Covering roughly half of Vatican City’s total territory, the Vatican Gardens have served as a private retreat for popes since the 13th century, and they remain largely hidden from the millions of visitors who pass through St. Peter’s Square each year. Access is limited to guided tours, which is exactly what keeps this manicured landscape of fountains, sculpted hedges and historic structures feeling like a genuine escape from the crowds just beyond its walls.
Related: Rome Travel Guide: Colosseum & Forum, Vatican Museums & Ostia Antica (2026)
Top-Rated Vatican Gardens Tours & Tickets
What to See and Do
See the Formal Italian Gardens
Near the entrance, meticulously trimmed boxwood hedges and geometric flowerbeds reflect the classic Renaissance and Baroque garden styles favored by past popes, a formal counterpoint to the more naturalistic wooded sections found deeper into the grounds.
Visit the Ethiopian and French Gardens
Distinct themed sections reflect gifts and influences from different eras and nations, including a garden inspired by Lourdes with a replica grotto, and areas landscaped in styles reflecting historic diplomatic and religious ties to different countries.
See the Vatican Radio Transmission Tower and Fountains
Several ornate historic fountains dot the grounds, some dating back centuries, alongside more functional modern structures like the tower once used for Vatican Radio broadcasts, giving a sense of how the gardens have served practical as well as ceremonial purposes over time.
Get Rare Views of St. Peter’s Dome from Behind
The gardens offer angles on St. Peter’s Basilica’s dome that are completely invisible from the square out front, a perspective few visitors ever see given how tightly access to this side of Vatican City is controlled.
Combine with the Vatican Museums
Most garden tours are arranged as a package with, or immediately before, entry to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, making it efficient to pair the outdoor grounds with the art collections in a single, well-organized visit rather than two separate trips.
Best Time to Visit
Spring offers the gardens at their most colorful, with flowering plants in bloom, while early morning tour slots tend to be cooler and calmer before the Vatican Museums’ main galleries fill up later in the day. Tours run in most weather but are more pleasant without summer’s midday heat.
How to Get There
Access to the gardens is only possible through an official guided tour, typically departing from inside Vatican City near the Vatican Museums entrance rather than from St. Peter’s Square directly. The nearest metro stop is Ottaviano, a short walk from the museums entrance.
Good to Know
Garden tours require advance booking, since group sizes and daily slots are limited and access simply isn’t possible without one. Modest dress applies throughout Vatican City, and tours typically last around two hours, often walking or riding a small train through the grounds before continuing into the museums.
The Vatican Gardens offer something genuinely rare in Rome: quiet, green, uncrowded space within one of the most visited square kilometers on earth. For visitors willing to book ahead, they’re a worthwhile contrast to the basilica’s marble and crowds.
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