English
English
- Colosseum
- Vatican Museums
- St. Peter's Basilica
- Castel Sant Angelo
- Rome Pantheon
- Borghese Gallery
- Roman Catacombs Tour
- Bioparco Rome
- Big Bus Rome Hop-On Hop-Off Tickets
- Palazzo Barberini
- Musei Capitolini
- Leonardo da Vinci Museum
- Trevi Fountain Tours
- Roman Baths of Caracalla
- Palazzo Merulana
- Altare della Patria
- Rome Underground Tours
The Apostolic Palace: Papal residence in Vatican City
Headout is an authorized and trusted partner of the venue, offering curated experiences to enjoy this attraction. This is not the venue's website.
- All the context you need, with a guide that ensures you won't miss the best of the chapels, altars, and crypts within the massive St. Peter's Basilica!
- Dive into art and architecture by Renaissance greats such as Donato Bramante and Carlo Maderno in your preferred language.
- Descend to the Vatican Grottoes. Pay homage to St. John Paul II's sarcophagi at the Papal Tombs, learn the legacy of Clementine Chapel, and more.
- All the context you need, with a guide that ensures you won't miss the best of the chapels, altars, and crypts within the massive St. Peter's Basilica!
- Dive into art and architecture by Renaissance greats such as Donato Bramante and Carlo Maderno in your preferred language.
- Descend to the Vatican Grottoes. Pay homage to St. John Paul II's sarcophagi at the Papal Tombs, learn the legacy of Clementine Chapel, and more.
Inclusions
- Guided tour of St. Peter's Basilica and the Papal Tombs
- Expert English, French, German, Italian or Spanish-speaking guide
- Tip: Check out Pietro Cavallini's Madonna della Bocciata fresco in the Vatican Grottoes, and hear the story behind its unique name.
- Strict dress code: knees and shoulders must be covered for all guests.
- Mobile phones must remain on silent mode inside the Basilica.
- This experience is wheelchair and pram/stroller accessible. The right semicircle of Saint Peter’s Square is equipped with ramp access into the Basilica. For any special requirements, contact accoglienza@fsp.va in advance.
- Sign language guided tours are available at the Basilica. This service must be booked at least 48 hours in advance at the following email address: visiteguidate@fsp.va.
- Expect a long wait at security, especially during peak times. Patience is key, it could take up to an hour!
- Around religious holidays at the Vatican, parts of the tour such as the Papal Tombs may not be open. In this case, the tour of the Basilica itself will be extended.
- These tickets can't be cancelled or rescheduled.
- Savor the privilege of scaling the tallest dome in the world, as you freely discover St. Peter's Basilica with a multilingual audio guide.
- Glide to the dome’s base by elevator for the best views of the Papal Altar and Bernini's bronze canopy—a holy site of Christendom.
- On to a scenic vantage of Vatican marvels! Climb the dome's top to see the Pope's private gardens, election chimney, railway station, and helipad.
- The audio guide adds depth and context to your Basilica visit. Connect to the story adorning its sacred walls in 6 languages.
- Admire the nave leading to the gilded apse, Michelangelo's Pieta sculpture, the Papal Tombs, and more at your own pace.
- Savor the privilege of scaling the tallest dome in the world, as you freely discover St. Peter's Basilica with a multilingual audio guide.
- Glide to the dome’s base by elevator for the best views of the Papal Altar and Bernini's bronze canopy—a holy site of Christendom.
- On to a scenic vantage of Vatican marvels! Climb the dome's top to see the Pope's private gardens, election chimney, railway station, and helipad.
- The audio guide adds depth and context to your Basilica visit. Connect to the story adorning its sacred walls in 6 languages.
- Admire the nave leading to the gilded apse, Michelangelo's Pieta sculpture, the Papal Tombs, and more at your own pace.
Inclusions
- Entry to St. Peter's Basilica Dome
- Access by elevator to the base and stairs to the top
- Audio guide in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish & Chinese
Exclusions
- Smartphone and earphones
- Skip-the-line access
- Live guide
- Tip: Take your time at the niche chapels in the Basilica, like the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, where you can spot 12 Apostolic statuettes on an opulent tabernacle.
- While the main entrance to the Basilica is free, a few attractions inside like the Dome require tickets.
- Strict dress code: knees and shoulders must be covered for all guests.
- Mobile phones must remain on silent mode inside the Basilica.
- This experience is not accessible by wheelchair and pram/strollers.
- Please note that the climb to the Dome's top involves a substantial number of steps and requires a decent level of physical fitness. It is not recommended for people with heart/back conditions, mobility issues, or late-stage pregnancy.
- Expect a long wait at security, especially during peak times. Patience is key, it could take up to an hour!
- You can cancel these tickets up to 24 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.
- The Vatican City made easy! Get direct entry tickets to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel or choose to skip ticketing queues with a host.
- Walk in the Popes' footsteps as you explore the museum halls, from the Gallery of Maps and Tapestries to the Raphael Rooms, at your own pace.
- Make your way to the crowning jewel of the Vatican City, the Sistine Chapel, and marvel at Michelangelo’s famed frescoes.
- Looking to upgrade? Why not combine your museum tickets with a minibus ride around the Vatican Gardens, regaled by an entertaining audio guide.
- Yet another upgrade lets you enter the neighboring Castel Sant'Angelo and discover its ramparts, moats, and stunning terrace.
- The Vatican City made easy! Get direct entry tickets to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel or choose to skip ticketing queues with a host.
- Walk in the Popes' footsteps as you explore the museum halls, from the Gallery of Maps and Tapestries to the Raphael Rooms, at your own pace.
- Make your way to the crowning jewel of the Vatican City, the Sistine Chapel, and marvel at Michelangelo’s famed frescoes.
- Looking to upgrade? Why not combine your museum tickets with a minibus ride around the Vatican Gardens, regaled by an entertaining audio guide.
- Yet another upgrade lets you enter the neighboring Castel Sant'Angelo and discover its ramparts, moats, and stunning terrace.
Inclusions
- Entry to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
- Hosted entry to Vatican Museums with ticket redemption (optional)
- Minibus tour of Vatican Gardens with audio guide (optional)
- Entry to Castel Sant'Angelo (optional)
- Booking and service charges
Exclusions
- Live guide
- Gratuities
- Tip: Make the most of your visit and explore some of the collections off the main route, such as Braccio Nuovo.
- Strict dress code: knees, shoulders, and back must be covered for all guests.
- Inside the Sistine Chapel, it's all about the quiet vibes. No chatting, no phones and no photos, just pure admiration.
- This experience is wheelchair and pram/stroller accessible.
- The Vatican Museums offer free wheelchair hire and free entry for visitors with mobility impairments (certified invalidity exceeding 74%) and a companion if required. Click here for the accessible route.
- Entrance to the Museums is timed. Be sure to select your activity starting time when booking. Once inside the Museums, you will be free to explore at your own pace.
- Please note that the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel are separate sites from St. Peter’s Basilica.
- These tickets can't be cancelled or rescheduled.
- Unpack the 3 main sites of Vatican City; the vast Museums, ethereal Sistine Chapel, and iconic St. Peter's Basilica, on an unforgettable tour!
- Choose between guides in 6 languages. Upgrade your English, French and Spanish tours to include cupola access and climb to the top of St. Peter's Dome.
- An expert reveals the stories behind the great works in the Vatican Museums, like Annunciation and Transfiguration by Raphael.
- Behold the iconic ceiling and Last Judgment at the Sistine Chapel, where you can cherish the genius of Michelangelo.
- Bask in the grandeur of St. Peter's Basilica – from the life-sized Mary and Jesus Pieta statue, to Bernini's Baldachin over the main altar.
- Unpack the 3 main sites of Vatican City; the vast Museums, ethereal Sistine Chapel, and iconic St. Peter's Basilica, on an unforgettable tour!
- Choose between guides in 6 languages. Upgrade your English, French and Spanish tours to include cupola access and climb to the top of St. Peter's Dome.
- An expert reveals the stories behind the great works in the Vatican Museums, like Annunciation and Transfiguration by Raphael.
- Behold the iconic ceiling and Last Judgment at the Sistine Chapel, where you can cherish the genius of Michelangelo.
- Bask in the grandeur of St. Peter's Basilica – from the life-sized Mary and Jesus Pieta statue, to Bernini's Baldachin over the main altar.
Inclusions
- Guided tour of the Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel with entry
- Guided tour of St. Peter's Basilica
- Expert English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese-speaking guide
- Entry to St. Peter's Basilica Dome (optional)
Exclusions
- Gratuities
- Tip: Planning your Rome itinerary? Be sure to set aside one entire day to fully explore the Vatican City. Comfy shoes are a must as you traverse all the nooks of this tiny nation!
- Strict dress code: knees, shoulders, and back must be covered for all guests.
- While the tour is not accessible to wheelchair users, the Vatican Museums offer free wheelchair hire and free entry for visitors with mobility impairments (certified invalidity exceeding 74%) and a companion if required.
- The right semicircle of Saint Peter’s Square is equipped with ramp access into the Basilica. For any special requirements, contact accoglienza@fsp.va in advance.
- Please note that the climb to the Dome's top involves a substantial number of steps and requires a decent level of physical fitness. It is not recommended for people with heart/back conditions, mobility issues, or late-stage pregnancy.
- Expect a long wait at security, especially during peak times. Patience is key, it could take up to an hour!
- These tickets can't be cancelled or rescheduled.
