Practical Information for visiting Vatican City

The Vatican uses the euro under an agreement with the EU, and mints its own coins — legal tender everywhere in the eurozone, but issued in such small numbers that they are collectors’ items and effectively never appear in change.

Cards and contactless are accepted at the museums, the post office and the shops. Museum tickets are best bought online in advance, which is cheaper than any reseller and skips the ticket queue entirely.

There is no tourist accommodation and no ordinary restaurant trade, so day-to-day spending happens in Rome.

The Vatican post office issues its own stamps and is genuinely used — a postcard sent from the boxes in the square goes through the Vatican system rather than the Italian one, and reliably faster.

Tipping is not applicable inside the state; Roman practice applies outside it, where rounding up is normal and service is often included.

Coverage for mobile networks is full, provided by the Italian operators — there is no separate Vatican network for visitors — with 4G and 5G throughout. EU and EEA roaming applies at domestic rates, as it would anywhere in Italy.

Free Wi-Fi is available in parts of the museums, though it is not reliable in the deeper galleries and there is none in the Sistine Chapel.

The state runs its own internet domain and Vatican Radio, which broadcasts in dozens of languages from the transmitter in the gardens.

Download the museum map and your ticket before you go in; signal inside the thick-walled galleries is patchy, and a ticket you cannot open at the barrier is a real problem.

The Vatican itself is extremely safe and heavily policed by the Gendarmerie and the Swiss Guard. The risks are in the approach and the crowds.

• Pickpocketing is the real problem, on the approach streets, in the security queue and on the 64 and 40 buses from Termini, which have a long-standing reputation. Crowds at the Wednesday audience are a working environment for thieves.
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• Ticket touts and fake guides outside the museum entrance sell marked-up tickets and tours of variable legitimacy. Buy online from the official site.
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• Dress code refusal: shoulders and knees must be covered for both the basilica and the museums, and you will be turned away at the door after queueing. Carry a scarf in summer.
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• Crowd crush at major ceremonies; arrive early and know where the exits are.
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• Summer heat in unshaded queues; bring water, which you may carry in.
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• Drones are prohibited over the whole area.

There is no public hospital in Vatican City. The state has a pharmacy and a small health service for residents and employees, and any visitor needing medical attention is treated in Rome — the nearest large hospitals are Santo Spirito, a few minutes away on the river, and Gemelli, which is where popes are taken.

EU and EEA visitors are covered in Italy by the European Health Insurance Card; everyone else should carry travel insurance covering Italy.

Vaccinations: routine cover only.

The most likely problems are mundane: dehydration and heat exhaustion in a summer queue, and exhaustion from the museums themselves, which involve several kilometres of walking on hard floors with few places to sit.

The dome climb is 551 steps with a narrow, sloping final section and no way to turn back partway; it is not advisable with heart or breathing conditions, claustrophobia or limited mobility.

Drinking fountains in the square and the gardens run continuously and the water is safe and good.

The dress code is enforced. Shoulders and knees covered, for everyone, in the basilica and the museums. No bare shoulders, no shorts above the knee, no low-cut tops, hats off inside. People are refused entry over this every single day.

Silence in the Sistine Chapel. It is a chapel, not a gallery, and the guards enforce quiet and the photography ban continuously and audibly.

No photography in the Sistine Chapel at all; elsewhere in the museums photography without flash is generally allowed.

The basilica is a place of worship with services in progress. Move quietly, do not cross barriers, and the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament is reserved for prayer.

Large bags, tripods and knives cannot be brought in; a free cloakroom takes bags at the museums.

Vatican law applies inside the state, and it is a separate jurisdiction from Italy’s.

The Swiss Guard will pose for photographs but should not be touched or obstructed.

Inside the state, approach the Gendarmerie or the Swiss Guard, who are posted throughout and will summon help. The Vatican has its own fire service and a health service for residents.

Outside, and for anything serious, Italy’s numbers apply: 112 for the single European emergency line, 118 for ambulance. The Vatican has no separate public emergency number for visitors.

Medical emergencies are taken to Roman hospitals; Santo Spirito is the closest.

Lost property and lost people: the museums have an office near the entrance, and meeting points in the square are worth agreeing in advance — mobile signal in the crowd at a major ceremony is unreliable.

Consular help: embassies accredited to the Holy See are separate from those to Italy and are located in Rome; for a lost passport you need your country’s embassy to Italy.