Location: Vatican City
Top Things to do in Vatican City
Top Restaurants in Vatican City
Countries
Top 5 Architectural Buildings in Vatican City, Lazio
Sure, Vatican City is tiny—110 acres—but it houses the world's largest Catholic church (St. Peter's Basilica) and has perhaps the best collection of artistic masterpieces in the world (the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo's Pieta, the Laocoon Group, etc.). And maybe only 800 people live here, but one of them's the Pope. It's a pretty good argument for quality over quantity.
Restaurants in Vatican City
1. Cupola di San Pietro
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 3,323 reviews
Reviewed By Jwallace_83 - San Mateo, United States
The views from above are wild!! You can see the entire Vatican City, and Rome on a clear day. Worth the steps and spiral staircase. Wasn’t sure where it was going at first but it was well worth it!!
2. Cortile della Pigna
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 157 reviews
Reviewed By loisp297 - Candler, United States
Located between the Vatican Museums, the Courtyard is a welcome respite where you can get away from the crowds, if you're lucky find a place to sit, and enjoy a meal at the cafe there, which is covered.
3. Portone di Bronzo
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 3 reviews
Reviewed By SoCalOregonian - Murrieta, United States
This is an internal door within the Vatican City from the 17th century, manned by Swiss guards and is the entrance to the Apostolic Palace. It allows access the Royal stairs and to visit the Prefettura della Casa Pontificia (Prefecture of the Pontifical House). The Prefecture is where you get your tickets for the papal celebrations. These large doors are at the top of a flight of stairs flanked by two large marble columns and topped with 2 angelic figures and a large fresco of two saints and Madonna and child.
4. Monastero Mater Ecclesiae
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 3 reviews
5. Sistine Chapel
Probably the most famous chapel in the world because of its incredible artwork, notably "The Last Judgment," Michelangelo's stunning fresco covering 10,000 square feet of the ceiling and wall.
Reviewed By AllanJGJ - Wellington, New Zealand
Most people who've visited the Sistine Chapel will insist you must see it when you go to Rome, and then regale you with tales of massive queues to get in, too many people in the Chapel once you do get in, being pushed through too quickly, the cost of tours, no photography allowed, plus many other moans. All these things are true. If you love Renaissance art then nothing is going to put you off but for many others with only a few days in Rome they should think long and hard about the time and aggravation involved in visiting this attraction just to get 'a tick in the box'. There are so many other superb things to do in Rome that maybe the Sistine Chapel's cost-benefit analysis doesn't stack up for you. For me as a love of Renaissance art and having read a lot about Michelangelo and about the process of the creation of this amazing series of artworks and of the politics involved I was surprisingly unaffected by seeing it in the flesh so to speak. Perhaps buying a book with large full colour prints and explanations of the works might be more satisfying for many. At the end of the day the size of the Chapel added to the number of people inside means you don't really get close to any of the works and the limited light doesn't help - the paintings and the room as a whole didn't zing as I had expected and I was disappointed that I was disappointed, if that makes any sense. So don't think on your first trip to Rome that this is a must do. I did it on my fifth trip because being here for a fortnight I could afford the time, and put up with the aggravation, but the truth of the matter is that while most people would of course give the art an 'excellent' rating they would probably give the experience an 'average'.
