Vatican Tickets Price 2023

If you're thinking of visiting the Vatican, you've probably wondered how much budget you need in total, what entrance fees you have to pay, what you can visit for free and how much you should spend on tickets or a guided tour.

The most important thing to know is that you can get into the Vatican for as little as €36 without queuing at the ticket office, but if you prefer to be told the details of the works of art and get in first thing in the morning, guided tours cost around €61.

The price of a skip-the-line ticket to the Vatican is 36 euros if you buy them online in advance on official ticket websites such as Hellotickets. With these tickets you will enter the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel and you will visit the different rooms at your own pace without a guide, you only have to select the time you want to start your visit.

Guided tours

Also on our website you can book a ticket with a guided tour for 36 ¤ and you will be able to make changes or refunds, which is important to have more flexibility in your trip. With this ticket you will have access to the Vatican Museums, where the Sistine Chapel is located.

Why is it advisable to take the guided tour option? Because as well as housing several museums, the Vatican houses an incalculable number of frescoes, sculptures, paintings and works of art. Faced with such majesty, it is advisable to visit it with an expert who will make sure you see the essentials and explain the basics of what you see.

Visit before official opening hours

There is also the option of buying a ticket to gain early access to the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. With this exclusive tour you will enter the Vatican with an expert guide and a very small group of tourists, guaranteeing a more intimate visit. It costs around €60.

Remember that you can buy tickets at the ticket office, but apart from the fact that you will get the same price as online (they never give discounts or special rates) you will have to wait literally hours in line at the Vatican gates. Why is it important to take the skip-the-line option? Precisely for that reason, to avoid the eternal queues in front of the Vatican, which are the longest in Rome.

The ticket you need to enter the Sistine Chapel is the Vatican Museums ticket, as the Sistine Chapel is located inside the Vatican Museums. Tickets start from 36 ¤ at Hellotickets (without guide) and guided tour, with which you will enter the Sistine Chapel with an expert who will also take you through the rest of the Vatican galleries. A VIP ticket to enter the Vatican and Sistine Chapel before it opens to the general public costs around €60.

If in addition to the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums you are considering entering other museums or attractions in Rome, such as the Borghese Gallery, the Capitoline Museums, the Colosseum or even taking the tourist bus, you might want to buy the Roma Pass together with the Omnia Card, the tourist cards of the city.

You can buy the Omnia Card for 149 € in Hellotickets and you will be able to access the Castel St' Angelo, the Colosseum, the Capitoline Museums and most importantly, the Vatican Museums with the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica, without queues.

Alternatively, you have the option to purchase the 24-hour Omnia Pass which includes, in addition to entry to the Vatican, the Vatican-Rome sightseeing bus and Open Bus, and entry to the Catacombs of St. Callixtus and other basilicas in Rome.

A very good option to save also on the purchase of tickets during your trip to Rome is to get the combined ticket to the Vatican and the Colosseum. In Hellotickets you can get the combined ticket to the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel and the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. In addition, you will access both the Vatican and the Colosseum skipping the queues. A great tip!

If you prefer, you can access both monuments with a guided tour with the most complete saving pack that includes a half day tour with an expert guide to understand the history and significance of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.

You're in luck, because entry to St. Peter's Basilica is free. However, the queues at the doors of the Basilica are endless, so there are tickets to the Vatican that include access to the Museums and the Basilica, skipping the queues. This is the case of this guided tour of the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica which costs 49 € in Hellotickets. When you get there and see the queues at the door, you'll be thankful you booked this option in advance.

Price of the climb to St. Peter's Dome

Climbing St. Peter's Dome costs €8 and tickets cannot be bought online. You will have to go inside the Basilica to buy them there at a ticket counter. It's clearly marked, so you'll recognise it as soon as you enter. If you want to take the lift ticket with the option to go up one section in the lift, the price is €10.

How much does it cost to go down to the Crypts of the Popes?

To go down to the Crypts where some of the Popes are buried, you will have to pay a separate entrance fee of 13 € and again, you will not be able to get it online. You will have to go to the same place where you buy the Dome tickets, inside St. Peter's Basilica, to buy them.

The Vatican City itself is free to visit, it is free of charge and requires no entrance fee. You can get there for free by taking a leisurely stroll from the centre of Rome (normally if you come from Castel Sant'Agenlo you cross the majestic Via della Conciliazione) until you reach St. Peter's Square with the mythical white colonnade by Bernini. All of this is free, and entering St. Peter's Basilica is also free (be patient to enter the interior of the temple).

However, to access the Sistine Chapel (which is inside the Vatican Museums), the Vatican Museums and gardens and the Dome and Crypts of St Peter's Basilica you'll need to buy a ticket.

If you are a properly accredited pilgrim, journalist, art teacher or accredited historian, you can enter the Vatican by invitation, but you will need to bring your official documentation correctly filled in and go to the ticket office to redeem your free or discounted ticket (you will have to queue in the same queues as all other visitors waiting to buy their tickets). Students are eligible for the reduced rate (€8 per ticket without a guided tour) until they reach the age of 25, but will need to present their student ID card at the door.

Yes, children over the age of 6 need a ticket to enter the Vatican, but reduced rates are available. For example, for access to the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums, the reduced-rate ticket for children costs €8 instead of the adult rate of €17. Children under the age of 6 are free of charge.