Vatican for Families

• PHOTOS

The Vatican is a tough place to bring kids: The lines are long and the crowds inside unforgiving. But since this is an important site in Rome and critical to one's cultural education, we've developed a way of approaching the Vatican that will give your children a basic introduction to art and religion without overtaxing anyone's patience.

Note: This is a three-hour walk of the Museums alone. It ends in the piazza in front of the Basilica of St. Peter, but does not include the Basilica.

After a general introduction to the history of the Vatican as an institution, we begin our visit to the Museums with the chronologically-arranged picture gallery known as the Pinacoteca, where your docent, who is trained in inquiry-based learning techniques, will conduct an interactive "seminar" on painting from the Medieval period to the high Renaissance, using masterworks by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and other painters as a backdrop.

From here, we'll take refuge from the crowds in the cafe. Here

The Vatican is a tough place to bring kids: The lines are long and the crowds inside unforgiving. But since this is an important site in Rome and critical to one's cultural education, we've developed a way of approaching the Vatican that will give your children a basic introduction to art and religion without overtaxing anyone's patience.

Note: This is a three-hour walk of the Museums alone. It ends in the piazza in front of the Basilica of St. Peter, but does not include the Basilica.

After a general introduction to the history of the Vatican as an institution, we begin our visit to the Museums with the chronologically-arranged picture gallery known as the Pinacoteca, where your docent, who is trained in inquiry-based learning techniques, will conduct an interactive "seminar" on painting from the Medieval period to the high Renaissance, using masterworks by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and other painters as a backdrop.

From here, we'll take refuge from the crowds in the cafe. Here your docent will give the group a primer on the Sistine Chapel, using handouts and photos, as our time in the chapel is limited by Vatican restrictions.

We will then resume our walk through the Museums, making our way to the Sistine Chapel, where Michelangelo's masterpieces of the painted ceiling and Last Judgment provide a backdrop for our continued discussion of art, the Church, and Rome.

To assist you in planning your trip to the Vatican, we have created an informative resources page - How to Tour the Vatican

Note: While our visit includes advance reservations to the museums, the Vatican Museums are extremely crowded. We organize this walk to take place at the most opportune times. However, we may spend a few minutes at the beginning of the walk waiting in the reserved entry line line, during which time our docent will provide an overview and contextualization for the walk. No time will be wasted. Please keep in mind that the museums are generally more crowded on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. If you can organize your visit for a Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday that's best. We also recommend either an 8 am start before general admission to the public begins or an afternoon start time when the morning crowds have died down.

Before booking this walk, clients are asked to read our blog regarding navigating the Vatican as a family. Vatican with Families