Attractions
St Peter’s Basilica
St Peter’s Basilica is the world’s largest church, renowned for Renaissance masterpieces, monumental scale, and the famous dome above St Peter’s Square.
Highlights
Michelangelo’s Pietà
A masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture inside the basilica.
St Peter’s Dome
Climb or take the elevator for panoramic city views.
Bernini’s Baldachin
The grand bronze canopy at the high altar.
Pro tips
Arrive early for security
Security queues build quickly, especially mid‑morning.
Dome access is optional
The basilica is free; dome tickets are separate and limited.
Plan your visit
Getting there
Metro A: Ottaviano
Bus: 64
Bus: 64
Entrances
St Peter’s Square security entrance
Timings
Open daily; hours vary by season
Amenities
Restrooms
Gift shop
Cloakroom
Gift shop
Cloakroom
Accessibility
Wheelchair accessible routes available
Restricted items
Dress code enforced
No large bags
No large bags
External resources
Photos
TripAdvisor
St. Peter's Basilica
Rating 4.8 · 41928 reviews
Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Vatican City Italy
Arguably one of the finest Cathedrals in the entire world, St. Peter's is the spiritual center of the Vatican and the product of many of Italy's great Renaissance's architects, among them Bramante, Raphael and Michelangelo.
A wonder two thousand years in the making…
★★★★★
Catholicism is nearly two thousand years old, it spans the world, taken every nationality, race, and socioeconomic group… but it has only one true home.
St. Peter’s Basilica is nothing sort of a wonder… the size, the scale, the grandeur. There is nothing like it anywhere on earth. As a temple to worship it is unmatched.
As I took in the scale and scope of it, it occurred to me that in no modern endeavour does humanity care enough about something to treat ninety the reverence needed to build this. In that respect this is a sobering experience to be reminded of a faith, a belief, a will to belong, that just doesn’t exist anymore.
This is more than a sight. To wander about and take it in is to have an experience.
We took in the hall and the dome and it was simply breathtakingly majestic.
I recommend it to anyone, religious or not. It’s a marvel to be seen at least once in your lifetime.
Take the trip.
700PeteJ
Not fast at all
★★☆☆☆
We were waiting in avline for 90 minutes, even we pay for a fast track. The agency that sold us the tickets contracted by trip advisor gave us a ticket on different name and with a different entrance hour that we booked. I felt it is an ilegal bussiness.
196claudiua
Don’t waste money on ‘skip-the-line’ tickets!
★☆☆☆☆
Purchased ‘skip-the-line’ queues- what a joke! The queue was absolutely huge- we gave up as we were shattered after visiting the Vatican. Gutted as I visited years ago and it’s beautiful- really wanted to share the experience with my children. They clearly sell unlimited tickets for each time-slot. I’ve searched the website for an email address to complain but couldn’t find one!
Kavi1987
Disappointing as horrendous queues despite booked timed slot.
★☆☆☆☆
Never made it into the Basilica. We had timed tickets for 12:00 and arrived at 10:50 due to concerns that security checks could be long. We gave up waiting in line after 2 hours, as it was looking like we had another hour at least to wait and we would have been late for our slot at the Vatican museum. Don’t bother booking timed slots - it is an absolute joke. Times were not checked at all when joining the queue and they had clearly booked in more people than could be accommodated. Very disappointing!
Dream39221453884
Source: TripAdvisor
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