Trip to Italy: Day 10 (Papal Audience)

We learned that the metro was the quickest and most reliable way to get to the Vatican from our hotel. We departed a little after 7 a.m. and had a quick (typical) Italian breakfast—cappuccino and cornetto—at a café across from the hotel. We then took the metro and arrived at the Vatican around 7:50 a.m. We were in line for about 30 minutes. Before the security checkpoint, they checked our bags and asked us to leave any metal water bottles aside. I didn’t mind losing mine, but my son had a Hydro Flask with multiple stickers that were meaningful to him. Since we were both using metal bottles, we lost our entire water supply—and it was hot!

Line to enter Papal Audience

When you reach the seating area, we recommend sitting next to one of the wooden barriers if you want to see the Pope up close. We were seated in direct sunlight for about 1.5 hours. Fortunately, we were near a water fountain at the back, so we were able to cool off periodically. I recommend bringing small rags or towels that you can dampen at the fountain. It also seemed that plastic bottles were allowed, so definitely bring disposable bottles that you can refill. And bring some wipes—many of the chairs had bird droppings.

Before Papal Audience

Pope Leo XIV came out on the Popemobile around 9:50 a.m. He circled through all the wooden barriers before starting the Papal Audience, which lasted about an hour and concluded with a blessing.

Pope Leo XIV

We then made our way back to the metro station, taking our time to avoid the crowds. By the time we got there, the metro wasn’t crowded. We returned to our hotel, picked up our luggage from storage, and then took a train back to Milan.

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Trip to Italy: Day 9 (Rome and The Vatican)

I had booked tickets for the Vatican Museums, which include the Sistine Chapel. Because I booked within a week of our visit, only guided tickets were available. I strongly recommend purchasing tickets in advanced, as the walk-in line was over 2 hours long in the sun!

The guided tour was worth it, but it’s 2 hours long, so only book it if you have the time. Also, note that the entrance to the museum is not the same as the entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica. The museum entrance is on the right side (toward the Ottaviano Metro station).

The Gallery of Maps

Make sure that everyone (including children) has identification that matches the online reservation. They accepted our U.S. driver’s licenses, but most people were showing passports. This isn’t required for security reasons, but to prevent scalpers from reselling “skip-the-line” tickets.

School of Athens by Raphael

I had also booked tickets for the Papal Audience back in February via the Prefecture of the Papal Household.  You book them online and wait for an email confirmation containing your reservation number and the number of tickets requested. We noticed tickets were still available even two days before, and we learned the next day that in most cases, you don’t even need to show the ticket to enter the Papal Audience, but better to be safe than sorry.

After the visit, we met with a priest friend who lived in Rome for five years and recommended a nearby restaurant Hosteria Ago e Lillo, which was pretty good. We then headed over to the Bronze Door to pick up our tickets for the Papal Audience on Wednesday. You can pick up the tickets from 3–7 p.m. It’s the same line for “online reservations,” but only one person per party can enter (at least during the Jubilee).

From there, we walked over to see Castel Sant’Angelo, which is a block away from the Basilica, toward the Tiber River.

Castel Sant' Angelo

Then we took a bus to visit the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. This is a beautiful church that hosts the tomb of St. Paul. It also features a painting of all the past popes, now including Pope Francis.

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

<< Day 7-8 (Rome & The Vatican) | Trip Itinerary | Day 10 (Papal Audience) >>

Trip To Italy: Days 7-8 (Rome and The Vatican)

To get to Rome, we took a regional train from Assisi Station to Roma Tiburtina Station. We stayed at the Best Western Globus Hotel which is near the station. To get around Rome, we purchased the 72-hour bus/metro/tram ticket for 18 EUR. On our first half-day, we had reservations for the Pantheon, which you can—and should—book here. 

The Pantheon

From the Pantheon, we walked over to the Fontana di Trevi, which was crowded as expected. 

Fontana de Trevi

Then we continued on to the Spanish Steps, and from there we took the subway back from Spagna Station.

Spanish Steps

Most of the restaurants in that area feel like tourist traps, but we found one that was surprisingly good: Taverna del Seminario.

On our first full day, we headed to The Vatican. We took Subway Line B and transferred to Line A, which was really packed around 10 a.m. The line to enter St. Peter’s Basilica wasn’t too long—we got in within 15 minutes. We saw La Pietà, attended Mass, and then headed down into the crypts, knowing we’d return the next day.

The Piety

Afterward, we took a bus back into Rome to visit St. Mary Major Basilica. This church hosts the tomb of Pope Francis, the Nativity Crypt, and the Salus Populi Romani, one of the oldest Marian images in Rome:  

St. Mary Major Basilica

It was past lunchtime, so we ate at Sapporo e Delizie which was a good choice. Next, we walked to the Basilica di Santa Prassede. This small church, a block away from St. Mary Major, hosts the Column of the Flagellation of Christ.

Basilica di Santa Prassede

From there, we walked south toward the Colosseum to see it from the outside. Then we took a short bus ride to Saint John Lateran—but we first stopped at the Pontifical Sanctuary of the Holy Stairs, which is right across the street.

The Colosseum

We then walked 500 meters to the Basilica di Santa Croce, which hosts relics including pieces of the True Cross, thorns from the Crown of Thorns, and part of a nail.

Basilica di Santa Croce

This concluded our day as we headed back to our hotel via tram.

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