st peter's basilica
tickets
st peter's basilica
tickets
Your online options
for Saint Peter’s Basilica 2024
As demonstrated by the photo above, the queue for Saint Peter’s Basilica can get extremely long. It stretches all the way around to the other side of the row of pillars. When I was there, I asked people how long they had been waiting in line… Over an hour?!
As you might have guessed, entry is free. But with guided tours, you get in quickly without queuing!
Choose between a
- Guided Tour of the Basilica (EUR 25)
- or go even up the Dome with this Guided Tour of the Dome (EUR 39).
You want to see all guided Tour options? You will find them here!
Current information 2024:
Last year it was a bit crazy in Rome. The waiting time in front of St Peter’s Basilica was 1.5 hours! Even if you took part in a guided tour! Prepare accordingly! The photo shows the queue on 17 May 2023!
We are looking forward to 2024! But one thing is certain: all of you who have chosen to take part in a guided tour or visit the dome should plan for the waiting times at the security check!
And after the visit? Enjoy a Lunch Food tour through Prati!
Content
overview
Peter's Basilica entry prices at a glance
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Video: one Minute in the Basilica
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The details at a glance
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Price Overview
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Orientation on site
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On site admission
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Online offers
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Practical information
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My Rating
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My advice
The Rome Tourist Card
Do you want to book the most important sights conveniently with one click? Colosseum, St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums?
Then this pass is for you!
With just one purchase you can visit all of it! Choose your desired date – so that you can discover Rome for yourself without stress.
- St. Peter’s Basilica + Dome (NO Skip the line) or Galleria Borghese or Castel Sant’Angelo
- Vatican Museums + Sistine Chapel -> Skip the line
- Colosseum + Roman Forum
- Audio guide app for Rome
- 10% off all subsequent purchases at Tiqets
Price from: EUR 85
St Peter's basilica
tickets
| St Peter's basilica tickets | Price | Information | Buy ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
|
St Peter's basilica |
EUR 0 | Admission is free + in the high season there are long waiting times | free |
|
Rome Tourist Card from |
EUR 85 | Combined ticket for St. Peter + admission to the Colosseum and Roman Forum + admission to the Vatican Museums + more... | Buy Ticket |
|
Guided Tour |
EUR 25 |
Guided Tour in EN/ES/IT/FR/DE, Duration: 1 hour |
Book Tour |
|
Dome + Audioguide |
EUR 29 | Access to the dome, audioguide for St. Peter | Buy Ticket |
|
St. Peter's Dome only stairs (551 steps) |
EUR 8 |
Not suitable for people with walking difficulties or claustrophobia/ vertigo, Payment in cash only, waiting in line |
Ticket on site |
|
St. Peter's Dome Elevator + Stairs (320 steps) |
EUR 10 |
Not suitable for people with walking difficulties or claustrophobia/ vertigo, Payment in cash only, waiting in line |
Ticket on site |
|
Guided Tour to the Dome |
EUR 42 | Access to the dome, guided tour in English, duration: 45 minutes | Book Tour |
|
Papal Audience in St. Peter's Square |
EUR 28 |
Every Wednesday when the Pope is in town. Duration: 3 hours 50 minutes |
Book Event |
|
All other options for St. Peter |
EUR 6 | All other options for St. Peter from | Buy Ticket |
Admission to St Peter’s Basilica is actually free.
But: Waiting times in the high season can be up to an hour!
Special information about the Necropolis
One MINUTE
In ST. PETERS Basilica
Sneak peak!
What does it look like in St. Peter’s Basilica – the largest church in the world?
We have prepared a small video of our visit for you!
Have fun!
Yours
Celine
The details
at a glance
Opening hours
St. Peter’s Basilica:
October 1st – March 31:
7.00 a.m. – 6.30 p.m.
April 1st – September 30:
7.00 a.m. – 7.00 p.m.
Dome:
October 1st – March 31:
8.00 a.m. – 5.00 p.m.
April 1st – September 30:
8.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.
Information
When the Pope is there, he holds his public audience on Wednesdays between 8.00 a.m. and 12.00 p.m.
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Information
When the Pope is there, he holds his public audience on Wednesdays between 8.00 a.m. and 12.00 p.m.
show moreInformation
If the Pope is in Rome, he gives a papal audience between 8.00 and 12.00 on a Wednesday. You won’t be able to go inside Saint Peter’s Basilica during this window – even if you have VIP tickets.
