GoTourist
The painted ceiling and fresco maps of the Gallery of Maps, Vatican Museums

No. 2 Top 100 Most Visited Art Museums 2025 · 6,933,822 visitors in 2025

Vatican Museums

Vatican City · City guide: Rome

The popes' collections, the Raphael Rooms and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel.

Open in Maps Apple Maps

Photo: Sonse, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Overview

The Vatican Museums are No. 2 in The Art Newspaper's survey of the world's most visited art museums, with 6,933,822 visitors in 2025, up 2% on 2024. The papal collections go back to the early 16th century, when Pope Julius II put classical sculptures on display in the Belvedere Courtyard.

Today a long route through galleries and palaces in Vatican City, the world's smallest independent state, leads past classical sculpture, Renaissance frescoes and Egyptian, Etruscan and modern art to the Sistine Chapel. The Vatican is surrounded by Rome, and our Rome guide covers the rest of the city.

The double-helix spiral staircase at the Vatican Museums
The double-helix spiral staircase at the Vatican Museums. Photo: Colin, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

Best time to visit

Book the earliest slot or an afternoon visit. Wednesday mornings can be busy because of the papal audience. The museums are normally closed on Sundays, except for free entry on the last Sunday of the month, which is very crowded. Check the official calendar for closures and special openings.

Highlights & collections

  • 1

    Sistine Chapel

    Michelangelo painted the ceiling between 1508 and 1512 and the Last Judgment on the altar wall between 1536 and 1541. Photography is not allowed, and silence is requested.

  • 2

    Raphael Rooms

    Four rooms frescoed by Raphael and his workshop, including The School of Athens.

  • 3

    Gallery of Maps

    A 120-metre corridor lined with 16th-century painted maps of Italy under a gilded ceiling.

  • 4

    Pio Clementino Museum

    Classical sculpture, including the Laocoön group and the Apollo Belvedere.

  • 5

    Pinacoteca

    The picture gallery includes works by Giotto, Leonardo, Raphael and Caravaggio.

  • 6

    The spiral staircase

    Giuseppe Momo's double-helix staircase of 1932 is one of the most photographed spots in the museums.

Getting there

The entrance is on Viale Vaticano. The nearest stations are Ottaviano and Cipro on Metro line A, each about a 10-minute walk away.

Visiting tips

Tickets & hours
Buy timed tickets only from the official website to avoid long queues and resellers. Check there for hours and prices.
Dress code
Shoulders and knees must be covered, especially for the Sistine Chapel.
Time needed
Allow at least three hours.
Currency
Euro (EUR).
Visa & entry
There are no border checks between Rome and Vatican City, so Italy's entry rules apply. Italy is in the Schengen Area. Many visitors, including citizens of the US, Canada, the UK and Australia, can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) now records non-EU travellers' entries and exits at the border, and the ETIAS travel authorisation is due to follow. Check the official EU site travel-europe.europa.eu and your own government's travel advice before you go.

Official information: Musei Vaticani (official website). Check opening hours, prices and entry rules there before you go.

Map

Open in Maps View larger map Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors