Vatican City, nestled within the city of Rome, is the smallest city-state in the world, covering no more than 49 hectares (121 acres). It is home to the Pope and the seat of the Roman Catholic Church.
It’s the world’s smallest country, yet it holds some of the most visited landmarks on the planet. Between the Vatican Museums, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican Gardens, navigating your way around isn’t always straightforward. Entrances are in different places, exits don’t always lead where you expect, and once you’re inside the museums, there are 54 galleries spread across multiple floors.
That’s where a map becomes essential. On this page, you’ll find clear maps of Vatican City, the Vatican Museums, and St. Peter’s Basilica, along with step-by-step navigation tips. We’ll show you where the entrances and exits are, how to move between attractions, and even share our own secret itinerary to help you avoid crowds and make the most of your time. Download the maps, keep them handy on your phone, and you’ll save yourself a lot of confusion during your visit.
Short on time? Jump to the most relevant part of our article right away:
Vatican City entrance
Vatican Museum entrance
Waiting time at the entrance
Vatican Museum map
Vatican Museum secret itinerary tour
St. Peter’s Basilica map
Vatican City Entrances and Exit
Vatican City has three entrances – two leading to St. Peter’s Basilica and one for the Vatican Museum. The Via Delle Conciliazione and Citta Del Vaticano entrances take you to St. Peter’s Square.
The Via Delle Conciliazione is considered the main entrance of the city. It is located opposite the Castle Sant Angelo on the banks of the River Tiber. Visitors who are driving or hailing a taxi are most likely to enter from here. You can walk through the entrance and head directly into St. Peter’s Square.
Visitors who arrive on the metro, tram, or bus will enter through the Citta Del Vaticano entrance on the right of St. Peter’s Square. This is also where the queues for the basilica entrance can be found. Even if you enter through the Via Delle Conciliazione entrance, you will have to walk out through the Citta Del Vaticano entrance/exit to join the queues. You can not walk directly into the basilica from the square. The entrances also serve as the exit for the city.
Vatican Museum Entrance
The entrance to the Vatican Museum is located on Viale Vaticano. This is the only entrance and exit of the museum. It is located 850 meters from the Città del Vaticano entrance and takes 15 minutes on foot. This entrance lies in the jurisdiction of Rome and not Vatican City.
Guests should note that they can not enter other parts of the Vatican City, like the Basilica, St. Peter’s Square, etc, directly from the museum.
Only visitors with special access gain entrance to St. Peter’s Square from the Sistine Chapel. However, this is very hard to find.
Queues at the Vatican Museum Entrance and Their Wait Times
You will find 4 queues at the Vatican Museum Entrance. You can use the image on top as a reference to understand this.
The Musei Vaticani signboard you see is the entrance. There are three queues right in front of the entrance for guests who have already booked their tickets. Passage 1 is reserved for guests who book their tickets on the official website, Passage 2 for official and other select guided tours and Passage 3 for visitors who have bought their tickets on other third-party ticket-selling platforms like GetYourGuide, Tiqets, etc. There is a fourth queue on the left of the wall for visitors who have yet to book their tickets. This queue wraps around the wall of the Vatican City.
During a particular timeslot, the online ticket holders will be admitted first. The average waiting times of these queues are 15 minutes. Hence, ticket holders are requested to arrive 15 minutes before their pre-booked tour time. Early queuing is prohibited. You can find your passage number on the online ticket. The waiting time for guests without tickets to the Vatican Museum can last from 1.5 hours to 2 hours during the peak summer months. Please note that the offline tickets are available based on the crowd inside the museum. Hence, tickets for popular days and timeslots may not be available, increasing the wait time.
Navigating between Vatican City and the Vatican Museum Entrance
To get to the Vatican Museum entrance from Vatican City, exit through Largo del Colonnato on Citta del Vaticano. Turn left onto Piazza del Risorgimento and then onto Viale Vaticano. You just have to follow the Vatican City wall and you will find the Vatican Museum entrance on your left.
