who writes about European travel from the eyes of a local. Additionally, he has a mobile application called Rick Steves Europe. It is a life saver. It gives you information in detail regarding any place you want to visit in Europe and it is free to download. He gives detailed step by step and interesting information regarding all that is on display in the museums in the Vatican, specially without being boring. He makes it engaging with conversations with another person, some jokes while giving information among other things. All you need to do is download the app, plug your earphones and get going. You can also get paid audio-guide tour, but this one is free, so save some Euros there, would you?

As far as commuting in Rome is concerned, you can use the commuter buses, or you can buy the Hop-on Hop off buses. I personally love walking in new cities as much as I can because there are a lot of sites you can miss when you are in the bus.
However, be careful about using the public transportation, there can be a lot of petty thieves hanging out in the buses. Considering it is Italy, they are always well dressed and may be hard to tell. (Tip: It is better to use an ‘under the dress wallet’ for valuable items and for ladies. If you are carrying purses keep them in simple sling bags and definitely no backpacks.)

Another important point to consider is your outfits you will be wearing. In the basilica, it is expected that you dress modestly with dresses covering your knees and shoulders covered also. Also, it rains at random times and so you may want to carry a poncho or umbrella. 

Queue outside St Peter's

I would recommend you to start your day by visiting St. Peter's Basilica or Basilica di San Pietro. Late mornings, afternoons and evening there are lines everywhere and you could spend anywhere between 1-3 hours standing in the line. 

When you make your plans for visiting the Basilica, make sure you check the hours. Most importantly, it is closed on Sundays except last Sunday of every month when it is open until noon. You don't want to lose your precious travel time especially if you are going to be visiting only for a few days. 

The Basilica opens at 7:00 am but the dome opens a little later. One guard told us, it opens at 7:15, at 7:15 someone told us it would open at 7:30 am. Finally, they started letting people in at 7:45 am. There is no fixed timing when it actually opens. If you reach too early there are some cafes that open as early as 6:00 am and you can enjoy some delicious coffee and pastries there before starting your day. 

St Peter's square at mid-day

Do not go to inside the basilica first as the 
line to the dome gets longer later on. We reached there at 6: 45 am and there were already a few people ahead of us. Most people go into the basilica first. 

Facade of St Peter's basilica

St Peter's basilica 

The path becomes curved as you reach near the dome

We started toward the dome first. There is also an elevator that goes halfway up toward the dome. It costs about 7 Euros for the elevator which goes half way and then the stairs and 5 Euros for the stairs only option. I would recommend taking the elevators as it saves some time. 

View of the cupola during the climb up the dome

It a vertiginous climb upstairs with round stairs, and they tilt at angles once you reach closer to the dome. That might make you dizzy, so take breaks.
Also, take a look at the cupola from the inside on your way up.

       


Also, the path becomes narrower and narrower which at one point lets only one person through the path.

However, once you reach the top, the cool breeze of Vatican hits your face and you are rewarded with resplendent views of the Vatican and Rome. You can even see the Vatican gardens at a distance. On one side you can see the Piazza di San Pietro or St. Peter's square. 

View of St. peter's square from the dome

 

No superlatives could do justice to the magnificence of Piazza di San Pietro. Go here to watch the sun rising over the city. 

The Apostles placed right on top of the Basilica

Sun rising over the St Peter's square-taken before the climb to the dome

After you are done assimilating the beautiful view from above the dome, head downstairs to the Basilica itself. At the entrance, you can look at the sunlight cast on the obelisk in the plaza giving it a surreal appearance.

The Basilica is the site of St Peter's burial. Saint Peter was considered the greatest of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ.  If you were stunned by the sheer vastness of the Basilica from the outside, be prepared to be even more captivated by the magnificence on the inside. 

St Peter's basilica on the inside

As you enter, you will immediately see the world famous Michelangelo’s Pietà created in the 14th century. It was created by him at the age of fourteen. 

Michelangelo's Pieta

This Basilica is filled with a lot of Renaissance and you will be amazed that without the modern advancement, how they created such a masterpiece. It is a sight to behold to watch the work of Bernini, Michelangelo and Bramante - all extremely notable renaissance artists. 

Bernini's bronze Baldachin

St Peter's statue-note the right foot has become smooth due to pilgrims touching and kissing that foot

There are a lot of other artists that have contributed to the design of this enormously beautiful building. There is a vast history which cannot be surmised in a few words. The structure is so huge that the Statue of Liberty is said would fit easily inside it even with the pedestal and her torch. It runs the length of two American football fields. 

Bernini's Baldachin 

 
You can also visit the Necropolis here. The Necropolis is the burial site of St Peter below the basilica (Tip: If you wish to visit the Necropolis, you need to make advance booking months before your visit, so plan accordingly. You have to make reservations with the excavations office by emailing at this address with the number of people intending to attend and also the dates:  scavi@fsp.va.)

The reservations can be hard to get, so plan ahead of time.

View of the cupola from inside the Basilica

The Vatican grottoes are the burial sites of other popes and can also be visited. Again, you can visit the grottoes when it is open to the public. When we visited, it was closed to the public and hence we were not able to see it.