Sometimes, the Pope will also decide to hold an impromptu papal mass, in which case online tickets may not be fully valid.
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Overview of pricing
for Saint Peter’s Basilica
Option 1: Queue and buy upon arrival
Admission: Free
Very (very) long queues for everybody
Tip: come very early in the morning
Dome climb:
Pricing:
EUR 8.00 (steps)
EUR 10.00 (lift + steps)
Waiting times here: Up to an hour during the peak tourist season
Option 2: Dome climb:
Admission + guided tour in English + dome climb
for EUR 42
Buy through Tiqets
+ Fast admission to St. Peter’s Basilica
+ Fast up to the dome
+ free time afterwards in the Basilica
Option 3: Dome climb with Audio guide
for EUR 29
Buy through Tiqets
+ Admission to St. Peter’s Basilica
+ Fast up to the dome
+ Audio guide
+ free time afterwards in the Basilica
Saint Peter’s Square is so huge that you’d be forgiven for feeling a bit overwhelmed. Plus, you might be a bit nervous about your visit if you booked a tour. Trust me – I know how you feel! 😉
If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to get where you’re supposed to be on time. And you have to, because you have to wait in this line!
But remember: Meeting points often change, so make sure you read the instructions when you book your tour.
+ There are NO Skip the line tickets anymore!
Finding your way around
Orientation on site
You can see just how long the queue for the security checks is in the photo. It covers half of St. Peter’s Square!
I’m going to go over the main points again in a bit more detail below.
Importan Information
for everyone
Importan Information for everyone
The security check:
Please make sure that you don’t have any sharp objects with you – not even a Swiss army knife (I speak from experience)! It will be taken away from you. Suspicious liquids are also not allowed in. However, my water was not taken away from me.
Appropriate clothing:
Remember that this is a church. I mean, it’s the ultimate church. And you know the rule in church… Shoulders and knees have to be covered. That goes for men and women!
The staff can turn you away if you don’t dress appropriately.
Wednesday mornings: Papal audiences
Papal audiences and other impromptu appearances by the Pope can throw a spanner in the works. I’ll tell you more about that later on (see 6.b).
Street Ticket Seller:
There are many ticket sellers on site who will approach you on the street to sell you quick access. Be careful, there are many swindlers among them. In addition, there are currently no VIP accesses.
Admission on site
without Ticket
You won’t be able to miss the long queue for free entry to Saint Peter’s Basilica. Remember that this is a church, a house of God that’s open to the public, so you obviously don’t
have to pay to go inside.
But they can’t just let everyone in at once! Saint Peter’s Basilica may have space for around 20,000 people, but admission still has to be controlled. That’s taken care of by the security checks that everyone has to pass before being allowed in. The number of security check points is adjusted depending on how many people are inside the basilica.
If I remember rightly, I stood in this queue myself as a student back in 2002… But I couldn’t tell you how long I had to wait. It was too long ago! In 2016 and 2017, I tested out the online ticket options for you. Each time, I got through the security checks in about ten minutes. But I asked people in the main queue how long they had been waiting. The queue wasn’t as bad as in the photo in April 2016. One lady told me that she’d been waiting in line for around 30 or 40 minutes. But people were waiting for over an hour in March 2017! The queues are bound to be worse on Easter weekend and I’d expect to be waiting for at least an hour during the summer.
Attention: There are many ticket sellers on site who will approach you on the street to sell you quick access. Be careful, there are many swindlers among them.
But remember: there are no Skip the line tickets any more, and if you take part in a guided tour you also have to wait in line!
St. Peter's Basilica
Online Offers
Fast-track ticket for Saint Peter’s Basilica: My Experience from 2016
When I visited Rome with my parents back in 2016, I bought a fast-track online ticket.
NOT AVAILABLE AT THE MOMENT
Procedure:
a. Select a date and time through Tiqets and you will be sent a voucher by email.
Take this with you to the colonnade, as I mentioned before.
Remember: Meeting points can change! You should always check your confirmation
email so that you know exactly where to go. Make sure you read all the information
provided when you buy your ticket!
b. Find the entrance! Walk along the outside of the colonnade (it should be on your right if you’re facing the basilica). You’ll see loads of ticket sellers who will speak to you and show you where to go. When you reach the post office, you’ll go through the colonnade and use the side entrance to access the security checks.
