Location: Vatican City
Top Things to do in Vatican City
Top Restaurants in Vatican City
Countries
Top 6 Traveler Resources 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. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana
2. Aula Paolo VI o Sala Nervi
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 28 reviews
Reviewed By jimkL8931XT - Bristol, United Kingdom
In winter (and possibly other times when the weather is bad) this building hosts the Papal Audience on Wednesday morning. It is a good 'lecture theatre' style hall which comfortably holds at least 6,000 people on a slight incline so that those in front don't block your view very much. There are video screens to more easily see the Pope from further away. Before the event you have to go through security in the north-west area of St. Peter's Square - this seems to open around 8am. It only took a few minutes when I arrived at 08:30 and I still got a good seat inside, but this was in winter, not in school holidays and there were no other religious activities - many others suggest arriving before 8am. At around 9am various cardinals got up on stage and welcomed people in around 8 languages, taking around 20min. At around 9:30 the Pope came in and walked from the back to the front of the hall along the centre isle - people got excited and stood up to take photos while he shook hands etc. After that the audience took about an hour where the message was translated into the 8 languages (Italian, French, English, German, Polish, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese when I attended). Although the entry/exit doors are sealed by the police during the service, there are toilets at the back of the hall which are accessed by a staircase from INSIDE the hall - so the toilets are available throughout the entire service! Make sure you get a ticket before attending - I got mine the day before at around 3pm from the Swiss Guards at the huge bronze doors on the north-east corner of St. Peter's Square just after going through security - this is an exciting little event in itself!
3. Archivio Segreto Vaticano
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 2 reviews
4. Archivio Storico di Propaganda Fide
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3 reviews
5. Romische Bibliothek Joseph Ratzinger / Benedikt XVI
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 1 reviews
