Vatican City
The world's smallest sovereign state fits in 44 hectares — you cross its border by stepping over a white line.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Rome offline.
St. Peter's Basilica and Michelangelo's dome, the Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican Museums all sit inside a 109-acre country of roughly 882 residents. Few detours pack so much into so few steps.
What to look for
- The white line across St. Peter's Square — it marks exactly where Italy ends and Vatican territory begins
- The Egyptian obelisk in St. Peter's Square, brought from Egypt by Caligula — the last remnant of the Circus of Nero
- Where Italian police stop: under the Lateran Treaty they patrol the square only up to the basilica steps, not beyond
St. Peter's Square and Basilica are free to enter; the Vatican Museums charge admission, and the gardens open only by pre-arranged small-group tour.
Vatican City is one of 40 sights worth the detour in Rome, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Rome pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Rome
- ColosseumAround 50,000 Romans packed this stone oval to watch spectacles staged over a two-level warren of cages beneath the arena floor.
- St. Peter's BasilicaThe world's largest church, built directly over the grave believed to hold St. Peter's bones.
- Sistine ChapelMichelangelo painted the ceiling standing up, not on his back — and cardinals still elect the pope in this room.
- PantheonA 1,900-year-old concrete dome with a hole punched in the top — when it rains in Rome, it rains inside too.
- Stadio OlimpicoOne 70,634-seat bowl, two cross-town tenants: AS Roma and SS Lazio both play here.
- Roman ForumThe valley where Rome held elections, tried criminals, and paraded victorious generals down the Via Sacra.