If you do not prefer walking, you can also take bus 49 from Via della Conciliazione to the Vatican Museum. The bus stops at the V.Le Vaticano/Musei Vaticani stop close to the entrance.
To reach St. Peter’s Basilica from the Vatican Museum, follow the exit sign from the Pine Courtyard. You will exit through the famous Bramante Staircase and find yourself at the Vatican Museum entrance, where you started from. From here, start walking down the street along the Vatican City wall on the right and turn right to Piazza Risorgimento. Keep following the wall and you will reach the Citta del Vaticano entrance.
Vatican Museum Map
The Vatican Museums are one of the biggest of their kind in the world. In this museum, you can witness over 20,000 masterpieces displayed in 22 collections over 54 galleries. While there are 1400 rooms in the museum, including the wings of the Papal Palace, only the 54 galleries are currently open to guests.
The sheer size of the museum can be overwhelming for first-time visitors. It is also very easy to get lost inside or miss the galleries you initially planned on visiting.
The best way to navigate the Vatican Museum is through a guided tour where an expert will take you through all the galleries seamlessly. This way, you would not miss any masterpiece. However, if you prefer to tour by yourself, then make sure you have the museum map and our navigation guide handy.
In this section, you will find all the information on where each galleries are located and how to tour the museum. Read until the end, as we are also discussing our secret itinerary for visiting the museum without any crowds.
We recommend you download this Vatican Museum map PDF for easy use.
Note: the map shows 22 collections in the Museum. Visitors often confuse them with the 54 galleries. In simple words, a collection is an umbrella and there are different galleries in each collection. For example, the Museum Pio Clementino Collection has 10 galleries which include the Hall of Animals, Octagonal Court, Hall of Muses, etc.
Once you enter through the Viale Vaticano, you will first go through an airport-style security check. Past the checkpoint, you can find the ticket counter, information desk and reception. Visitors who do not have an online ticket need to purchase tickets from the counter here. Here you will also find an audio guide desk, toilets, baby changing tables, luggage storage and a checkroom.
The path will lead you to an elevator, which will take you to the first floor of the museum collections. Wheelchair ramps and elevators are also available at this point.
When you arrive at the first floor, you will find a wing on the right and left and an open terrace in between. From the terrace, you can enjoy views of the Vatican Gardens.
Among the 22 collections, 13 are located on the first floor of the museum. You will find them 10 on the left side and 3 collections on the right as you enter this floor.
The galleries found on the left wing are:
1. Gregorian Egyptian Museum
Founded in 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI, this museum houses a vast collection of artifacts from ancient Egypt, including mummies, papyri, sarcophagi, and statues brought from Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli.
Famous artworks: Statues of pharaohs, Canopic jars, and fragments from the Book of the Dead.
2. Chiaramonti Museum
Created by Pope Pius VII, the Chiaramonti Museum is a long gallery filled with Roman sculptures, reliefs, and inscriptions, known especially for its portrait busts of emperors and philosophers.
Famous artworks: Busts of Emperor Augustus, Julius Caesar, and Roman philosophers.
3. New Wing (Braccio Nuovo)
Opened in 1822, the New Wing displays some of the most celebrated classical statues from antiquity, arranged in a grand neoclassical gallery that enhances their importance.
Famous artworks: Augustus of Primaporta, Statue of the River Nile, and the Doryphoros.
4. Pio-Clementino Museum
Established by Popes Clement XIV and Pius VI in the 18th century, this museum is one of the most renowned sections of the Vatican Museums, showcasing Greek and Roman masterpieces.
Famous artworks: Laocoön and His Sons, Apollo Belvedere, and the Belvedere Torso.
5. Borgia Apartments (Contemporary Art Collection)
Once decorated by Pinturicchio for Pope Alexander VI, the Borgia Apartments now display the Vatican’s Contemporary Art Collection, blending Renaissance frescoes with modern religious works.
Famous artworks: Works by Van Gogh, Dalí, Matisse, and Gauguin.
6. Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel is the Vatican’s most celebrated space, world-famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling frescoes and altar wall, along with contributions from leading Renaissance masters.
Famous artworks: The Creation of Adam, The Last Judgment, and frescoes by Botticelli and Perugino.
7. Room of the Aldobrandini Wedding
This room is dedicated to one of the finest Roman frescoes ever discovered, a delicate painting that provides insight into wedding rituals and domestic life in antiquity.
Famous artworks: The Aldobrandini Wedding Fresco.
8. Christian Museum
Founded in the 18th century by Pope Benedict XIV, the Christian Museum preserves artifacts from the early centuries of Christianity, including sarcophagi, mosaics, and relics.
Famous artworks: Early Christian sarcophagi with biblical scenes and mosaic fragments.
9. Vatican Library Museums
The Vatican Library Museums exhibit treasures from one of the oldest libraries in the world, displaying manuscripts, maps, and rare books that reflect centuries of scholarship.
Famous artworks: Illuminated manuscripts, ancient atlases, and early printed books.
10. Profane Museum
Established in 1761, the Profane Museum focuses on Greco-Roman culture and mythology, featuring reliefs, mosaics, and decorative sarcophagi from ancient villas and tombs.
Famous artworks: Mythological mosaics, Bacchic sarcophagi, and Roman reliefs.
On the right side of the museum entrance, you will find the following galleries:
11. Gregorian Profane Museum
Created in the 19th century, the Gregorian Profane Museum highlights classical antiquities, emphasizing statues, mosaics, and decorative works inspired by Greek and Roman art.
Famous artworks: Statues of Roman gods, villa mosaics, and ornamental reliefs.
12. Pio Christian Museum
This museum is dedicated to Christian antiquities and houses a remarkable collection of sarcophagi decorated with biblical iconography from the 3rd and 4th centuries.
Famous artworks: Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus and other Christian sarcophagi with biblical reliefs.
13. Pinacoteca (Vatican Art Gallery)
The Pinacoteca is the Vatican’s art gallery, containing masterpieces from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, with paintings by the greatest names in European art.
Famous artworks: Raphael’s Transfiguration, Leonardo da Vinci’s St. Jerome, and Caravaggio’s Entombment of Christ.
Amenities: First aid, toilets, disabled toilets, elevator for the disabled, wheelchair ramp, baby changing table, elevator, cafeteria, bookshop and Vatican post office.
On the second floor of the Vatican Museum (left wing), you can find the following collections:
1. Gregorian Etruscan Museum
Founded in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI, this museum contains artifacts from ancient Etruria, including vases, bronzes, jewelry, and sarcophagi that illustrate Etruscan culture and art.
Famous artworks: The Mars of Todi, Etruscan sarcophagi, and black-figure pottery.
2. Gallery of the Candelabra
This long gallery, decorated in the 18th century, is named after the grand marble candelabra displayed within, alongside Roman statues, reliefs, and columns.
Famous artworks: Marble candelabra of Otricoli, classical Roman statues, and ornate columns.
3. Gallery of the Tapestries
Adorned with rich tapestries designed by Raphael’s workshop and woven in Brussels, this gallery presents biblical and historical scenes in monumental textile art.
Famous artworks: The Resurrection of Christ, The Adoration of the Magi, and The Massacre of the Innocents.
4. Gallery of Maps
Commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII in the 16th century, this 120-meter-long gallery showcases detailed maps of Italy, painted by Ignazio Danti, with ceilings richly decorated in fresco.
Famous artworks: Map of the Italian Peninsula, Map of Sicily, and Map of Venice.
5. Room of the Immaculate Conception
Decorated by Francesco Podesti in the 19th century, this room celebrates the dogma of the Immaculate Conception with vivid frescoes depicting biblical and papal scenes.
Famous artworks: The Proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
6. Raphael Rooms
These rooms, commissioned by Pope Julius II, are decorated with Raphael’s legendary frescoes that embody the spirit of the High Renaissance and Catholic thought.
Famous artworks: The School of Athens, The Parnassus, and The Disputa.