Combos
Combo (Save 5%): Castel Sant'Angelo + St. Peter's Basilica Guided Tour
from €69.90
€66.40
5% off
- An unbeatable combo for neighbor sites in Rome! Visit the riverside Castel Sant’Angelo, and St. Peter’s Basilica – the largest church in the world.
- With your guide, unravel the fortified passageways and gardens of Castel Sant’Angelo, a royal mausoleum-turned-fortress.
- Inside the castle, be met with celestial sculptures and interesting rooms like the Grand Loggia, the breezy yet sheltered Courtyard of the Angel, and more.
- Less than 1 km away yet in a different nation lies St. Peter’s Basilica, crown jewel of the Vatican! Your guided tour continues here.
- From the Papal Tombs to Bernini’s breathtaking bronze canopy and numerous niche chapels, absorb every nuance of the basilica’s narrative.
- An unbeatable combo for neighbor sites in Rome! Visit the riverside Castel Sant’Angelo, and St. Peter’s Basilica – the largest church in the world.
- With your guide, unravel the fortified passageways and gardens of Castel Sant’Angelo, a royal mausoleum-turned-fortress.
- Inside the castle, be met with celestial sculptures and interesting rooms like the Grand Loggia, the breezy yet sheltered Courtyard of the Angel, and more.
- Less than 1 km away yet in a different nation lies St. Peter’s Basilica, crown jewel of the Vatican! Your guided tour continues here.
- From the Papal Tombs to Bernini’s breathtaking bronze canopy and numerous niche chapels, absorb every nuance of the basilica’s narrative.
Inclusions
Castel Sant’Angelo
- Guided tour of Castel Sant'Angelo with entry
- Expert English-speaking guide
St. Peter’s Basilica
- Guided tour of St. Peter's Basilica and the Papal Tombs
- Expert English-speaking guide
- Tip: Keep an eye out for the discreet Passetto di Borgo which connects Castel Sant’Angelo to Vatican City!
Castel Sant’Angelo
- Only some areas of the castle are suitable for the use of prams/strollers and wheelchairs.
- If you are visiting with a baby or a toddler, get a carrier.
St. Peter’s Basilica
- Strict dress code: knees and shoulders must be covered for all guests.
- Mobile phones must remain on silent mode inside the Basilica.
- This experience is wheelchair and pram/stroller accessible. The right semicircle of Saint Peter’s Square is equipped with ramp access into the Basilica. For any special requirements, contact accoglienza@fsp.va in advance.
- Sign language guided tours are available at the Basilica. This service must be booked at least 48 hours in advance at the following email address: visiteguidate@fsp.va.
- Expect a long wait at security, especially during peak times. Patience is key, it could take up to an hour!
- Around religious holidays at the Vatican, parts of the tour such as the Papal Tombs may not be open. In this case, the tour of the Basilica itself will be extended.
- These tickets can't be cancelled or rescheduled.
Top things to do in Rome
Plan Your Visit to the Apostolic Palace
Timings
Location
Tickets
Rules
You can visit the attractions of the Apostolic Palace between 8.30 AM and 4.30 PM. The Vatican is not functional on Sundays.
Best Time To Visit
- Off-seasons are a very good time to visit, with less heat and no chaos.
- Wednesdays are quite packed at the Vatican Palace as a lot of tourists head to attend an audience with the Pope. But it is a great time to visit the museums.
The Palace is situated within the Vatican City walls.
- By Train: From the Roma Termini station take the RE 12524 towards Civitavecchia or RE 4134 towards Pisa Centrale and alight at St. Pietro.
- By Bus: Take bus 40 or 64 from Roma Termini. Bus 40 stops at Piazza Pia, and bus 64 stops at Terminal Gianicolo or Holy Spirit Hospital.
- By Metro: Take Line A to the Ottaviano-S. Pietro station. From here, it’s just a 5-minute walk to St. Peter’s Square.
- By Tram: Take line number 19 to Piazza del Risorgimento.
- Standard Entry Tickets: With these tickets, you can enjoy access to the Vatican Museums & the Sistine Chapel.
- Skip-the-line Tickets: Bypass long queues and enter the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel with these tickets. Depending on the ticket, you might even enjoy access to St. Peter’s Basilica.
- Guided Tours: A guided tour will allow you to skip the lines with an expert guide.
- They follow a strict dress code. If you are not dressed appropriately, you will be denied entry.
- Video cameras, umbrellas, banners, signs, and sharp objects like knives, are not allowed inside.
- Phones must be kept in silent mode. The use of phones is forbidden in the Sistine Chapel.
- Visitors are allowed to take photographs for personal and domestic use only. Photography is prohibited in the Sistine Chapel
Structure of the Apostolic Palace
Arranged around the Courtyard of Sixtus V, the Apostolic Palace is a series of self-contained buildings consisting of a recognized outer structure.
Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel is the best known amongst the Palace chapels and is named in honor of Sixtus IV. The Chapel is well-known for being a venue for the gathering of the College of Cardinals, used for the election of each successive Pope. Here, the cardinals elect a successor to the traditionally first pope, St. Peter, who is traditionally buried in the crypts near St. Peter’s Church. The Chapel is famous for its frescoes by various Renaissance artists during the era.
Know More
Raphael Rooms
The Raphael Rooms are a suite of reception rooms in the Apostolic Palace, which is now a portion of the Vatican Museums, in Vatican City. These rooms are popular for their frescoes, done by a team of artists who were guided under Raphael. Commonly known as the Stanze, situated above Alexander’s Borgia Apartments, the Raphael Rooms were the apartments intended for Pope Julius II. He decided to redecorate the interiors of the rooms entirely, possibly to outshine the apartments of his predecessor.
Borgia Apartments
The Borgia Apartments consists of a suite of rooms that were for the personal usage of Pope Alexander VI. The apartments were decorated lavishly with frescoes and used iconic themes from medieval encyclopedias, to add meaning and to celebrate the divine origins of Borgias.
The rooms are a part of the Vatican Library and Museums. Currently, these rooms are used for the Vatican Collection of Modern Religious Art, by Pope Paul VI in 1973.
Clementine Hall
The Clementine Hall, also called the Sala Clementina, was created in the 16th century in honor of the third Pope, Pope Clement I, by Pope Clement VIII. Just like the other apartments, the Clementine Hall also consists of numerous large collections of artifacts and frescos, that make the Clementine Hall a famous structure in itself. It is used by the pope as a reception room and sometimes as a site of various ceremonies and rituals. It is in the Clementine Hall that the body of the pope lies for private visitation by officials of the Vatican until it is moved to St. Peter's Basilica or the Basilica of San Giovanni.
Who lives in the Vatican Palace?
Wondering who lives within the walls of the Apostolic Palace? The Apostolic Palace, commonly known as the Vatican Palace is the home to the Pope of the Catholic Church. Apart from them, many officials and members are also seen working within the Palace for several religious jobs related to the Church and various administrative functions of the Vatican.
Paintings Inside Vatican Palace
The paintings present in the Sistine Chapel are the most prominent works of art in the Apostolic Palace. You can spot The Vision of The Cross (in the Hall of Constantine) and The Fire in the Borgo in the Raphael Rooms. The Pinacoteca room in the Apostolic Palace has in itself close to 16 rooms that are filled with art. The Crucifixion of St. Peter in the Pinacoteca room is a very famous one amongst the lot.
Book Tickets to Sistine ChapelApostolic Palace of Vatican | Site of Administrative Functions of the Holy See
Apart from being home to the Pope, the Apostolic Palace serves many functions. The Palace is used for performing several administrative meetings of the Vatican in terms of political, social, and economic aspects as a State. The palace has within it beautiful gardens, museums, a library, and more. Hence, this structure has become one of the top tourist attractions in the city of Rome, Italy.
Due to its dual nature as being the home to the pope as well as the site of administrative functions of the Holy See, it has assumed the same stature as the White House. It is a space that exercises various economic, political, and social responsibilities as a State. The term Apostolic Palace has, hence, come to be used as a metonym for the papacy itself, and not just the physical building.
All Your Questions About the Apostolic Palace Answered
Q. What is the Apostolic Palace?
A. The massive Apostolic Palace is the Pope’s place of residence. It's also home to various apartments, museums, offices, public and private chapels, to name a few amongst the lot. The Palace is inclusive of rooms such as the Sistine Chapel as well as Raphael’s room famous for its paintings and architecture. The Palace serves as a space to perform the religious and administrative functions of the city.
Q. Where is the Apostolic Palace located?
A. The Apostolic Palace, also known as Vatican Palace, is the home to the head of the Catholic Church, the Pope, and is located in Vatican City.
Q. Who lives inside the Apostolic Palace?
A. Apart from the Pope who resides in the Palace, the Vatican Palace has a large number of officials who work for the church regarding several religious and administrative functions of the Vatican.
Q. Can I enter the Apostolic Palace?
A. Yes, around 20 rooms of the Apostolic Palace are accessible by the public. Visitors can get an insight into the Popes’ lifestyle over the last 500 years.
Q. How far is the Apostolic Palace from St Peter's square?
A. The Papal Palace is hardly two minutes away from St. Peter’s Square.
Q. When was the Apostolic Palace built?
A. The construction of the Apostolic Palace (the Vatican or Papal Palace) in the Vatican City, was done between 1471 and 1605.
Q. Why was the Apostolic Palace built?
A. Nicholas V commenced the construction of the Vatican Palace, to serve as an alternative to their then-residence, the Lateran Palace.
