Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica Private Tour: Skip the Lines

Highlights

• Guaranteed Skip-the-Line
• Expert Art Historian Guide
• Iconic Masterpieces

What's included

Itinerary

1. 1

   Vatican Museums

   1h

   Meet your guide outside the Vatican Museum and skip the line as you enter the Vatican Museums. Explore the various luxurious exhibitions and rooms; the Gallery of Maps; the Gallery of Tapestries and into the Pinecone Courtyard. Awesome bosses like Raphael and Michelangelo made a great part of the staggering fine art for the popes amid the Renaissance time frame.

2. 2

   Sistine Chapel

   1h

   As you leave the displays you enter the glorious Sistine Chapel with Michelangelo's famous roof frescoes The Last Judgment and The Creation of Adam on one of the sanctuary's dividers. (There is no talking inside the house of prayer so your guide will clarify everything before section).

3. 3

   St. Peter's Basilica

   30min

   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. There is still more to see though below ground level. You guide will lead you below ground to the papal crypt where, over the centuries, many of the Popes have been interred. This special place is a site of pilgrimage for many Catholics. Although talking is allowed, before you enter the crypt you guide will tell you where the most important popes are laid to rest.

4. 4

   St. Peter's Square

   30min

   The tour will end in Saint Peter’s Square, where you can view Bernini’s statues and the famous chimney which announces the election of a new Pope. A couple of final anecdotes and it will be time for your guide will say goodbye, leaving you to enjoy the square under your own steam. A wonderful end to a tour of the Vatican!

Before you go

Location