Amenities: Toilets, disabled toilets, elevator for the disabled, baby changing table and bookshop.
Once you take the elevator to the first level of the Vatican Museum, like we discussed earlier, you can find all the first-floor collections on the left. To the right you will find the Pinocoteca, which then leads to the basement collection. You can either take the stairs or the elevator to reach.
In the basement, you can find the following collections:
1. Philatelic and Numismatic Museum
This museum presents the Vatican’s official stamps and coins, documenting the history of papal currency and postage from the 16th century to modern times.
Famous artworks: Early Vatican coins, commemorative stamps, and papal medals.
2. Ethnological Museum “Anima Mundi”
This museum, meaning “Soul of the World,” displays artifacts from non-European cultures, emphasizing the universality of faith through global art and traditions.
Famous artworks: Buddhist sculptures, African masks, and pre-Columbian artifacts.
3. Pavilion of the Coaches
The Pavilion showcases the papal carriages, sedans, and cars used across history, reflecting the evolution of transportation in papal ceremonies.
Famous artworks: The Grand Berlin carriage of Pope Leo XII, papal sedans, and vintage automobiles.
Amenities on this floor: Cafeteria, Bistrot, toilets, disabled toilets, baby changing table, and elevator.
How to Navigate the Vatican Museum – Our Secret Itinerary
For visitors on a self-guided tour, here is our secret itinerary to skip the crowds and enjoy all the galleries without getting lost in the museum. Please note that this itinerary is most effective for visitors who will visit at 8 am as soon as the museum opens. We have followed this itinerary for all our Vatican visits and found it helps us escape the morning crowds.
Once you enter the first floor of the Vatican Museum, turn left and walk towards the Gregorian Egyptian Museum (Museo Gregoriano Egizio). Post this, visit the Pio Clementino Museum (Museo Pio Clementino). You might find tour groups in these two rooms. From the Pio Clementino Museum, you can find stairs leading to the second floor. You will also find the signboards for a short itinerary tour, the one you are about to take.
This is a short itinerary tour that is open during the initial hours of the day for visitors to reach the Sistine Chapel soon. While all the groups and crowds are touring the first floor, you can enjoy all the famous galleries on the second floor without any buzz. If you want to capture pictures in the Vatican without getting photobombed, this floor is the right place!
As you go to the second floor, you will tour the following rooms:
- Gregorian Etruscan Museum (Museo Gregoriano Etrusco)
- Gallery of the Candelabra (Galleria dei Candelabri)
- Gallery of the Tapestries (Galleria Degli Arazzi)
- Gallery of Maps (Galleria delle carte geografiche)
- Sobeiski Room (Sala Sobeiski)
- Room of the Immaculate Conception (Sala dell’immacolata concenzione)
- Raphael Rooms (Stanze di Raffaello). You will visit Sala di Konstantins, La Stanza di Eliodoro, La Estanica de Heliodoro and La Stanza della Segnatura of Raphael Rooms.
Toilets are available here, so you can take a short pause if required.
Then continue to the Chapel of Urban VII (Cappella di Urbano VIII). Now, climb down to the first floor from there. Do not worry, you do not have to look for stairs/elevators. You will find them in the perfect spots if you follow this itinerary and the signs.
Continue to Borgia Apartment (Appartamento Borgia). You will also pass through Collezione Arte Contemporanea.
Next stop is the Sistine Chapelle. You can spend 10 to 15 minutes in the Sistine Chapelle enjoying the serene atmosphere. Please make sure you follow the dress code and other regulations. You are not allowed to click pictures here or talk. Around this time, there would be 5 to 10 people in the Chapel, making the visit very private.
After enjoying your time in the Sistine Chapel, continue your tour through the following galleries:
- Room of Presentation
- Room of the Aldobrandini Wedding (Sala delle Nozze Aldobrandine)
- Christian Museum (Museo Cristiano)
- Vatican Library Museum (Musei della Libreria Vaticana)
- Profane Museum (Museo Profano)
You can pause in these galleries, enjoy views through the windows and get some fresh air. You would have explored all of these rooms without any crowds in 1.5 to 2 hours based on your pace.
