Vatican City Draws Record Number of Travelers

It's been nearly a year since the funeral of Pope John Paul II that drew over three million visitors to the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica. Since the funeral, record numbers of travelers have visited the Vatican and attended public events presided over by the new pope, Pope Benedict XVI. The number of visitors to the Vatican Museums in 2005 broke all records with more than 3.8 million visitors in 2005. According to Vatican Tours, Vatican City gets over 17,000 visitors per day. You might want to reserve your visit ahead of time through your hotel or a web site such as Museum Rome Reservations, Vatican Tour, or Select Italy.

Besides the public exposure the Vatican received in 2005, some people attribute the increase in part to Dan Brown's popular books, the Da Vinci Code (compare prices) and Angels and Demons (compare prices), set in Rome. If you're interested in learning more about the Da Vinci Code sites, check out Fodor's new Guide to the Da Vinci Code (compare prices). Parts of it were written by Ferne Aflin, About's Guide to Senior Travel. Read Ferne's comments on making the Da Vinci Code Guide.

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