Vatican City

TIP #1:
Please make sure to keep your shoulders and knees covered before entering the Vatican! No shorts and carry a shawl! 

Our last day was spent at the Vatican City! The Vatican City is a city-state surrounded by Rome and is home to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. Like the Colosseum, it is definitely important to purchase your ticket in advance to avoid waiting in line. When Sam and I got to the Vatican, the queue to purchase tickets was so long that it ended up wrapping. The wait time was an average of four hours!

TIP #2:
Vatican City Entrance Fee: 20€
Tickets can be purchased online up to 60 days in advance here

When we got inside, we went to see the Sistine Chapel first since that has been one of my bucket List items from elementary school. One important rule for the Sistine Chapel is that no photography is allowed. They actually have security guards who take your camera and delete the photos in front of you. No exceptions. One thing that made this visit so special was that when we got there, a priest was finishing up his sermon and started praying for those who wanted a personal blessing. It was all in Italian but it was definitely an experience to remember. After the Chapel, we went to St. Peter’s Basilica and climbed up the Tower to see the Vatican City from the top of the dome.

TIP #3:
Dome Fee: 5€ (stairs only)
Dome Fee + lift: 7€ 
Cash only

I took the stairs up but they do have a lift you can take. It gets you halfway up to the roof level and then you have no choice but to climb up the rest of the way if you want to see the view from above. It was totally worth the 551 steps that I had to climb! There is a spectacular view of St. Peter’s Square and the cityscape of Rome. Also, I found out that the Vatican City uses Swiss Post so I managed to mail my first batch of postcards! Swiss Post takes only 2-3 days to get to its destination so I felt like I hit the jackpot! Sadly, we couldn’t stay too long at the Vatican because we had to catch our train to Pisa. We missed out on the Vatican Museums which are supposed to display works from the immense collection built up by the Popes throughout the centuries, including some of the most renowned classical sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world. I will definitely have to come back to see them! Come on, Trevi Fountain! I’m counting on you!