The grottoes can take a few hours to visit. Plan the rest of the day accordingly. It is better to visit the Basilica on one day and the Vatican museums and Vatican gardens on another day. As I mentioned earlier you can easily walk around 30,000 steps in a day and it could be really exhausting if you try to cover everything in one day.

Outside the Basilica, you see the famous Swiss guards. Their uniforms are very interesting and makes me wonder if they would be able to run in those...!!! ;) These were designed by Michelangelo back in the days. 

The Swiss guard

Also, check out the Piazza in the evening. It looks surreal under teh dark blue sky!! After an exhausting day, enjoy a nice Italian meal before heading to the hotel. Make sure to get enough sleep as you will be spending an entire day again next morning to visit the rest of Vatican.

Piazza in the evening

Next day we decided to head to the museums. A point to note - museums are closed on Sundays except last Sunday of every month. The last Sunday of every month the entry is free. However, that means there will be a lot of rush and longer wait times. I would rather spend the 17 Euros and go on a weekday. Check the website
http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/info/tutti-gli-orari.html for hours, fees and closures for the year.

The famous spiral stairs in the Vatican Museum

When I am on vacation, I have no problems getting up at the break of dawn. When I am home, I can't get up even after 10 hours of sleep. Since the museums open at 9 am, you can use the earlier free time, to visit the Tiber river and adore the Basilica in the morning sky. You can go for a jog through the city and experience the buzz of the local life before tourists take over the streets. 

I would recommend reaching the museum a little earlier than the opening hour since the wait times may be longer especially during the months of July through September when the schools are on summer break. At the same time, be wary of certain tour agents roaming on the streets telling you there are long lines and that you can pass those lines by buying their front of line passes. We met a lot of people on the streets who would follow us all the way for a few blocks trying to sell us the front of line passes. 

Even though the lines may be longer, they go fast and once you are on the inside you can be on your own. This time too, I did not go for a tour guide since I wanted to explore it at my own pace. I used Rick Steves' application again to visit and learn about all the artifacts in the museum.

The hallway between the Musuems

Sculptures in the museum were made during Medieval times

Another statue in the Museum

Pinacoteca

The Pinacoteca holds about 460 paintings from the Medieval periodI spent around 3 hours in the museums. I've read, people spend longer times. In the beginning, I did not even think I would be spending that much time, however, the history of the place is so intriguing, you can't help but get absorbed and transported to the Renaissance period. 

The walk through the museum takes you through the famous paintings, sculptures and tapestries of various renowned artists from the Renaissance period such as Michelangelo, Botticelli, Raphael.

Raphael's painting-School of Athens

Apollo Belvedere statue

The famous Belvedere torso

The highlight of the visit is the Sistine Chapel. It has been recreated in a lot of movies, so I had seen it on screen. But, to see it in real life was a mesmerizing experience. Noteworthy and what draws a lot of attention is the Creation of Adam and the Judgement day painting. The intricate detailing of human forms reflects mastery of Michelangelo. You can spend 1 hour just in the chapel while following the instructions and detailed explanation for each painting by Rick Steves. The officials were prohibiting tourists from taking pictures inside the chapel.  However, constantly looking up at the frescoed ceiling can be a real pain in the neck - quite literally. This makes the physical therapist in me wonder if Michelangelo and his artists had a lot of neck and upper back problems.

Anyway, moving from there, you can see some more tapestries, artifacts and finally make your way out of the museum and head to the Vatican gardens.

Resurrection of Christ in the Tapestry hall in Vatican Museum

The Vatican gardens seen from the Museum

Vatican gardens are worth visiting for their lush greenery and beautiful views of the St. Peter's basilica. However, you need to book a tour and you cannot enter the gardens without the tour. There is a bus tour also that you may want to consider if you have a time crunch. The bus tour is an audio tour and you cannot get off the bus during the tour. The layout of the gardens is beautiful and the walking tour lets you explore it better than the bus tour.

Pope's room-with the lit window

Also, when the Pope is in town you can be on the papal audience list which needs to be booked way in advance. He addresses the audience in the St Peter's square. However, that happens only when the Pope is in town. However, those days it can be really crowded. In case you decide to do it, get the advance tickets and be there hours before the actual opening to get a good seat.






If you are going to be visiting both Rome and Vatican - which I am assuming you would be, then try getting the Omnia pass. It gives you an option to visit a lot of attractions in Rome and Vatican with fast track entry. Also, it allows free entry in a few locations and of course the public commute is included. Overall, you can save a lot of money by using the Omnia card. 

Also, try to have your meals packed with you when going to the museum. The restaurants around the tourist area are expensive and provide mediocre food. Grab sandwiches from a local cafe instead.

I know, there is a lot to do and see in the Vatican. There are a lot of night tours, secret tours and what not. If you have the time, go for it. But, you can see all the important sites in two days.
One thing is for sure, once you are in the Vatican, you will be transported to another world, as I did!!!



Photo courtesy and copyrights: Adwait Paranjpe