Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel Guided Tour
About this activity
Highlights
- Skip-the-line access to Vatican Museums
- Guided tour of Sistine Chapel
- Expert English-speaking guide
- Explore Vatican's art treasures
- Learn about Renaissance art
Full description
Included / Excluded
- Skip-the-line access to Vatican Museums
- Guided tour of Sistine Chapel
- Expert English-speaking guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Itinerary
Discover the treasures hosted by one of the largest and most-visited museums of the world enriched by a huge number of masterpieces collected through time. Taking a spectacular big spiral staircase you will be introduced to the impressive greatness of the Vatican Museum. Admire the best of the ancient world visiting the Greek and Roman sculpture section. A collection of classical art masterpieces where admire the beauty of several sculpture groups, as for example the statue of Laocoön and His Sons that is one of the most famous ancient sculptures. Pass by the Chandelier Gallery, named by the several marble chandelier decorating this section. Be astonished by the elegant Tapestry gallery, wallpapered by the finest tapestry worldwide, realized by Raphael's disciples. Visit the Maps Gallery, a complete exhibition of maps representing Italy as it was seen by cartographer in 1581. Enjoy a spectacular panoramic view of the Vatican Garden and much more ...
Admire the major representatives of Italian art such as Leonardo, Perugino, Beato Angelico, and many more Towards the end of this tour you will visit the beautiful Sistine Chapel to admire Michelangelo’s masterpiece: The Last Judgement.
They are famous for their frescoes, painted by Raphael and his workshop. Together with Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes, they are the grand fresco sequences that mark the High Renaissance in Rome.
Meeting point
Start Location
Unknown location
Important information
Know before you book
- The tour is conducted in English; ensure you understand the language for full comprehension.
- The Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel are popular attractions; expect large crowds, especially during peak tourist seasons.
- The tour may not be wheelchair accessible; contact the provider for specific accessibility information.
Know before you go
- Wear comfortable walking shoes as the tour involves walking and standing for extended periods.
- Bring a valid ID for entry; minors may need to present proof of age.
- Photography is allowed in most areas, but flash and tripods are prohibited.
Cancellation policy
0All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
Accessibility
- Easy Public Transport
Good to know
- Departure time may differ from 20/30 minutes that the indicated starting time
- A dress code is required to enter places of worship and the Vatican 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
- Student discount is only applied under 26 years old with International Student Card ISIC, to be shown on site
- Children discount is applied with a valid ID card to be shown on site
- Children age 0-5 years entre free of charge
- Not wheelchair accessible due to some difficulties in Sistine Chapel.
- Note: tour will not operate on religious holidays
- IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO VISIT THE BASILICA DURING RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS AND CEREMONIES (Audiences, Beatifications, Masses of the POPE). The Basilica is often subject to sudden closures. In these cases it is not possible to guarantee access to the Basilica.
- Estimated time entrance in the museum is 45 minutes after tour departure, because you will have to pass the security check.
- Not recommended for participants with mobility problems or other serious medical conditions
- PETS ARE NOT ALLOWED
- There is no refund on reservation fees and tickets of monuments that are closed due to event that is out of our control.
- In that instance we’ll try our best to re-accommodate the tour when the information from the office responsible of the sites visited is given in a timely manner for us to rearrange and inform all clients.
- If this is not possible, we will operate the tour and will include other sites to compensate for the site/s being closed. No refund is given on unused tickets due to events that are out of our control.
- Every refund request MUST be done within and not later than 48 hours from the day of the tour
Traveler reviews
Waste of money
The first tour I booked for Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel was canceled. I called Viator, and the rebooked me on the same tour for the same day but different time. I was told tour would be 3 hours. When we got to the tour (skip-the-line) the 4 people in my group we added to another group. The tour was supposed to start at 11 a.m., but we didn't actually start until 12:45 p.m. The tour lasted 1 hour. We lost about half of our group when we were getting ready to enter the Sistine Chapel. The tour guide didn't care, she just moved on. She left us in the Sistine Chapel and ended our tour there. She was not a very good guide. A lot of her descriptions had sexual innuendo, which I found to be unprofessional. I paid MORE for this tour than the one that was canceled. I didn't receive what the booking agent described and was very disappointed. It was a waste of money.
Immersive and fulfilling
Just beautiful. I rarely got to say that. The guide as well as very prepared breathed an air of passion. He never looked at the clock and from about 2 hours the tour lasted 3h and 30min! I can only recommend it.
Vatican museum experience !
Excellent guide Elisa! She was very kind and improved our knowledge ! Bravo! I was impressed by the whole organization both of the tour and the Vatican City itself !!
Great tour
Our guide was very informative and his history of the Vatican was very impressive! The tour took most of the day and he did not stop to even take a drink. The only thing i found is that we weren't given much time to take photos as the tour moved quite quickly as there is so much to see but it wasn't a problem as we walked back into the Vatican after the tour finished to take some photos.
We loved the tour and our guide!
Our tour was absolutely amazing. We got lucky and only had 4 people in our group. Our guide Massimo Lacobelli was the best! Great sense of humor and so passionate about his job. You could tell he genuinely loved giving tours and made the experience that much better. We booked a second tour with the same company because of how good Massimo and the organization was.