Take part in the papal audience and watch the pope give his weekly address on this small-group tour. Follow your guide through the crowds to a prime location and learn about the tradition of the papal audience. A provided headset makes sure that you can hear everything your guide is saying without the noise of the crowds. This small-group tour is limited to 20 people.

Cut through the crowds to a prime spot to see the pope
Listen to your guide via an audio headset to hear the history behind the papacy
Watch as the pope delivers his weekly message and offers blessings
Small-group experience limited to 20 people ensures personal attention from a guide

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

Get the best views of the papal address with guided commentary in a small group.

What's Included

English/Spanish-speaking guide (depending on option selected)
Escorted visit and presentation
Headsets to hear the guide clearly
Ticket reservation service and ticket pick-up (Tickets are free of charge)
Small groups of 20 people or less

Optional gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Seating not guaranteed

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Parrocchia Santuario di Santa Maria in Traspontina
Via della Conciliazione, 00193 Roma RM, Italy
Meet at Parrocchia Santuario di Santa Maria in Traspontina, Via della Conciliazione 14/c, 00193 Roma RM, Italy Your City Wonders coordinators will be wearing blue polo shirts or jackets at the meeting point for easy recognition.

Start time

07:30 AM

End point

Saint Peter's Square
Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Vatican City

What To Expect

After meeting your guide near St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, put on your provided headset to start your papal audience experience. While the address is a Catholic custom, the event draws people of all beliefs from around the world each week.

Following your guide, navigate the crowd to reach your seat, to have views of the pope when he arrives. While you wait, learn a bit about the history of the papacy in Rome and hear about Renaissance artists like Michelangelo who left such a beautiful mark on the Vatican. With your audio headset, you don’t have to worry about not being able to hear your guide over the throngs of people.

As the address starts, listen to the Cardinals leading pilgrims in prayer, and watch the pope deliver his blessings for the week. The service includes hymns, prayers, and a homily. When the address is over, explore St Peter’s Square on your own.

Note: Immediately after booking, you must reconfirm your ticket using the phone number provided on your confirmation voucher. The local tour operator will ask for your home address, as this is required by Vatican City. Failure to reconfirm your ticket may result in it being canceled. Please also note that seating for the papal audience is limited. Your guide will do everything possible to secure you a seat, but on rare occasions, this may not be possible.

Vatican City

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

St. Peter's Square

3 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Please note that papal audience tickets are free but can be difficult to organize. With our service you can cut out the hassle and collect your pre-booked ticket from your guide when you arrive!
We regret that we are unable to accommodate guests with wheelchairs or mobility impairments on our tours as well as pushchairs or strollers.

Near public transportation
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.0

1,570 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 1,570 reviews

Could not locate the tour guide

James_L, Apr 2024

Could not locate the guide and had to pay another guide. The experience was excellent with the other guide

Didn't like the Guide or Vendor at all - Papal Audience Great

CLAUDIA_P, Apr 2024

We had the tour my husband, my son (15) and me. We arrived 5 minutes late, and the guide told us (not friendly at all, rude) that she just have 2 radios only, and she wasn't sure we can join her group. This activity is only to let you in the Audience and get a good place. The group was in the line, and the guide only explain a couple of things about the Vatican. We didn't interrupted or delayed anything. was more the time she spent on calling the supervise to ask if she can accepted us, even though we were on her list, and it was a paid activity. So, the experience of the Papal Audience is amazing but that agent was very rude and not helping with us, her customers and tourist. Maybe was the vendor.....

Incredible Amazing

Tracy_P, Apr 2024

Guide was lovely - fun. The experience was worth the effort to get here Unbelievable experience. I would recommend. FANTASTIC and how did this even get built, planned and made, on such a grand scale.

Great and reccomended

Adel_M, Apr 2024

We like everything. It were as we aspected and read in the ticket. We like it. Thank you so much :))

Up lifting experience

Joseph_Y, Apr 2024

A wonderful experience, our tour guide from City of Wonders was your informative and helpful in guiding us to a nice area where we could see Pope Francis at a short distance.

Wouldn’t really say we...

ClintonZ, Dec 2023

Wouldn’t really say we had the best seats for what you paid for when they advertise you were going to have some of the best seats.

Papal Audience

Doreen_R, Dec 2023

Amazing! I told Veronica it was my daughter's 21st birthday. She set our tour in an ideal spot to see the Pope. Not only were we a few feet from Pope Francis, but he read my daughter's sign and acknowledged her birthday! Thank you

Perfect

Elizabeth_V, Nov 2023

Our tour guide was perfect. She explained everything as we waited and lead us to our seats. Thank you.

Paid but not allowed in

MarcJoseph_M, Oct 2023

I wish no one would book this. I arrived 30 mins before the indicated meeting time, but I wasn't able to get in because the meetup point was behind the security checks. I was there at 7:00AM but the queue for security was almost a kilometre long that it would be impossible to get in in time. Had I been told to arrive at 6AM I would have made it to the meetup point by the indicated time of 7:30; but it appears to me that that information was concealed to minimize the number of goers. The refund was 24H before the meetup time so I was refused a refund. This is a terrible service and I hope no one will avail this.

