Full Day Vatican Experience: Sistine Chapel & Museums with Skip-the-Line Access

Highlights

• Private Guided Tour
• Skip-the-Line Access
• Full-Day Immersion

What's included

Itinerary

1. 1

   Vatican City

   Pass by

   Our Extended Vatican Tour provides the opportunity to truly appreciate all the Vatican City has to offer. The tour itinerary ensures that you don’t miss any of the most famous sights, but also shows you some things you never knew existed.

2. 2

   Cortile della Pigna

   30min

   The first step is the Pigna Courtyard. Composed of a large bronze pine cone almost four meters high which once spouted water from the top, the Pigna originally stood near the Pantheon next to the Temple of Isis. It was moved to the courtyard of the Old St. Peter's Basilica during the Middle Ages and then moved again, in 1608, to its present location. The courtyard where it stands was originally part of the Cortile del Belvedere, designed by Donato Bramante to connect the palace of Pope Innocent VIII with the Sistine Chapel.

3. 3

   Vatican Museums

   2h

   Then you'll enter the Vatican Museums with its magnificent masterpieces. The main Italian artist letf us the biggest heritage ever.

4. 4

   Stanze di Raffaello

   1h 30min

   The tour includes the Gallery of Maps, Gallery of Tapestries, Gallery of the Candelabra, and the renowned sculpture of Lacoon and his sons. Plus, you’ll see a real highlight of the Vatican Museums - the beautiful Raphael Rooms. A standout of this tour is the Borgia Apartments. In the 15th century, these rooms were home to the infamous former cardinal Rodrigo Borgia (then Pope Alexander VI). You’ll see the family portraits as your guide spills some of the secrets of one of the most renowned and most controversial papal families. There is so much history hidden within the paintings’ religious content, and you’ll get a peek into the scandalous life of the Pope’s beautiful daughter Lucretia and his son Cesare.

5. 5

   Sistine Chapel

   30min

   Michelangelo’s world-famous Sistine Chapel is next. Your guide will prepare you to enter the Sistine Chapel with detailed information about Michelangelo’s frescoes, their meaning and their significance. Michelangelo spent eight years of his life painting these wonderful frescoes – an incredible undertaking. Once inside, you will have time to fully appreciate the splendor of this historical chapel.

6. 6

   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.

7. 7

   St. Peter's Square

   30min

   The tour will end in the magnificent Saint Peter's square.

Before you go

Location