The Papal Villas little train — fifty-five hectares in an hour.
The Barberini Gardens extend across thirty hectares within the fifty-five-hectare complex of the Pontifical Villas. Walking them in one afternoon is impossible. For some years now there has been an official solution: an eco-friendly rubber-tyred vehicle with audio-guide, which visitors simply call the little train.
What it actually is
In the official Vatican Museums documentation it is described as an «eco-friendly means of transport»: a small battery-powered vehicle that runs along the paths of the Barberini Gardens and covers the most significant part of the park in about one hour ([Vatican Museums — Full Day info sheet, PDF](https://www.museivaticani.va/content/dam/museivaticani/pdf/visita_musei/scegli_visita/ville/Vaticano_Full_Day_treno_info_en.pdf), [Omnia Vatican Rome — Pontifical Gardens](https://www.omniavaticanrome.org/en/cards/pontifical-gardens-of-castel-gandolfo)). It is not a real train on rails, but the name is now firmly established.
The audio-guide is available in six languages: Italian, English, Spanish, German, French and Russian ([Vatican Museums, PDF](https://www.museivaticani.va/content/dam/museivaticani/pdf/visita_musei/scegli_visita/ville/Vaticano_Full_Day_treno_info_en.pdf)). The itinerary passes close to the cryptoporticus of Domitian, the centuries-old holm oaks, the flower parterres and the Belvedere on the main terrace.
Price and booking
There are two official packages. The first is the Vatican Full Day by train: it includes admission to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel with audio-guide, a walk through the Vatican Gardens, a dedicated electric-train journey from the Vatican City railway station to Castel Gandolfo, shuttle to the Pontifical Villas, tour of the Barberini gardens on the eco-friendly vehicle, and return by train from Castel Gandolfo to Rome San Pietro. Full price €43.00, reduced €38.00, free for children up to 5 years old ([Vatican Museums — Full Day, PDF](https://www.museivaticani.va/content/dam/museivaticani/pdf/visita_musei/scegli_visita/ville/Vaticano_Full_Day_treno_info_en.pdf)).
The second package is more compact: By train to the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo. It includes only the train journey from Rome San Pietro (departure at 11:00), the return leg, and independent visit with audio-guide to the Museum of the Apostolic Palace. Full price €20.00, reduced €14.00, free up to age 5 ([Vatican Museums — Apostolic Palace by train, PDF](https://www.museivaticani.va/content/dam/museivaticani/pdf/visita_musei/scegli_visita/ville/Treno_palazzo_apostolico_en.pdf)).
Both formats run on Saturdays only, following the official calendar of the Pontifical Villas, and can be booked exclusively online at museivaticani.va. The dedicated Vatican-Castel Gandolfo service is typically active from March to early November, in collaboration with the FS Italian Railways Group ([Lazio Region — The Papal Villas train is back](https://www.regione.lazio.it/notizie/turismo/riparte-treno-ville-pontificie), [FSNews — The Papal Villas train returns](https://www.fsnews.it/it/focus-on/servizi/2023/3/17/trenitalia-treno-castel-gandolfo-ville-pontifice.html)).
“On a dedicated electric train, from the Vatican City railway station to the Castel Gandolfo station.”Vatican Museums — Full Day by train official sheet
What you actually see
The tour inside the gardens lasts about one hour and covers the most iconic zones of the Barberini park: the holm-oak avenues, the geometric box parterres, several views over Lake Albano, the imperial cryptoporticus and the retaining walls of Domitian's villa. You do not step off the vehicle, except at the photo points marked by the guide. Those looking for a slower, in-depth walking visit will find in the pedestrian format of the Pontifical Gardens, also bookable via the Vatican Museums, a more contemplative alternative ([Omnia Vatican Rome](https://www.omniavaticanrome.org/en/cards/pontifical-gardens-of-castel-gandolfo)).
Those arriving independently from Rome can save. The Trenitalia regional line FL4 leaves from Termini, stops at Castel Gandolfo after about forty minutes and costs a little over two euros ([Rome Spirit — Castel Gandolfo Guide 2026](https://www.rome-spirit.com/it/destinazioni/castel-gandolfo/)). From the station you walk up to the town centre in about fifteen minutes and access the Museums of the Apostolic Palace and the Barberini Gardens independently, always through the Vatican Museums booking system.
Practical tips
The two dedicated-train formats are convenient but run on Saturdays only and must be booked well in advance, particularly in spring and in September and October. The Full Day package fills the entire day: morning start at the Vatican Museums, return to Rome San Pietro in late afternoon ([FSNews](https://www.fsnews.it/it/focus-on/servizi/2023/3/17/trenitalia-treno-castel-gandolfo-ville-pontifice.html)). Comfortable shoes, a hat in summer, a light jacket for the evening even in July: at Castel Gandolfo's three hundred metres of altitude, the air cools quickly after sunset.
If you have little time and only want to see the Apostolic Palace or the gardens, the €20 option with the FL4 regional train is the most efficient choice. If you want to see everything at once — Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museums, Vatican Gardens, historic train and Villa Barberini — take the Full Day. In both cases, booking starts at museivaticani.va.