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Hi MarcJoseph_M, We're very sorry to hear about your disappointing experience with the Papal Audience tickets and presentation. What you described is far from the level of service we aim to provide, and I apologize for any inconvenience you faced. The security procedures and crowd management for such events can indeed be challenging, and we understand the frustration you encountered. To make amends, we would like to offer you a refund for your booking. Please reach out to us at your earliest convenience, either via phone or email (info@citywonders.com) and we will initiate the refund process. We appreciate your feedback as it helps us continuously improve our services, and we regret that your experience did not meet your expectations. We hope that you will consider giving us another opportunity to provide you with a more positive experience in the future. Thank you for your understanding. Best regards, Edgar J. City Wonders

Papal Audience

Elizabeth_I, Oct 2023

Papal Audience a special experience. So glad we chose to do this with a tour company who knew how to handle procuring the tickets and leading us to great seats.

Satisfied

Judy_F, Oct 2023

Helene was great! She secured us great location and I was very satisfied with my view of the pope. Very moving experience to be so close. I don’t expect more than was described and was satisfied.

Excellent guide and seats for papal audience

David_V, Oct 2023

Excellent way to experience papal audience for the first time. Guide stepped us thru security and early arrival at excellent seats. Pope was within a few feet of us as he entered the square. Our guide also shared great history and highlights.

Great experience!

Lisa_F, Sep 2023

Great experience. Our guide was on time and it was easy to find City Wonders (with the help of a phone call from City Wonders). Our guide did her best to get us as close possible. Thank you for the awesome experience!

Don’t do it. Biggest Rip off. Waste of money

Theresa_N, Sep 2023

This was the biggest waste of money. So disorganised. Absolutely no clue. Took us through security took us to seats where they said the Pope would pass. She then gave us an audio transmitter. Not sure why as she didn’t tell us anything no info no history. Then when it was over she had disappeared so we had to ring up to see where we could hand back the transmitter so we were not charged.

Response from Host, Sep 2023

Hello Theresa_N, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback about your Papal Audience Experience with us. We sincerely apologize for the disorganization you encountered during your visit. We are disappointed to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations, and we appreciate your candid comments. We understand that the lack of information and organization can be frustrating, and we will address these concerns with our team to ensure a smoother and more informative experience for future travelers. Regarding the audio transmitter, we apologize if it was not utilized effectively during your tour. Our intention is to provide additional information and insights to enhance your visit, and we will review our procedures to ensure it is used to its full potential in the future. Your feedback is invaluable as it helps us improve our services, and we appreciate your understanding. If you decide to give us another chance in the future, we hope to provide you with a more organized and fulfilling experience. Thank you for choosing City Wonders, and we hope to have the opportunity to better serve you on your next visit. Best regards, Edgar J. Communications Manager City Wonders

We missed the experience due to a late plane

Kim_J, Sep 2023

Our plane that was supposed to take us from Vienna to Rome was 2 hours late, so missed our flight to Rome and we had to stay in Vienna until the next day to take the first flight out in the morning. We did not arrive in Rome in time to attend the papal audience ☹️ Is it possible to get a refund for our tickets?

Response from Host, Sep 2023

Hi Kim_J, We're truly sorry to hear about the unfortunate circumstances that prevented you from attending the Papal Audience during your visit to Rome. We understand how disappointing this must have been for you. While we regret that we cannot offer a refund for missed experiences, we would like to offer you the opportunity to reschedule your Papal Audience tickets for a future date. We could also apply a tour credit that you may use later. You can do so by contacting us via email at info@citywonders.com or by calling our customer support team. We will do our best to accommodate your request and ensure you have the chance to experience this unique event during your next adventure. Thank you for your understanding, and we hope to welcome you to one of our tours in the near future. Best regards, Edgar J. Communications Manager City Wonders

Expensive, frustrating and maddening.

Lou_C, Sep 2023

The reminder of date and pick up time arrived 5 hours after our tour. It came too late. We were at the Vatican 45 minutes early and could not find where to pick up the tickets. After the group had left, we finally found the place, so we didn't get the full experience with the a guide. Directions need to be stated much more clearly. We were very disappointed. I'd happily accept a refund.

Tour disaster

nate1023, Aug 2023

Got to the meeting point on time at 7:30 am with my 7 family members and no one was there. Called the tour operator and was told the tour left. I asked if we could meet up. The tour operator said there was no way to know where he was and no way to get in touch with him. They couldn't call his cell phone? $300 dollars down the drain just to skip the line (entry was free! but they didn't tell you that on line) waited in the hot sun on a 95 degree day for about an hour and a half on a four block line to see the Pope. When we got in we were seated and had a great experience on our own without the tour! Waste of time and money. P:S they refused a refund.

Don't do it

Joseph_L, Aug 2023

The ticket itself is actually free of charge. You can go without a guide for free if you'd like instead.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Hello Joseph_L, We appreciate your review of our Papal Audience Experience Tickets. While it's true that the tickets themselves are free of charge, we provide added benefits that enhance your overall experience. Our expert guide offers valuable instructions to navigate the crowded Papal Audience, ensuring you have the best possible experience. Additionally, our guide provides insightful commentary throughout the event, deepening your understanding and connection to the audience. We also secure great seating arrangements that may not be available when attending without a guide. These enhancements are designed to make your Papal Audience experience truly memorable and stress-free, going beyond what you might get when attending independently. We hope you had a meaningful experience, and we value your feedback. Thank you again for booking your tour experience with us Kind regards, Edgar J. Communications Manager City Wonders

Pope Francis and the Vatican!

HarryRafaelSevilla_A, Jun 2023

We met Pope Francis close up and personal. Need we say more? The Vatican is a must-see for everyone visiting Rome.

Disappointed

Rebecca_R, Jun 2023

We were at the location on time but could not find the tour guide. For this reason we missed the tour. I will be contacting Viator for a full refund.

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