Now, let’s catch up with two galleries you skipped at the start of your tour. Enter the Pine Courtyard and head to the Chiaramonti Museum (Museo Chiaramonti) and New Wing (Braccio Nuovo). You can either take a break at the Pine Courtyard before visiting those galleries. We would suggest you rest in the garden after visiting the New Wing. You will find some crowds in Museo Chiaramonti and the Pine Courtyard. The courtyard is another of the best photo spots in the Vatican Museum.
After a relaxing walk in the courtyard, move towards the point you entered the first floor through – the terrace you saw on your way up. Go there, enjoy the views of the Vatican garden and St. Peter’s Basilica. The terrace will have guided tour groups meeting to start their tour. Most of them will head towards the right wing, which you have already seen. So before the big groups came, you saw everything crowd-free.
Photo spot alert: This is one of the best photo spots in the Vatican. You can click pictures with St. Peter’s Basilica in the background. This is one of our favorite photo spots in the Vatican.
Now, let’s explore the left wing, the last leg of your Vatican Tour. Enter through the Pinacoteca. There will be multiple rooms here. Proceed to Pio Christian Museum (Museo Pio Cristiano) and Gregorian Progane Museum (Museo Gregoriano Profano).
From here, you can follow a pathway leading to the basement. In the basement, you will find unique and interesting collections like:
- Philatelic and Numismatic Museum (Museo Filatelico E Numismatico)
- Ethnological Museum “Anima Mundi” (Museo Entologico Anima Mundi) and
- Pavilion of the Coaches (Padiglione Delle Carrozze)
The crowd levels in these rooms will also be lower, as most groups are yet to reach here. Enjoy a silent self-paced tour. Now that you have visited all the galleries, take a break at the cafeteria on the basement by grabbing a snack or a drink. After some rest, go back to the first floor to shop for souvenirs. You can then exit the museum through the Bramante Staircase.
This entire tour will take 3 to 4 hours based on your speed and rest stops.
St Peter’s Basilica Map – How to Navigate the World’s Largest Basilica
Touring St. Peter’s Basilica is rather simple compared to the Vatican Museums. You just need to understand the levels of St Peter’s Basilica and in which order to tour them.
When visiting St. Peter’s Basilica, you can tour:
- The St. Peter Square: the open square right outside the basilica. Here you will find the obelisk, two fountains, and statues of St. Paul’s and St. Peter’s. From here, you can also see the Papal Apartment and the Sistine Chapel chimney. Make sure you spot the second window from the left. This is the window from which the Pope addresses the gathering during the Sunday prayer and blessing.
- The basilica: You are free to enter the basilica and spend as much time as you wish inside. On your tour, you can find the altar, the famous Michelangelo dome, La Pietà and other statues and tombs.
- Vatican Necropolis: Located beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, the Necropolis is an ancient burial site that dates back to Roman times. Here you can explore the tombs of early Christians and see the reputed burial site of Saint Peter himself. Access is limited, so it’s recommended to book a guided tour in advance.
- Vatican Grottoes: Just below the basilica floor, the Grottoes house chapels and tombs of many popes, some dating back centuries. While walking through, notice the inscriptions and sculptures that commemorate these religious leaders. It’s a quiet and reflective space compared to the grandeur above.
- St. Peter’s Basilica Dome: Designed by Michelangelo, the dome offers stunning panoramic views of Vatican City and Rome. You can climb to the top via stairs or take the elevator partway. Don’t miss the intricate mosaics and the breathtaking perspective of the basilica interior from above.
The best way to tour St. Peter’s Basilica is to start at St. Peter’s Square and head to the basement. You will find a ticket counter and luggage storage point on the right side of the basilica. From there, you can visit the Necropolis and then the grottoes. The exit of the Grottoes will open inside the basilica. This will help you skip the long queues for basilica entry.
Once you have toured the basilica, exit and head back to the same place from which you entered the grottoes. You will find a separate line for the dome on the left there. You can choose to either take an elevator or the stairs. The elevator will only cover 231 steps of the total 551, making the climb 320 stairs.
