The whole place breathes a very strong sense of spirituality that is religious and secular. The vibe is so great that you may not be of a certain (or any) faith to take in the gravity of the compound.Initially put off by the terribly long queue, we were not disappointed to have joined the line as it is very fast moving. The walk was very organized and single directional, so it is really easy to follow. The ticket allows entry into the Basilica and the Papal Tomb. Additional for Sistine Chapel and the Museum (free/reduced on Sunday mornings, which make the line longer). Mass was an experience but most do not stay throughout.
Having a guidebook of the Vatican City helps enhance the spots to pay attention to,the City is manned by a legion of formal guards as well as visiting/serving mission servants from different corners of the world.

I have always wanted to visit the Vatican and when I got the chance to visit Rome the Vatica was the first thing I wanted to go and see and I was not disappointed.

I was so impressed by the sheer size of the square and the Basilica. I made the climb to the top of the Dome ( would recommend going early in the morning when it is cooler and the queues are not as long) the climb was tough but well worth it as the view was amazing. The Basilica itself was huge and the artwork and decoration was fantastic.

The Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel should not be missed. Some of the oblects and painitings on display were amazing. The Sistine Chapel was breathtaking, to see artwork so well preserved made the queue to get in worth it.

Be prepared to queue to get into the Dome and the Vatican Museum, it is well worth it though in the end. Also be prepared to spend the whole day there as well.

The Vatican is easily reached by metro, get off at the Ottaviano stop on the Metro and it is only a 5 minute walk.

We took part in an organised full day tour of the Vatican with Romearound tours, who we found to be very good. The tour included the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica / Square. It also included free tickets to the general audience with The Pope, as this was being held on the day we went (Wednesday)

You need a ticket to attend the General Audience with the Pope, although these are free if you contact the vatican, or if you organise them through a tour company. After passing through security (bags are scanned, metal detectors are used etc) you pass into St Peter's Square. Tickets should be checked at this point but as we were part of a group they didn't check them.

When you get to the square there will be several sections of chairs all over the square, separated by aisles / corridors lined with wooden fences. The Pope will travel down these aisles in his Popemobile - so try to get as close to them as you can. We were lucky and managed to get 3 seats at the end of the 2nd row - so had a good view.

At the start of the audience The Pope will appear from beside St Peter's basilica and travel around down these aisles waving to the crowd, before moving up to a podium at the back of the square. From here he will talk to the audience for a while in several languages.

We only stayed for 5 minutes once the Pope started speaking as this was all the time we had before our tour continued but I really enjoyed the experience. I'm not a very religious person but it was great to see The Pope and it was a great atmosphere in the square so I'd recommend it if you have the time.

If you don't want to attend the papal audience but are in Rome on a Wednesday and want to visit the Vatican Museums then go on the morning when the audience is being held - the crowds will be a lot less and there will be no queues to get in.

Everyone we talked to about our upcoming trip to Rome, advised us to get a tour guide for the Vatican. One person highly recommended Grant. We were not disappointed. Grant was very well informed on the Vatican. He told us many facts and pointed out many features that we would not have known about. He did so in a very interesting way. His tour was small ,only 6 of us, so we were able to hear everything, keep up and keep going and ask all the questions we needed to. The time went by very rapidly without a boring moment. This was a once in a lifetime trip so we were glad that we had a wonderful guide while we were there.