We made the decision to travel to Italy less than a month before we traveled. Originally we were scheduled to be in Morocco after some time in Paris but unfortunately Covid had other plans for the Moroccan piece of our adventure – the entire country remained closed to all travelers, regardless of vaccination status. Once we changed shifted our Morocco plans to Rome, that meant I would get to visit a place I have ALWAYS wanted to visit – Vatican City. I’m not sure when my obsession with all things related to the Vatican began. Maybe reading the Davinci Code books? Probably even before that. I’ve long been interested in the smallest city-state in the world and in the treasures that exist within its walls. And of course standing inside the Sistine Chapel in person. Our day started at about 6:30 AM and it was COLD. Seriously, Rome is really really cold on January mornings…

I blocked off half of a day out of our Rome trip for the Vatican. You can get into Vatican City without being a part of a tour and even walk around inside St. Peters Basilica (which blew my mind clean out of my head, btw) but unless you are part of a tour you cannot go into the Vatican Museum or inside the Sistine Chapel. Since we wanted to see and do ALL of the things, booking a tour made the most sense. I really liked the tour group we booked with so here are the details.

We spent four hours (which honestly felt pretty long and comprehensive but still LONG) with Walks of Italy in their “Pristine Sistine Early Entrance Small Group Tour“. This was a private group tour of only six people (on our day there were only five) with a sunrise breakfast on the grounds in the Pinecone Courtyard. Yep. Pretty darn cool.

We were the very first people of the day to enter the Sistine Chapel and had it all to ourselves for a long time. We were never crowded in hallways or exhibits and I truly felt like we had all the time in the world; we never sped past sculptures or paintings. Our guide spoke excellent English and was a passionate historian of the entire Vatican. She was a wealth of knowledge and super easy to talk to. The benefit of a tour in this situation is you are getting a real education instead of just muddling through exhibits on your own. The guides have a ton of experience and perspective. For example, one thing I had NEVER heard was that all of those glorious white marble OLD statues that you see everywhere? They all used to be PAINTED. Yes! Vibrantly painted! With time and age and sometimes carelessness in how they were preserved, the paint wore away leaving only the carvings into the marble. All of those domed eyes on sculptures and busts? They used to be painted eyes! And the eyes that appear to be sunken instead of domed? Those eye sockets were filled with beautifully detailed GLASS EYES! Pretty cool right? That is just one benefit of a guide.

Like I said before, the tour felt really long. Most of that length was time spent in the Vatican Museum, which I would have shortened up considerably if I had to do it again. The tour only covered the Museum and the Sistine Chapel and some of the grounds around both of those areas. St. Peters Basilica followed on your own and I preferred that.

For helpful reference, here are all of the places our specific tour covered: The Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, Raphael Rooms, Pinacoteca Art Gallery, Belvedere Courtyard, Pinecone Courtyard, Octagonal Courtyard, Gallery of the Maps (a personal favorite exhibit of mine), Gallery of the Tapestries and Gallery of the Candelabra. Whew. It was a lot. Very very comprehensive; you definitely get your money’s worth with this particular tour.

As I said, we entered early in the morning while it was still very cold (It think it was about 38 degrees) and the Vatican Museum was NOT heated. Plus all of the windows that could be open…were open. So…it was really cold! The one place that was warm and cozy because they keep it temperature controlled? The glorious Sistine Chapel.

You are not allowed to take any photos or video inside the Sistine Chapel and talking is discouraged. You have to be silent which lends to an overall air of contemplation in this historic, unbelievable place. I would sit on one bench for about five minutes just staring at one section, then get up and move to another bench and stare at another section. Truly, what Michelangelo created is nothing short of a miracle. I am so so grateful that we were able to see it in person with our own eyes. Not taking photos actually made the overall experience better because instead of worrying about the shots you are getting you are just in the moment, soaking it all up. For reference, here are some professional shots of the interior of the Sistine Chapel. It isn’t a large space at all but feels quite tall and otherworldly when inside.

