Fun Facts About the Vatican (& How to Visit)
Did you know the Vatican has its own gas station? And that it’s technically forbidden to talk inside the Sistine Chapel? These and more Vatican fun facts, coming up.
You’ve seen St. Peter’s Basilica in all the travel feeds. You know the Pope lives there. You’ve seen the smoke change from black to white on every news station. But the Vatican has layers—centuries of them—and you can peel them back yourself on a trip with EF Ultimate Break. But first, some fun facts that will pull double duty as inspo.
The Vatican from above
It’s technically its own country
Vatican City is an independent city-state and the smallest country in the world in both size and population. The entire thing clocks in at just about 44 hectares (that’s roughly 110 acres), which means you could walk its perimeter in under an hour. For comparison, Central Park in New York City is about 341 hectares.
And yet, it has everything a country needs: its own government, its own currency (the Euro, but Vatican-minted coins that collectors absolutely lose their minds over), its own postal system, its own radio station, and its own newspaper. It even has a small but mighty military—the Swiss Guard, who have been protecting the Pope since 1506 and still wear these iconic Renaissance-era uniforms that look like they were designed by Michelangelo himself (which...they kind of were).
When you’re traveling through Rome and you step across that invisible border into Vatican City, you’re actually entering a different country, so feel free to check if off your bucket list.
Inside the Sistine Chapel
The art inside rivals any museum
You can spend years studying the Sistine Chapel, and nothing will prepare you for seeing it in person. Michelangelo painted the ceiling between 1508 and 1512—four years lying on his back (mostly) on scaffolding, covering over 5,000 square feet with one of the most recognized artworks in human history. The ceiling depicts scenes from the Bible’s Genesis, and the most iconic image of God reaching toward Adam has been referenced and replicated so many times it’s practically a meme.
What most people don’t realize is that Michelangelo was primarily a sculptor. He actually tried to turn down the commission to paint the ceiling, but Pope Julius II insisted. History was made. You’re welcome, art world.
And the Sistine Chapel is just one room of the Vatican Museums, which house one of the largest and most significant art collections on the planet. We’re talking 20,000+ works spread across 54 galleries. Some people spend half a day there and still feel like they only scratched the surface.
Inside the dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica
World records fear St. Peter’s Basilica
St. Peter’s Basilica is the largest church in the world. It can hold up to 20,000 people inside. The dome, designed by Michelangelo and completed after his death, is still one of the tallest in the world and took over 120 years to build in total.
Here’s a fun one: the letters carved into the interior are each about 6 feet tall. The whole thing is designed at such a massive scale that it can actually be hard to perceive the real size until you stand next to one of the cherubs in the nave and realize they’re the height of a grown adult.
You can also climb the 551 steps to the top of the dome for views of Rome that no other vantage point in the city can match. If you want to see St. Peter’s Square, the Tiber River, and the whole sprawling skyline all at once, this is your moment. Worth every step.
The “Passetto di Borgo”, secret passageway of the Popes, in Rome, Italy
There’s a secret passage that saved at least one Pope’s life
Hidden in plain sight, built into the walls of Rome, is the Passetto di Borgo, a nearly kilometer-long elevated corridor that connects the Vatican to the Castel Sant’Angelo. Built in 1277, it was used as an escape route for popes in danger.
The most famous use was in 1527, during the sack of Rome, when Pope Clement VII fled through the passage while the city was being ransacked. The Swiss Guard held off the attackers (most of them were killed) buying just enough time for the Pope to escape. Those fallen guards are remembered in Vatican history every year.
The passage has been open to visitors for limited periods throughout history. Whether or not you can walk through it during your trip, knowing it exists underneath your feet while you’re exploring the area gives the whole neighborhood a very different energy.
18th-century engraving of The Vatican Library, Magasin Pittoresque, 1857
The Vatican Library is OLD old
The Vatican Apostolic Library is one of the oldest and most important libraries in the world, officially founded in 1475, though the actual collection dates back centuries earlier. It holds over 1.1 million printed books, 75,000 manuscripts, and more than 8,500 incunabula (the term for books printed before 1501, and yes, you can now use it in casual conversation).
Among the manuscripts are some of the oldest copies of the Bible in existence, letters from Michelangelo, documents about Galileo’s trial, and correspondence from Henry VIII petitioning for an annulment from Catherine of Aragon. History isn’t so abstract when you’re standing near the actual paperwork.
Maderno Fountain & Saint Peter’s Square, The Vatican
The Vatican has its own pharmacy, supermarket, and gas station
This one surprises people every time. Vatican City is essentially a self-contained municipality, which means it has services that residents and employees can access. There’s a pharmacy that sells medications not available (or at much higher prices) elsewhere in Rome. There’s a supermarket. There’s even a gas station (with fuel sold tax-free) that has historically attracted long lines of Romans willing to wait.
It’s one of those details that makes Vatican City feel surprisingly normal underneath all the centuries of history and grandeur. Somewhere between the Raphael Rooms and the Swiss Guard barracks, someone is picking up milk and eggs.
The Arno River & St. Peter’s Basilica
Which EF Ultimate Break trips include the Vatican?
Good news: you don’t have to figure out the logistics of getting to the Vatican on your own. EF Ultimate Break has several Italy trips that have the Vatican as an optional activity, and you can always do it in your free time on any trip that goes to Italy, but why use brain cells when you can let someone else do the planning? Here are the trips where EF Ultimate Break handles the Vatican logistics.
- Venice, Florence & Rome
- Europe’s Icons: London, Paris & Rome
- Ultimate Italy
- Italy & the Greek Islands
- Italy, France & Spain
- Ancient Wonders: Cairo, Athens & Rome
A country smaller than a city park. A ceiling that took four years and one very reluctant genius to paint. A secret tunnel that saved a Pope’s life. A library holding letters from Henry VIII. The Vatican isn’t just a stop on a Euro trip, it’s its own destination.
Whether you’re seeing it for the first time or finally making good on a promise you made to yourself years ago, the Vatican has a way of being more than you expected. And with EF Ultimate Break handling the logistics—flights, hotels, transfers, a Tour Director who actually knows the city—the only thing you have to do is show up, look up, and try not to cry a little in the Sistine Chapel. No judgment. It happens to everyone.
Key takeaways
Vatican City is the world’s smallest country at just 44 hectares, but it holds one of the most significant collections of art, history, and architecture anywhere on earth.
The Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Vatican Museums alone could take a full day (or more) to explore properly, so go in with a plan.
The Vatican has surprises most people don’t see coming: a secret escape tunnel, a pharmacy, a library holding letters from Henry VIII, and Swiss Guards in uniforms that have barely changed since 1506.
EF Ultimate Break’s has several Italy trips with the Vatican included as an optional activity, including Venice, Florence & Rome, Ultimate Italy, and Europe’s Icons: London, Paris & Rome.
Know before you go
Your most-asked questions about visiting the Vatican.
