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Private Vatican Tour: Museums, Sistine Chapel, & St. Peter's

4.9(177 reviews)Rome, Italy
3hDurationEnglish, SpanishOffered inMobile ticketTicketNot includedPickupModerateLevel

About this experience

On this private tour, participants will explore the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. The tour is conducted in English, with options for Spanish or Portuguese guides available upon request. It includes priority access to the Vatican Museums, allowing for exploration of key artworks such as Raphael’s Transfiguration, the Belgian Tapestries, and Da Vinci’s St. Jerome. Guests will also see the Papal Carriages and enter the Sistine Chapel. The tour provides access to St. Peter’s Basilica through a special passage, allowing for a unique route past the Pope’s office and the Swiss Guards. This tour is suitable for those seeking a more personalized experience, but may not be ideal for larger groups.

Itinerary

1

Vatican Museums

Start your tour at the renowned Vatican Museums. Aside from being the home of the Pope, Vatican city is also home to the Vatican Museums, the world’s largest collection of art with 9 miles of art that could wrap around the Vatican walls 4 ½ times! It contains 54 museums, 1400 rooms, chapels, and galleries. Aside from the renowned Sistine Chapel, the museums also display the only work of Leonardo Da Vinci in Rome, St. Jerome, the Raphael Rooms, and the Pinoteca, which contains collections of the Popes, all dating back to the middle ages and are set in chronological order.

2

Sistine Chapel

Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel is possibly the most well known masterpiece in modern day, with over 5 million visitors per year. It was a project the artist took on reluctantly because his focus was sculptures, and he would complain about the physical toll it took on his body. It is said that the design of the chapel from Pope Sixtus IV, is modeled after Solomon’s temple from the Old Testament, measuring at just larger than a professional basketball court! There are many more frescoes to admire here from other artists, including: Domenico Ghirlandaio, Pietro Perugino, Cosimo Roselli and Sandro Botticelli.

3

St. Peter's Basilica

You will head through a secret entry into our last stop on the tour, St. Peter's Basilica: the largest basilica in the world, with markings inside the church to ensure every other basilica would fit inside. The curious visitor is treated to Michelangelo’s Pieta at the front, 150 mosaics, and Bernini’s baldacchino, which stands at 96 feet tall and 100,000 pounds of bronze! Surprisingly, there is only one actual painting in the basilica, and it can be spotted hanging above the Pieta. Many popes are buried in the church or are on display, but most of the popes are buried underneath the basilica including St. Peter, the first pope.

What's included / not included

Ear phones are included for groups of 6 or more
Private transportationBottled water

Additional information

Accessibility and comfort

  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Service animals allowed
  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
  • Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
  • Not recommended for clients who cannot climb and decend stairs

Good to know

  • The tour itinerary is 2.3 km long on hard marble. Hence wear comfortable sneakers or shoes with orthopedic inner soles.
  • The tour ends in front of the Basilica. You can spend more time inside the Basilica but you cannot go back to the Sistine Chapel nor the Museum.
  • Photography is permitted in most rooms but without flash. Photography inside the Sistine Chapel is prohibited.
  • There is a dress code for entry into the Sistine Chapel and the Basilica. No shorts or sleeveless tops allowed. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women. You will be refused entry if you fail to comply with these dress requirements.
  • If it is raining carry umbrellas that are compact and can be folded and not ones that have sharp pokey end. The long one give by your hotels will have to be checked into the cloakroom of the museum and involves a 1 km walk to get it back again.
  • Do mention your preferred start time for the tour & we will accommodate it depending on the availability of the tickets & guides.

Traveller reviews

4.9177 reviews

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