Skip-the-line Vip Private Tour of Vatican Sistine Chapel&Basilica
Description
Visit the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter’s Basilica in the company of a local, expert guide on this great 3-hour private tour. With skip-the-line access you miss the queues and have more time to see the impressive artworks like Raphael’s famous masterpieces, the Parnassus and The School of Athens, the marvelous frescoes by Michelangelo, Botticelli and other Renaissance painters. As this is a private tour you go at your own pace and gain access to some of the smaller rooms not available to the large groups.
Tour Options
Itinerary
You meet your guide for either a 9.00 am or 2.00 pm start and head directly for the Belvedere Courtyard. Then it is on to the largest collection of ancient Roman and Greek statues in the Pio-Clementino Museums. As you meander through the collections your guide will share the history and many anecdotes about the wonderful treasures to be seen. Hear about the tapestries in the Gallery of Tapestries and the largest collection of Renaissance Maps in the world housed in the Gallery of Maps. See the largest canvas in the Vatican in the Sobiesky Room and learn about the frescoes in the Immaculate Conception Rooms.
You will also see Raphael’s famous masterpieces, the Parnassus and The School of Athens. These are displaced in the rooms painted for Pope Julius II by the young Raphael and are considered some of his very best works.
Before you enter the Sistine Chapel (no talking is allowed inside) your guide will tell you about the marvelous frescoes by Michelangelo, Botticelli and other Renaissance painter of the day. The chapel is also where the conclave is held to elect a new Pope. Hear all about this as well as many other interest facts and anecdotes.
It is then time for a tour of St. Peter’s Basilica where you will explore the numerous side chapels with their hidden crypts. You will see Michelangelo’s Pietà and your guide will explain why this is the only work that he signed. You will gain an appreciation of the mastery that went into the creation of Bernini’s altarpiece and learn how Michelangelo triumphed over his contemporaries for the honour to paint St. Peter’s magnificent dome.
The tour will end in the magnificent Saint Peter's Square
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
- A dress code is required to enter places of worship and selected museums. No shorts or sleeveless tops allowed. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women. You may risk refused entry if you fail to comply with these dress requirements
- READ CAREFULLY: Because of the growing popularity of the current pope Francis and his intense activity in organising mass events in the Vatican some areas might get closed last minute without previous notice. This has already happened this year and can happen again during you Vatican tour: the Sistine chapel and/or the Basilica of Saint Peter might not be accessible. In case of such events our tour guide will provide you with a valuable alternative focusing the tour inside the Vatican museums.
- Please note due to the Jubilee, the Basilica might not be accessible as part of the tour. Unfortunately, we know that very last minute.In any case, you can go there after the tour, queueing.
Reviews(10)
Excellent experience in spite of the Pope appearances closing off easy access to St Peters. Claudia navigated us through the crowd. She even save us time by taking our souvenirs in her backpack and then after we forgot them, returned them to out hotel the same night.
This was a great combination of the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica. Our guide, Donato, was the perfect blend of informative, engaging, and entertaining. Much enjoyed and worth the cost. He made this a very memorable experience.
Sara was amazing and was so patient and knowledgeable! We all learned so much about the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Square.
Fabulous Tour - highly recommend it! Our tour guide, Tommaso, was amazing - very knowledgeable & fun!
Our guide was great and the tour of the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and St.Peter's was amazing. I would recommend thise skip-the-line tour and our guide!!
Vera was amazing. Patient with our large family, very knowledgeable and willing to go at a pace that worked for our group. Highly recommend!!! And ask for Vera!
My husband and I recently toured the Colosseum and the Vatican with Cristina. The tour agency was recommended by family who used them a couple of years ago, and the tour did not disappoint! The tour was a nice and easy was to see both sites. Cristina expertly guided us through the crowds and pointed out interesting things that we wouldn’t have learned otherwise. Cristina has keen knowledge of art and archeology and was an excellent tour guide. We also saved a ton of time not having to wait in line, which is huge when you have limited time in a city. I highly recommend both tours with Cristina!
Hi Kim and Mark, thanks for you nice review. I am so happy you spent a great time while visiting Rome with our Cristina :) Hope to see you again in Italy. All the best from all the staff at Rome City Tours :)
Francesco showed his passion and knowledge of both the Colosseum and Vatican as our guide for two days. I highly recommend this company and Francesco. We had fun while we learned and covered more of Rome than we would have on our own. Five stars for private tours.
Hi Lorene, thank you so much for your nice review. I am so happy you had a great time with Francesco and that you loved our beutiful city! Hope to see you again here in Italy. All the best from all Rome City staff
Tommaso was personable, professional, and knowledgeable in every way. I grew up going to Italy and I must say I’ve never seen San Pietro in the way that he was able to convey to us. For a truly authentic and insightful experience I would use this company and also ask for him as well.
Hi there, thank you very much for your nice review. We're glad you had a new and wonderful experience at Saint Peter, it is once in a life time visit :) Hope to see you again here in Italy. All the best from all the staff at Rome City Tours.
