Skip the Line Vatican and Sistine Chapel Private Night Tour
Description
No queuing and an opportunity to see the magnificence of the Vatican in a totally different atmosphere. This magical 2.5-hour evening tour of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel affords you an unforgettable way to see one of Rome’s top attractions away from the usual daytime bustle. You can wander the galleries and get much better views of the masterpieces by such great artists as Michelangelo, Raphael, and many more. Your tour will end in Saint Peter's Square, next to the taxi and bus stations.
Tour Options
Itinerary
You will see some of the Vatican’s numerous treasures, both artistic and historical, many dating back to ancient Roman times. There is a visit to the Gallery of Maps, with its 40 amazing frescoes dating from the late 1500s, and Raphael’s Rooms, four chambers that house works by Raphael and his students. You will see fascinating Greek and Roman sculptures as well as the sarcophagi of Empress Helena and Constantina, the mother and daughter of Constantine the Great. The tour will then move on to the Gallery of the Candelabra, the Gallery of the Tapestries, and Sobieski Hall.
You will then arrive at the Sistine Chapel, the venue for papal elections and one of Italy’s most popular attractions. You will view Michelangelo's vast fresco, 'The Last Judgment', and listen to stories from the Bible, including the creation of Adam.
Please note that entry is not allowed into St. Peter’s Basilica as it is closed in the evening. The finale of the tour is a stroll around St. Peter’s Square, lit by a myriad of lights and sparkling under the night sky. In the piazza, your guide will point out Bernini’s optical illusions, and you will visit the exact spot where St. Peter, who later became the first Pope, was crucified. This area went on to become the foundation of the Catholic Church, an impressive place to end a wonderful evening at the Vatican.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult.
- A dress code is required to enter places of worship and selected museums. No shorts or sleeveless tops are allowed. Knees and shoulders must be covered for both men and women. You may risk being refused entry if you fail to comply with these dress requirements.
- Please note: if you arrive late, you might lose the entrance.
- Each traveler must present a valid passport or ID document that matches the name provided at the time of booking for successful entry.
- Food and drinks are not allowed in the museums except for bottled water.
Reviews(5)
FRANCESCO was awesome! He knew his history and explained so much on this tour. My husband the history buff so they had a wonderful back and forth on this tour. He made the evening a wonderful experience.
The guide was knowledgeable, fun, passionate about the topic and well balanced. The tour was just long enough to be able to take in as much information as we could absorb.
Our guide Tommaso — an archeologist! — provided a wonderful journey through the most significant rooms and treasures of the Vatican Museums. His knowledge of the collections and the historical development of the Museums was breathtaking. Tours in the late afternoon and early evening are blessed with the golden light of the setting Roman sun. Highest possible recommendation!
We had Tommaso as our tour guide who was very informed about many aspects of the Vatican and the Sistine chapel. He was clearly very experienced and able to explain things both thoroughly, but not at too technical of a level. (Probably helps that he is a professor at the university and take field trips to the Vatican). There is actually a lot more to the Vatican than I expected, which Tomosso was glad to explain throughout the tour and explained the significance of all the frescos in the Sistine chapel before we got there so we could really take it in. Highly recommend. It’s an incredible journey. One tidbit, leave more time between tours/ travel time as viator schedules you at a certain time, but that may change by half an hour due to what time they can get tickets. Be in contact with your tour guide to confirm the actual time, rather than rely on what viator says. If you don’t, there’s a change you won’t be able to get in!
This tour was originally scheduled for 5:30pm, but I received a message requesting to change the start time to 4:30pm instead. This is a little confusing, because our guide informed us that the Sistine Chapel closes at 6:30pm every day and a start time of 5:30 would make it impossible to see much of the museum. This seems like an oversight on the part of Viator. Given those restrictions, we had to rush our visit a bit. Having said that, our guide, Thomas, was fantastic. He asked us our specific interests and if there were portions of the museum we would like to skip to focus on other areas. He was able to accommodate our preferences and we had a great visit. The private tour for our small group was perfect. It felt intimate, and it was easier to stay near our guide and see and hear what he was talking about. We also ended up being some of the last visitors inside the Sistine Chapel that evening and seeing it nearly empty and with almost no crowd noise was an amazing experience. Thomas was extremely knowledgeable and obviously passionate about the art and history. His English is phenomenal, and he was easy to understand. He was well-prepared and was very open to our group asking questions. I could not be more pleased with our guide.
