Explore Vatican City

Why visit Vatican City

Vatican City is the smallest sovereign state in the world (just 0.49 km²) but contains some of the most stupefying art and architecture on the planet. St Peter's Basilica is the largest Christian church in the world by interior area, built between 1506 and 1626 over the apostle Peter's tomb on the site of the original 4th-century basilica; Bernini's spiral bronze baldacchino over the high altar, Michelangelo's heart-stopping marble 'Pietà' (1499, made when he was 24, behind bulletproof glass since a 1972 attack), and the 136-metre climb to the dome's panorama are all essential. The Vatican Museums hold one of the greatest art collections ever assembled: the Raphael Rooms (the School of Athens fresco), the Gallery of Maps, the Egyptian and Etruscan collections, all culminating in the Sistine Chapel — Michelangelo's 1508–1512 ceiling and 1535–1541 Last Judgment wall, the most consequential frescoes in Western art (no photos, eyes up). St Peter's Square, Bernini's colonnaded oval able to hold 300,000 pilgrims, is where the Pope's general audience happens most Wednesdays at 9.30am. Tip: book Vatican Museum tickets weeks in advance to skip the 2-3 hour queue.