Before you arrive ·
Clothing and bags
Cover shoulders and knees, remove hats and use the cloakroom when staff require it.
Vatican Museums / Your next move
Bring this chapter to life.
Keep exploring Vatican Museums with our travel partners.
Choose clothing that covers your shoulders and knees. Admission rules prohibit sleeveless or low-cut garments, shorts above the knee, miniskirts and hats. Check what you are wearing before joining the entrance process.
Bags and equipment
Staff may require luggage or unsuitable bags to be left in the free cloakroom. Medium and large umbrellas, tripods and similar equipment also go there. Follow the cloakroom instructions at arrival so you can continue into the collections.
Photography
In ordinary museum rooms, permitted photography is for personal and domestic use, without flash. Tripods and selfie sticks are not permitted. The Sistine Chapel has stricter rules, with no photography, filming or mobile-phone use. Put your phone away before entering it.
Photo gallery 1
Image credits
- Fabrizio Garrisi · Statua di Nettuno, tipo Laterano. Museo Gregoriano Profano -FG2.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Miguel Hermoso Cuesta · Museo Pio-Cristiano sarcófago. 01.JPG · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Miguel Hermoso Cuesta · Bernini cabeza para la Cathedra Petri. 02.JPG · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Livioandronico2013 · Apollo del Belvedere.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- xiquinhosilva · 11859 - Vatican - Pius-Clementine Museum (3482088081).jpg · CC BY 2.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Sailko · Vincent van gogh, pietà, 1890 ca..JPG (detail) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Deb Nystrom · Courtyard, Vatican Museum (45510285915).jpg · CC BY 2.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Fabrizio Garrisi · 015- Galleria degli arazzi, Musei Vaticani -FG.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Alvesgaspar · Galleria delle carte geografiche (Vatican Museums) September 2015-5.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Gracchus Tiberius · Hall of Constantine Raphael rooms Vatican Museums.jpg · CC BY 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- 0ro1 · 8 Estancia de Heliodoro (Vista general I).jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- sailko · Appartamento borgia, 02.JPG · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Poiesia · Gold cross with geometric decoration, 7th–8th century. Christian Museum, Vatican Museums.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Deb Nystrom · Courtyard, Vatican Museum (45510285915).jpg (detail) · CC BY 2.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Miguel Hermoso Cuesta · Museo Pio-Cristiano sarcófago. 01.JPG (detail) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Miguel Hermoso Cuesta · Museo Pio-Cristiano sarcófago. 01.JPG (detail) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Diliff · Vatican Museum Queue - April 2007.jpg (detail) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Diliff · Vatican Museum Queue - April 2007.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Peter H. Feist · ROM - VATICAN - Giardino Quadrato - 89 - 063.24.jpg (detail) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Diego Delso · Museos Vaticanos, Ciudad del Vaticano, 2022-09-14, DD 50-52 HDR.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Joseolgon · Sarcophagus of Helena.jpg · CC BY 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Sailko · Gold pectoral, Regolini-Galassi Tomb. Resized photograph. · CC BY 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Diego Delso · Ceiling of the Room of the Liberal Arts, Borgia Apartment. Resized and recompressed. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Sailko · Disputation of Saint Catherine and ceiling decoration, Room of the Saints, Borgia Apartment. Resized and recompressed. · CC BY 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Sailko · Resurrection with Alexander VI, Room of Mysteries, Borgia Apartment. Resized and recompressed. · CC BY 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Sailko · Vincent van gogh, pietà, 1890 ca..JPG (detail) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Sailko · Vincent van gogh, pietà, 1890 ca..JPG (detail) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF