Skip-the-line Vatican and Sistine Chapel Private Guided Tour
Description
Skip the long lines at the Vatican by taking this private, 3-hour tour. With your local guide, visit the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Museums, and other famous sites. See some of the most precious artwork in the world as your guide shares the history and stories of these locations.
Tour Options
Itinerary
On this private tour, you will travel at your own pace, plus you can stop in some of the small rooms of the museum since you won't be with a large group. Start with a visit to the Belvedere Courtyard, the Pio-Clementino Museum, and the large collection of Ancient Roman and Greek statues. Then, continue to the Galleries of Tapistries and Geographic Maps, the grandest and most significant display of Renaissance maps. Stop in the Sobiesky Room to learn about the largest canvas painting in the Vatican. See the Immaculate Conception Room's frescoes.
Your guide will focus your attention on the rooms painted by Raphael for Pope Julius II, considered the greatest works of his life, especially the Parnassus and the School of Athens.
Hear the history, facts, and curiosities of the Sistine Chapel during your visit there. View the famous frescoes made by Michelangelo, Botticelli and other famous artists. The Sistine Chapel is also the location of the conclave, the Popes' election, so you will learn details about this unique event.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- 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
- Food and drinks are not allowed in the museums except for bottled water
- 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 your 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.
- The Basilica is not included in this tour due to the Jubilee new access rules. You can visit the Basilica by going to Saint Peter's Square and queueing there
Reviews(26)
Highlights tour was a great way to see the Vatican. Appreciated Tommaso’s knowledge and hospitality. Really glad we did this and he customized our time to meet our interests.
My wife and I took the private, Fast Access Entrance to Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter Basilica tour with Donato A. and could not have been happier! Donato's passion, knowledge of intimate details, love for the place, and helpfulness came through at each stop and with each display. The tour was well thought out, organized, and perfectly allowed us to take in all of the beautiful sites and learn more of the history - without long waits in line. The private aspect gave us more options and flexibility and we really enjoyed the 1:1 discussions. 10/10 - Definitely recommended!
Francesco was very knowledgeable and passionate about the information that he shared with us. I would highly recommend Francesco as a tour guide.
Very informative & interesting tour by our extremely knowledgeable tour guide Maximillian! He was great in highlighting the important info. We( group of 7) all highly recommend this tour especially with Maximillian! Thank you!
Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and led our tour with little pop quiz’s and humor. There wasn’t one question she couldn’t answer and we asked lots !
A private, skip-the-line tour is the only way to see the Vatican. Bruno was extremely knowledgable and a ton of fun! All seven of us had a wonderful time, I would definitely use this tour group again!
We had a great tour with Tomas! He was knowledgeable and made the tour enjoyable. He showed us a statue of a Persian goddess which was very relevant !
The knowledge of our tour guide. He was very professional and enjoyed him being a terrific tour guide. The tour guide made the Vatican come to life our experience was outstanding.
A wonderful & interesting experience! Our driver Stephanie was skilled & friendly. Our guide Tomasso was excellent! We had lunch in Restaurant Carbonara- delicious!
Touring the Vatican Museum can be daunting. But our guide Thomas made our day super fun and fulfilled our group’s varied needs. His explanations of the history/architecture/art/importance of the Vatican were filled with enthusiasm that rubbed off on to us. My twelve year old twins will never forget their first trip to Vatican City. Grazie Thomas!!!
We buy ok lime ticket to avoid queues. Error!! It doesn't help anything. And nothing less than twice as expensive as buying them on a site. Hordes (literal) of visitors, allowed by Vsticsno himself, bordering on irresponsible. Horrifying!! After a tortuous tour, in the Sistine Chapel N O allowed us more than 1 minute!!!!!! Crowded with people, and only allowed to “get in and out”
Skip the line is the way to go. There is so much to see, that I do not recommend combining the Sistine Chapel tour and the Colosseum tour together. Its just way too much on the body.
<p>The private Vatican tour was fabulous, in large part thanks to our amazing guide Romina. Starting with text communication the night before to make sure we were set, to navigating the crowds and most importantly the detailed knowledge she was able to share made the experience one we will never forget.</p>
<p>I booked this private tour for the three of us to avoid dealing with group issues and go at our own pace and preferences. I also did not want to spend time in long lines. The tour met these expectations. The guide had a PhD in archeology I think. She was very knowledgeable about everything we saw. We learned more than we expected. She answered all our questions and tailored the tour based on our feedback. A guide is definitively required for a tour like this, since there are so many historical and artistic details every step of the way. Very impressive. The Vatican is very crowded, don't expect an intimate tour.<br/> I would highly recommend this tour.</p>
We got a lot of great information from our guide. The only downfall was we felt rushed through the Sistine Chapel and felt like herded cattle the entire time. We traveled in early May, so it wasn't even the height of the tourist season. I can't imagine doing this peak season. Our tour guide was conscientious and very knowledgeable. It's the logistics of the place that was lacking. Poor traffic flow.
<p>Michela was very knowledgeable and friendly. We would highly recommend this private tour.</p>
We took the 3 hour tour through the Museum, Sistine Chapel & St Peters Cathedral. Fabio was a terrific guide; very friendly and knowledgeable. The tour was not rushed at all, and there was plenty of time for questions and for observing the many historical artifacts. We highly recommend this tour & Fabio.
Our guide Romina was super helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly. Romina was at the agreed upon meeting place promptly at the right time and she made sure we were able to see everything we wanted. She was very good at explaining the grounds, artwork and history of everything we saw. Great way to visit the Vatican!
<p>The tour of the Coloseum was amazing! Our tour guide was a last minute substitute who rose to the challenge and was a great story teller of emperors and events from Ancient Rome. Made things come alive for us! Well done!</p>
<p>This tour was very educational! Our tour guide was incredible! It is a world of difference to visit the Vatican and Sistine Chapel with a guide versus on your own!</p>