-> You’ll be let inside once you’ve shown your booking confirmation.
c. Access the audio guide via an app on your mobile phone. You will be sent the download link when you receive your tickets. Get the audio guide downloaded on your phone so you can listen to it without having to be online.
d. Just follow everyone else through the security checks. 😉
e. Step inside Saint Peter’s Basilica. Then admire the incredible architecture and soak up the atmosphere!
Ticket for Saint Peter’s Basilica with dome climb: My Experience, 2017
In March 2017, I purchased a ticket with dome climb included from Tiqets.
Sadly, this is no longer an available option. But there is a new Combination:
a) Wait to get into the Basilica, Fast Track to the dome + Audio guide: for EUR 29
b) Wait to get into the Basilica, Fast Track to the dome + guided Tour in English: for EUR 42!
Nice, no? 🙂
Alternatives:
a. Queue up for the dome (and potentially end up waiting for another hour or so).
Price: EUR 8.00 (steps)
EUR 10 (lift + steps)
b. Pay for an English guided tour, climb the dome as part of that and get a guided Tour through the Basilica.
Length of guided tour: 2 hours 15 minutes
Price: EUR 44.62
-> Book guided tour
Ticket with guided tour
I haven’t been on a guided tour here myself yet, but it’s another option you might want to go for. I’ll definitely give it a go the next time I’m in Rome, and I’ll be sure to update you!
Guided tour of Saint Peter’s Basilica
Tiqets runs guided tours with different lenght.
Prices start from EUR 25
Language: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
-> See Tickets
Guided tour in English with dome climb
If you want to buy a combined ticket that entitles you to look around the basilica and climb the dome, you’ll need this one. I haven’t yet tested out how this option works exactly.
But I thought it would be a good idea to bring it up at this point anyway!
Length of guided tour: 2 hours 15 minutes
Price: EUR 44.62
Language: English, French, Italian, Spanish
-> Book guided tour
Guided tour of the Vatican Museums and Saint Peter’s Basilica
Book a guided tour to enjoy with your friends and family. Your tour guide will accompany you to the highlights of the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter’s Basilica and will be on hand to tell you everything you need to know along the way.
Length of guided tour: 4 hours, 3 at the Vatican Museums and 1 at the Basilica
Price: EUR 72.20 (Save EUR 3.80)
Language: English, German, Italian
-> Book guided Combination Tour
Practical
information
a) Security checks dress code
Sharp objects will be confiscated. And that includes Swiss army knives (I’m speaking from experience). Suspicious-looking liquids will have to be left behind, but I was allowed to take my water with me.
b) dress code
Appropriate clothing: Remember that this is a church. I mean, it’s the ultimate church. And you know the rule in church… Shoulders and knees have to be covered. That goes for men and women!
The staff can turn you away if you don’t dress appropriately.
c) The unpredictable Pope
Isn’t he just?! And there’s nothing that I or the ticket sellers can do about it!
- If the Pope is in Rome, he gives a papal audience on a Wednesday. And you can attend if you’re in the right place at the right time. But you won’t be allowed to go inside Saint Peter’s Basilica when that’s going on.
- The Pope has also been known to hold impromptu messes in the basilica. If you’re lucky enough to already be inside, you may be allowed to stay for the service. Nobody else will be allowed to enter, though.
-> If you’ve already booked to climb the dome at this time, your booking will be cancelled and you probably won’t get your money back. That happened to a couple I met the last time I was in Rome. They said it was a shame, but they had the chance to see the Pope himself when they were inside the basilica.
d) Dome climb
Whether you buy a combined ticket in advance or queue up to climb the dome, you need to be prepared for a lot of steps!
Even if you go for the lift option, you will still need to climb up 320 steps. And there are 551 steps in total!
You should also know that the steps get narrower as you get higher up.
e) Pickpockets
You don’t have to pay to go inside Saint Peter’s Basilica, and it can get very crowded. So keep your belongings close and watch out for pickpockets.
My Rating:
Background:
I have purchased an online ticket twice now, and I managed to successfully beat the queue both times. I tried out two different ticket options from two different sellers and had no problems whatsoever.
This fast-track entry does, of course, come at a price.
Top tip:
Top tip: Keep reading to find out which tickets I went for and how it all worked when I got to the basilica.
Notice
Due to Corona, the situation is constantly changing. We try to stay up to date, but things can always change at short notice. The important thing is: The Green Pass or a similar EU certificate is required everywhere!
Last modification: 11.01.2024 | Céline
Text and image rights: © Céline Mülich, 2016 – 2024
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