You will tour two levels of the dome. The first one is from inside the cathedral, which offers a closer look at the Michelangelo dome. After a little more climbing, you will reach an outdoor terrace on top of the dome. From there, you can enjoy views of the Vatican City and Rome.
On your climb down, you will find a souvenir store and a cafe. You can take the elevator from the last 231 stairs as earlier. On your way back to the square, make sure you stop by the post office to collect a stamp.
FAQs About Vatican Floor Plan
1. What is the size of Vatican City?
Vatican City is the world’s smallest city-state, covering just 49 hectares (121 acres). Despite its size, it contains some of the most visited landmarks globally.
2. How many entrances does Vatican City have?
There are three main entrances: two for St. Peter’s Basilica (Via Delle Conciliazione and Città Del Vaticano) and one for the Vatican Museum (Viale Vaticano).
3. Can I enter St. Peter’s Basilica directly from the Vatican Museum?
No. Visitors cannot access St. Peter’s Basilica or St. Peter’s Square directly from the museum. Only guests with special access can exit from the Sistine Chapel, which is rare.
4. How do I get to the Vatican Museum entrance from Vatican City?
Exit through Largo del Colonnato, turn left onto Piazza del Risorgimento, then onto Viale Vaticano. It’s about a 15-minute walk. Alternatively, bus 49 runs from Via Della Conciliazione to the museum.
5. How many galleries are in the Vatican Museums?
There are 54 galleries spread across 22 collections in the museum. Each collection is an umbrella of several galleries.
6. What is the difference between a gallery and a collection in the Vatican Museums?
A collection is a group of galleries under one theme or period. For example, the Pio Clementino Collection has 10 galleries, such as the Hall of Animals and Hall of Muses.
7. What amenities are available at the Vatican Museum?
Amenities include toilets, disabled toilets, elevators, wheelchair ramps, baby changing tables, cafeterias, bookshops, and a Vatican post office.
8. What is the best way to avoid crowds in the Vatican Museum?
Start your visit early at 8 am. Follow a strategic self-guided itinerary: visit the first-floor left wing, then the second floor, and finally the basement before the tour groups arrive.
9. What are the highlights of the Vatican Museum’s first floor?
Left wing galleries include: Gregorian Egyptian Museum, Chiaramonti Museum, New Wing, Pio-Clementino Museum, Borgia Apartments, and the Sistine Chapel. Right wing galleries include: Gregorian Profane Museum, Pio Christian Museum, and Pinacoteca (Art Gallery).
10. What can I see on the Vatican Museum’s second floor?
Second-floor galleries include: Gregorian Etruscan Museum, Gallery of the Candelabra, Gallery of the Tapestries, Gallery of Maps, Room of the Immaculate Conception, and Raphael Rooms.
11. What collections are in the Vatican Museum basement?
Basement collections include the Philatelic and Numismatic Museum, Ethnological Museum “Anima Mundi,” and Pavilion of the Coaches.
12. How long does a full self-guided Vatican Museum tour take?
Following a well-curated itinerary with breaks and photo stops, the tour takes about 3 to 4 hours.
13. How is St. Peter’s Basilica organized for visitors?
Visitors can tour:
- St. Peter’s Square (obelisk, fountains, statues, Papal Apartment view)
- Basilica interior (altar, Michelangelo dome, La Pietà, tombs)
- Vatican Necropolis (ancient burial site)
- Vatican Grottoes (chapels and papal tombs)
- Dome climb (indoor and outdoor terraces)
14. How do I climb the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica?
Visitors can take the elevator partway (231 steps) or climb all 551 steps. There are two levels: an indoor view of the dome and an outdoor terrace with panoramic views.
15. Are there any special photo spots in Vatican City?
Yes, the terrace on the first floor of the Vatican Museum overlooking the Vatican Gardens and St. Peter’s Basilica is ideal for crowd-free photos. The Pine Courtyard is another popular photo spot.