Back in June, a friend and I visited Rome, Italy.  After visiting a bunch of free attractions like the Colosseum and MagicLand, we wanted to visit the smallest country in the world: Vatican City.  It is an independent city-state and we were both happy to add another country to our list.

Getting There

We started Saturday morning by having a quick lunch at a McDonald’s right by our hotel and going back to get a taxi.  Staying at Hotel Charter in downtown Rome, it was an easy 15 minute taxi ride to Vatican City.  It was always difficult trying to get an accessible taxi in Rome, so my friend would always just lift and transfer me into a regular car taxi.

St. Peter’s Basilica

As soon as the taxi dropped us off by St. Peter’s Basilica, we could already see the mass amount of people everywhere.  We took a bunch of pictures in St. Peter’s Square which is the large plaza in front and saw the giant line to get inside St. Peter’s Basilica which is the world’s largest Christian church building in the world.

Admission is free so there is no need for tickets or advance reservations.  Wheelchair guests and their companions get to skip the line so we went right through to security and took an elevator right up to the main level.  There is a dress code stating no sleeveless shirts or stomach showing and no short shorts.

There were a few main areas with steps to check out but there are a few ramps for wheelchair guests to use.  We start in the grand room where St. Peter’s Baldachin is located and everything was amazing with the high ceilings and detailed architecture.

There are so many things to see from sculptures to paintings including a picture with St. Peter’s statue which had a velvet rope around it.  The Pieta by Michaelangelo was also cool being made by marble and depicting Mary and Jesus.  It is behind and protected by glass.  The Treasury museum had lots of artifacts, sculptures, ornaments and gifts.

A separate paid ticket is required to visit St. Peter’s Dome, but getting to the payment line was not accessible so a staff member just brought us to the side for free to use an elevator to get to the roof.  I could only stay there while my friend had to climb many small steps to visit the Dome at the very top.  He took some great pics of the Dome up close and of the views looking outside.

We spent about 3 hours at St. Peter’s Basilica and probably could have spent more time reading and looking at a slower pace but we wanted to make sure we had enough time for the Vatican Museums.

Vatican Museums

We had to walk/stroll about 15 minutes around the Vatican City border wall to get to the entrance of the Vatican Museums.  Lines were very long, but wheelchair guests and their companions get to skip the line to enter the museum.  We also were not required advanced reservations or payment.  We had to go to the Disability Special Permits desk to get our free tickets.

We again spent about 3 hours at the Vatican Museums including the Sistine Chapel as there is so much to see.  Right by the entrance is the really cool Spiral Staircase.  There are twin ramps with one leading up and one leading down to help with crowd control.

The Gallery of Maps is another long beautiful hallway that is brightly decorated in the ceiling with art and with sculptures and giant maps along the walls.  We also visited the four rooms known as the Raphael Rooms which were painted by Raphael and his students.

After seeing the Sistine Chapel (see below), we visited the Pinecone Courtyard to see the massive bronze pinecone and the Sphere Within a Sphere.  We then went to the Pio-Clementino Gallery which displays a collection of ancient Greek & Roman sculptures.

We did get a chance to check out the terrace area outside.  Here we get a great view of the dome of St. Peter’s Church and the lush Vatican Gardens.  We then had a few more galleries to look around before we were done.

Sistine Chapel

Getting to the Sistine Chapel was quite easy as it was inside the Vatican Museums.  There is an old style wheelchair lift that goes down a set of stairs to get to the entrance of the Sistine Chapel.  Once inside the chapel, we were told that no pics or videos were allowed to be taken.

It was quite crowded and staff were either directing traffic flow or reminding everyone about no cameras.  We stayed for about 20 minutes which was enough time to see all the great artwork by Michaelangelo including The Creation of Adam painting where Adam and God’s fingers are touching.

Cafe Vaticano

After a long day, my friend and I were pretty hungry so we wanted to eat somewhere that was close to the exit of the Vatican Museums.  Cafe Vaticano was literally across the street so we decide to eat there.  Lots of people had the same idea of eating there too as it was very busy.

Service was very slow here and when we ordered our food and drinks, it did take a long time to be brought out.  Prices were high which was expected since it was across the Vatican Museums.  Food portions were small as our ravioli pasta dish was just 4 average size ravioli squares for 18 euros.  My non alcoholic slush cost 10 euros.

Looking at reviews online afterwards I can understand why this restaurant got bad reviews for being a tourist trap with outrageous pricing and bad service.  We did get a regular taxi back to our hotel after our dinner and finished up packing for our cruise the next day.

Final Thoughts

Our day visiting the Vatican City was totally worth it as it was so close and easy to get to from downtown Rome.  We spent the entire day and got to St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel.  It was free admission to all these places and we even got to skip all the lines.  All had great wheelchair accessibility and I would revisit all again.  I would just eat elsewhere rather than at Cafe Vaticano.