St Peter’s Square was definitely the highlight of our day at the Vatican. It is such an impressive area. The colonnade, the porticos, the obelisk, the fountain, all with the backdrop of the Basilica makes for a wonderful experience. Yes it was very busy and there were crowds of people queueing but it is such a vast area that it’s impossible not to find a space to simply stand and appreciate the beauty.

This square is located directly in front of St Peters Basilica in Vatican City. It’s a very busy and popular square. It was named after the apostle of Jesus Saint Peter. Its one of the largest squares in Italy. In the centre of the square there is an anchient Egyptian obelisk which was erected in 1586.

Designed in the 17th century by the famous Italian sculptor and architect, Bernini, and often regarded as one of the most beautiful public square in the world, St Peter's Square sits at the feet of the iconic St Peter's Basilica, with 2 fountains and the 25 meters Vatican obelisk transplanted from Egypt at its centre, flanked by 2 semi-circular colonnades of 284 Doric columns and 88 pilasters, and watched over by 140 statues of saints and martyrs standing on top of the columns. Strategically located at the main entrance to the Vatican City, it is no surprise that swarms of visitors crowd this grand plaza, mainly queueing to enter the basilica. But with an impressively colossal dimension of 320 meters by 240 meters capable of holding up to 300,000 people, you will easily find your personal space for photo opportunities, relaxation, as well as to mull over its historical and religious significance. Make your visit to this papal enclave within Rome even more memorable by sending a Vatican postcard to your home address, complete with the Vatican stamp and chop, at the post-office located at the square. The best place to capture the bird’s-eye view of this square is undoubtedly from the top of the basilica’s dome. Impressionante and fantastico!

This place is huge. The amount of people that can be here and still look empty and impressive. It’s like two arms, hugging a child, one of the most impressive building structures that serves little or no purpose in the world and it’s free to enter.

With kids, and on a busy Easter weekend, we did not think it was best to go to the museums or sistine etc, or queue up for the basilica (the queues were already snaking all around the square by 9am). But we had enough fun jumping between Italy and Vatican City, looking at the Vatican Guards, going to the post office on the square and buying a postcard for 50 cents and a Vatican stamp to the UK for a couple of euros and posting it in the yellow Vatican post boxes, and also finding the circles on the floor where there is the optical illusion of there only being one set of columns in the structure surrounding the square. We then walked down the attractive road to Castel Sant'Angelo.

Obviously a must see when you visit Rome as it is breathtaking. Seen this many times and also been inside the Vatican many times. On this visit just wanted to see the Vatican from the outside because now you could be waiting 2-3 hours in a queue waiting to get in. Thought it would be quieter in March but not so.

We went on a Wednesday, the day of the Papal Audience. The whole square is organised and ready to receive the pilgrims. It is really overwhelming, you can see people from the whole world, and the Audience is celebrated with translators from many nationalities. If you have the chance, it is really a once in a lifetime experience!

An absolutely beautiful square that is so huge. Even though it was pretty busy when we went it didn't feel crowded. We were there on a Sunday morning just by chance really and then realised that once we'd been in the Basilica, it was only about half an hour until the Pope gave his weekly address so we hung around. It was so worth it, I never thought that I would see the Pope and it was one of the highlights of my trip to Rome. He was a long way away up in a window at the side of the square but there was a big screen and it was just so exciting to see him, the crowd gave him a huge cheer.

St. Peter's Square is a large oval shaped piazza located at the western end of Via della Conciliazione and in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The square that you see today was designed by Bernini in the 17th-century. I always enjoy seeing Bernini's massive colonnades which appear as if they were arms extending from the Mother Church, embracing and surrounding the square. The colonnades are both topped with statues of various Catholic saints. In the centre of the square is the ancient Egyptian obelisk long known as the Vatican obelisk, it is flanked by two mushroom like fountains, the works of Bernini and Carlo Maderno. Views of the remarkable facade of the basilica are fairly easy to see throughout the piazza.

Spectacular architecture, the size of the square is amazing. You have to stand in the middle and look around in a full 360 to realise the actual size. Even with thousands of people stood around you, you still feel so small in comparison of the size of this space.