Posted by The Vatican Carriage Museum is one of our favourite exhibitions in the huge Vatican Museums, one of the largest museums in the world. In the “Padiglione delle Carrozze” different vehicles of the popes are exhibited. Until the 19th century these were usually carriages. Particularly interesting are the cars and popemobiles from the 20th century.
Where is the Vatican Carriage Museum?
The Museum of the Popes’ Fleet is part of the Vatican Museum. You can only visit it if you pay for the whole gigantic museum entrance fee.
The Carriage and Popemobile Museum is somewhat hidden in the huge museum complex. The Popes’ carriage pavilion can be reached by walking to the right from the entrance and going down a staircase to the basement in the accessible part of the museum garden. The exhibition of the Vatican Carriage Pavilion is housed in a kind of cellar in a large hall.
Important: The carriage museum is well signposted in the museum, but like everything else only in Italian. The museum is called “Padiglione delle Carrozze” in Italian. The signs are only in Italian.
Our tip: Buy tickets without queuing on the InternetIn the Vatican Museum, you can theoretically buy an entrance ticket at the box office, but you usually have to queue for hours. Often, the queue along the wall around the Vatican is several hundred metres long, often even one kilometre and more. Many museum visitors now have tickets with preferential admission. These are available in advance on the Internet. ===>>>> Here you can buy tickets for the Vatican Museum Note: Sometimes tickets are slightly cheaper on this website. A combination ticket for the Vatican with a museum and St. Peter’s Cathedral is also very popular. St. Peter’s Basilica is theoretically free, but there are very long queues. We even waited 2 hours in December. ===>>>> Here you can buy combination tickets for the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica |
All our articles on the Vatican Museums:
Vatican Museums Overview
Pinacoteca of the Vatican
The Sistine Chapel
The Creation of Adam fresco
The Last Judgement
Rooms of Raphael
Pio Clementino Museum
The Torso from the Belvedere
Laocoon
The Gallery of Maps
The Carriage Museum of the Vatican
What can you see in the Vatican Carriage Museum?
In the museum of the Pope’s vehicles you can see great carriages in the front area. There is a very richly decorated carriage for special occasions, but also normal coaches. In former times, the popes often travelled for weeks within Italy or Europe. Accordingly, good coaches were important.
Among the cars of the popes are many cars in completely different categories. You can see a very simple Fiat and a VW Beetle. But also a chic, white off-road vehicle and a black luxury Mercedes are available. Some popes, like the current pope Franziskus (Papa Francesco), are very modest and like to use a simple small car. Other popes were more inclined to the luxury car.
Especially interesting are the Papamobiles. These are the well-known vehicles with which the Pope drives standing past a large number of people. You can also see the Papamobile vehicle that Pope John Paul II used on 13 May 1981 during the assassination attempt against him. An assassin in Rome shot the Pope several times in the Papamobil. John Paul II was seriously injured. Afterwards the Papamobiles were no longer open, but provided with a glass protection. Also such a Pope mobile with protection is exhibited in the vehicle museum of the Popes.
To our knowledge all vehicles in the carriage museum (one hears also Pope vehicle museum or Papamobil museum) are original carriages and cars (no replicas or similar).
While many departments of the Vatican Museum are crowded with people, the basement is usually relatively crowded with popes’ vehicles. You could also call the papal carriage and car exhibitions a small secret tip in the Vatican. For us, the Padiglione delle Carrozze is a highlight in the huge Vatican museums.
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Our recommendation: Very good guided tour through the Vatican Museum Most visitors buy a ticket to the Vatican Museum without a guided tour. That’s fine. Somewhat more expensive, but much more interesting, are of course guided tours with a good guide. These are available in huge numbers in many languages, of course some also in English. An excellent and very popular and good tour in English can be booked on the great website Getyourguide. This tour also includes St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel |
Other pages about the Vatican Museum in this travel guide
Introduction and Overview Vatican Museums
Sistine Chapel Vatican, the highlight of the museum
The famous painting gallery of the Vatican with works by Da Vinci, Raphaelo and many others
A great museum in Rome is also the Capitoline Museum with many sculptures from antiquity.
The room with the maps of Vatican
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Our tip: Buy tickets without queuing on the Internet In the Vatican Museum, you can theoretically buy an entrance ticket at the box office, but you usually have to queue for hours. Often, the queue along the wall around the Vatican is several hundred metres long, often even one kilometre and more. Many museum visitors now have tickets with preferential admission. These are available in advance on the Internet. ===>>>> Here you can buy tickets for the Vatican Museum Note: Sometimes tickets are slightly cheaper on this website. A combination ticket for the Vatican with a museum and St. Peter’s Cathedral is also very popular. St. Peter’s Basilica is theoretically free, but there are very long queues. We even waited 2 hours in December. ===>>>> Here you can buy combination tickets for the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica |
More info Coach Museum Vatican – Museo Storico dei Carri
The Vatican Coach Museum, also known as the Museo Storico dei Carri, is located within the walls of Vatican City and is dedicated to the preservation and display of historic carriages and coaches. Founded in the early 20th century, the museum has a collection of over 20 carriages and carriages, many dating from the 18th and 19th centuries.
The carriages on display in the museum come from various European countries and represent different styles and historical periods. Visitors to the museum can see Baroque carriages, classical carriages and even modern vehicles used by the Pope in the 20th century. The museum also displays various accessories and equipment used to transport horses, such as harnesses, ramps and whips. The Vatican Carriage Museum is known not only for its collection of horse-drawn carriages, but also for its ornate décor and elegant interiors. The museum’s galleries are adorned with paintings, frescoes and sculptures, offering visitors a unique cultural experience. The museum also has a library with an extensive collection of books and manuscripts on the history of transport and the history of the Vatican.
At the Vatican Carriage Museum, visitors learn about the role carriages played in the history of transportation and how they were used by kings and the rich for travel and public occasions. The museum offers an interesting insight into the world of high society in the last centuries and the importance of horse transport in those times. Overall, the Vatican Carriage Museum is a must-see for anyone interested in transportation, art and the history of the Vatican. The collection of historic carriages and carriages combined with the magnificent interior and rich cultural heritage is a unique and educational experience.