Cupola

Wear good walking shoes. Don’t try this climb if you have inner-ear problems because there are times the passage ways you walk lean in and it can throw off someone who is prone to vertigo.

The view from the top is absolutely breathtaking, but be forewarned: if you are at all claustrophobic or have difficulty with stairs, you probably shouldn’t make the climb to the top. You hear a lot about the number of stairs, but there’s not much warning about the extreme narrowness of some of the hallways leading up to the Cupola. Personally, I didn’t find it bothersome and felt it was well worth the journey.

You can climb to the top of the Dome of Saint Peter’s. You pay 4€ to take the stairs, 7€ to get halfway by elevator. We had already done a fair chare of stairs, so went for the elevator (the operators were rude). First stop is the inside of the Cupola, you get to walk halfway round, standing next to the huge mozaiks which look like paintings seen from below. After this the climb to the top begins (over 300 stairs). The winding stairs are small, steep and narrow, it gets pretty claustrofobic at times. After a lot of wheezing we got to the top, and the view is excellent. Worth the hike!