The Sistine Chapel was the warmest part of the tour due to the temperature control that they have in effect for this space. The rest of the tour through the Vatican Museum was SO cold owing to many available windows being open. Like…so cold. I don’t think Sophie and I ever warmed up until we went over to St. Peters Basilica. Between being cold and walking for what felt like miles with a sensory overload. the Vatican Museum felt a bit rough for both of us. I would have cut a four hour tour down to two. On the bright side, however, our guide was straight up fantastic and a true historian of all things Vatican City. We really received a robust education from her so I believe it was still money well spent.

My FAVORITE part of the museum tour was the Gallery of Maps. The walls of a very long, ornate corridor are covered with paintings of maps from Europe to the New World. They are so detailed – there are even swells of waves painted onto the maps. Such a treasure.

Sophie and I collapsed ourselves in a cafe at the end of the museum portion of the tour and she tiredly said she didn’t think she could make it to the Basilica. Which was ridiculous because we were ABSOLUTELY going to see that. Once we got some food and Coke into ourselves we walked over to St. Peters Square. By now it was about 11 am and the skies were blue with bright sun shining. It was a gorgeous day and the crowds were nonexistent.

We spent some time enjoying the wide open square before heading into the Basilica. It is free to roam the square and go into the Basilica. You have to go through a bag check and Covid green pass screen before going into the Basilica. If you aren’t vaccinated or haven’t tested within 24 hours you cannot go in.

We spent quite a bit of time roaming around the square and visiting a few shops. We both found beautiful crosses and a few gifts for family and friends. Our purchases were placed in small paper bags with a Vatican City stamp on the outside; naturally I saved those bags.

The Vatican is an independent city-state and is independent of Italy. It is its own territory and is run by the Holy See. It is the smallest state in the world being only 121 acres and a main population of only 825 including the Pope. The mailboxes around the square were bright yellow and at the post office you could send a postcard that would be stamped by the Vatican. We didn’t do it but I thought it was cool. Even though this is an independent city-state, we did not need our passport to go in and out of Rome and the Vatican.

We finally made our way into St. Peters Basilica. The Basilica is without question the most impressive structure I have ever seen in my life. I could hardly take it all in. I had done next to no research on the actual basilica so I walked in dumbfounded. First up was seeing Michelangelo’s Pieta live and in person. WOW. Michelangelo was only 24 years old when he sculpted this masterpiece.

Then just walking around very slowly, trying to absorb everything we were seeing. Construction of the Basilica took over 100 years; Michaelangelo was one of the chief architects of this masterpiece. It is one of the largest buildings int he world.

Here is a photo of me inside the Basilica for scale. You guys. You just cannot believe how massive and otherworldly and impossible this place is.

The American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson described St. Peter’s as “an ornament of the earth … the sublime of the beautiful.” That’s a perfect description. Sophie told me that she felt this was heaven. Literally, she felt as she looked around that this must surely be just a bit of what heaven must look like. The giant lettering around the trim and the dome is over 6 feet high. SIX FEET tall letters! It was really overwhelming to behold.

Our original guide in the museum told us that the bulk of the “paintings” inside the Basilica were actually extremely ornate and intricate mosaics. The artisans (and papal authorities) wanted the artwork inside the Basilica to last forever and felt that mosaics were their best bet; frescoes (like the inside of the Sistine Chapel) were subject to damage from temperature and time. Mosaics, not so much. As a result, the interior of the Basilica isn’t just vast and beautifully overwhelming, it also glows and sparkles owing to the millions and millions of mosaic pieces.

We left feeling filled up to capacity with beauty, slightly overwhelmed and very hungry. Also we were so tired from walking. We found a great pizza place right outside the walls to the Vatican and happily gobbled up our meals and large bottled Cokes.

Our visit to the Vatican City was a highlight of the entire trip to Italy for me, a long realized dream. It also wiped us out in the best way. Do not go to Rome and skip the Vatican. You MUST see the Sistine Chapel with your own eyes, you MUST walk through St. Peters Basilica! I’m so glad that we carved out half a day to really do it justice. I have memories (and many many photos) to remember for the rest of my life.

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