Vatican City Wonders: Spiritual and Artistic Highlights Guide

Start your Vatican tour at the extraordinary Vatican Museums, one of the most popular art museums in the world. A collection of 26 museums with tens of thousands of artworks and an incredible amount of masterpiece artworks, belonged to the Catholic Church and the Pope.

Splendid gardens, with a history that start at 1279 and 57 acres of green lawns, lovely plants, stately buildings, sculptures, fountains, and a calm atmosphere. Access to the Gardens is limited, therefore if you wish to visit, you must take the Vatican official tour. If you have more time to spend in the Vatican except for the absolute must, then visiting the alluring gardens is another fantastic option to explore and learn more about the Vatican City.

Named after Pope Sixtus IV, the Sistine Chapel is a masterpiece artwork from the 15th century. The amazing decoration of the Chapel's walls tells the stories of the false drapes, Moses, the Christ, and the popes' portraits. The worked carryout by brilliant artists as Pietro Perugino, Cosimo Rosselli, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Sandro Botticelli. At the beginning of the 16th century, Michelangelo added his touch and magic to the decoration and his ceiling painting is nothing but stunning. Do not miss the Sistine Chapel, one of the world's most wondrous artworks.

St. Peter's Basilica or Basilica Papale di San Pietro is an imposing and exquisite Renaissance church in the Vatican. The church that was designed by Michelangelo, hosts wonderful artworks and is the largest church in the world. St. Peter's Basilica is also one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome.

A grand and glorious Baroque square in the heart of the Vatican, designed by the famous Italian sculpture and architect, Gian Lorenzo Bernini. St. Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro) is often used for religious events and ceremonies and overlooks St. Peter's Basilica. The square which has splendid fountains and an impressive Egyptian obelisk can host hundreds of thousands of visitors who came specially to see the Pope address to his followers.

The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope. The imposing palace contains more than 1000 rooms and is not serving the Pope's needs but is also an administrative center of the Vatican and the Catholic Church.