Everyday practical information for Vatican City

The dress code

This is the thing that actually stops people getting in, and it is enforced at the door by staff who do this all day.

• Shoulders must be covered. No vest tops, no strappy dresses, no bare shoulders.
• Knees must be covered. No shorts, no short skirts - this applies to men too, and men in shorts are turned away from St Peter's constantly in July.
• No hats inside the basilica.
• A scarf or a light shawl in your bag solves it and street vendors outside sell them at a markup to people who arrive unprepared.
• The same rules apply at the Museums and at the Sistine Chapel.

The Sistine Chapel

• Silence is required and is enforced by guards who say "Silenzio" out loud, repeatedly.
• Photography is prohibited in the Sistine Chapel specifically - permitted in most of the rest of the Museums.
• It is at the end of a long one-way route through the Museums; budget two to three hours to reach it.

Practical

• Language: Italian in practice, Latin officially. Staff speak English.
• 230 V, 50 Hz, sockets type C, F and L - as in Italy.
• The country is 0.44 km2 with a population of a few hundred. There is no accommodation, no public transport and no ordinary shops - which is why this guide is shorter than the others, and why the Italy page covers the rest.
• Wednesday mornings are the Papal Audience and the square fills; Sunday noon is the Angelus. Both are free and both make everything else slower.