Rome: Complete Early Morning Vatican Tour | Small Group

based on 1285 reviews

Duration:3 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Location: Rome, Italy

From $108.37

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Meet at our comfortable offices less than a block from the museum entrance. Join our small group Vatican tour in the early morning with a top-notch tour guide and get early entrance to the Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museums & Raphael Rooms. In a small group, you will be able to discover with no rush the extraordinary abundance of history and art.

Your guide will tour you through these corridors and halls, pointing out the exhibits on display. Once through, the Sistine Chapel awaits you.

The finale of our early entry Vatican tours culminates in St. Peter’s Basilica. Majestic and inspired, it is the perfect place to come full circle on the morning’s itinerary. Feast your eyes on Michelangelo’s Pietà and admire the stunning interior of the dome he designed, as well as Bernini’s massive bronze baldachin sitting over the Pope’s private alter directly above St. Peter’s tomb and other little-known details that can only be spotted when inside!

WHAT'S INCLUDED

WHAT TO EXPECT

1.
The activity starts directly at our office located conveniently very close to the Museums' entrance.
2. Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums feature many works of art that belonged to the different Popes and are full of artistic beauty. Here is a glimpse of some of the most beautiful things to see in the Vatican Museums. Rooms and Galleries of the Vatican Museums, as the Greek Cross Room, the Gallery of Maps, the Gallery of Tapestries, Raphael Rooms and much more! From a relatively small collection of statues brought in by Julius II, it grew into a gigantic museum to a point that nobody even knows how many items are kept in the vaults and galleries of the Vatican.
3.
The Gallery of Maps is a stupendous hallway where geography and history are perfectly intertwined. Created at the end of the 16th century, the entire room is dedicated to customized maps, which display the whole of Italy. On one side of the 393-foot long gallery are two representations of the country: one from the Imperial Roman Era and the other from the 1500s. Each map shows political happenings, religious roles, and major battles. The ceiling is no less remarkable, with frescoed scenes displaying episodes and miraculous events of apostles, saints, and martyrs, which are linked to the geographical maps below.
4.
The world-renowned tapestries adorning the walls of this breathtaking gallery used to hang in the Sistine Chapel until they were moved to their present-day location. The most esteemed pieces of the collection are the carpets based on Raphael’s drawings, depicting crucial scenes from the life of Jesus. Out of these 9 tapestries, we recommend paying some special attention to The Resurrection of Christ, which is woven in many layers, creating a surprising optical illusion as you walk by. It took the weavers 4 years to finalize the masterpiece and they cleverly used materials of different densities in order to obtain the eye-deceiving effect.
5. Sistine Chapel
Once inside the Vatican Museums, it’s straight to the main event – the Sistine Chapel. Gaze upon Michelangelo’s stupefying ceiling, Creation of Adam and the Last Judgment in awe, sharing the space with your group and a few others. Take your time – and savor each moment – because this is an experience you’ll never want to forget, as you nearly reach out and touch one of humankind’s most astounding creative achievements.
6. St. Peter's Basilica
If you thought the size of the Vatican Museums was overwhelmingly spectacular, St. Peter’s Basilica takes the “wow factor” to another level. The sheer capacity of the interiors is enough to leave any visitor searching for words to describe its vastness. At 613 feet long, 85 feet wide and 147 feet high, it took an incredible 120 years to build, starting from 1506. Admire Michelangelo’s unparalleled Pietà masterpiece and stroll towards the center right nave to observe Bernini’s 30-foot high bronze Baldachin, which sits directly atop the site of St. Peter’s tomb.
7. St. Peter's Square
A visit to Vatican City would not be complete without standing in awe of the beauty in St. Peter’s Square, also known as Piazza San Pietro. This massive square framing St. Peter’s Basilica is the location where the pope holds Wednesday General Audiences and special masses on religious holidays. Besides being an extremely sacred place for the Catholic Church, the square itself features a breathtaking architectural design. During the late 17th century, Gian Lorenzo Bernini erected a series of huge Doric colonnades extending out like arms from the basilica. If you stand in the right spot, the rows that consist of four columns, appear to converge as one. This optical illusion shows the incredible architectural precision of the time! To make the most of your trip to Vatican City, we recommend you join a tour of the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica to learn the grand history behind this marvelous city from an expert guide.
8. Vatican City
Vatican City, a city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy, is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. It's home to the Pope and a trove of iconic art and architecture. Its Vatican Museums house ancient Roman sculptures such as the famed “Laocoön and His Sons” as well as Renaissance frescoes in the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel, famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling.

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Posted By : Steven_R
Wear your comfortable shoes as the tour is overwhelmingly spectacular, but covers a lot of ground. Our guide Valentina was very knowledgeable and a joy to be with.
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Posted On : 2024-05-18 03:06:17

Posted By : davecee1952
Lara was a great tour guide. Her knowledge of the Vatican’s history and the stories of intrigue made for a great tour Everything was handled professionally. My wife had mobility issues and she felt totally cared for.
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Posted On : 2024-05-17 14:14:20

Posted By : E8625OSlorik
Just had a tour of The Vatican with What a life tours! It was absolutely Amazing. I booked online 4 months in advance for the early morning Vatican access. They do small groups, only 12 in our group, which was very nice. Our guide "Elaine" was Extremely knowledgeable and helpful. She was Awesome!! She explained so much to us, even little secrets and tips about the Vatican along the way. We couldn't have navigated it without her. We didn't realize how many museums there were. We saw several including the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica. My husband and I even went down to the tombs and crypts after our tower. It was Wonderful. Booking a small tour is definitely the way to go. I highly recommend this tour group.
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Posted On : 2024-05-17 08:59:04

Posted By : MaddieGu
Elaine was the best tour guide we’ve experienced on any walking tour. Her knowledge of every aspect of the Vatican tour was incredible. She was warm, funny, caring (when one of the party wandered off) and steeped in knowledge, not just of Vatican exhibits but of Italian (and more) art and culture. Obviously well travelled and with a keen interest in history and geography, she was the perfect guide. It also helped that the tour had just 12 people on it - by design I believe, so she was able to engage us all. Excellent tour and guide!
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Posted On : 2024-05-16 15:22:41

Posted By : dmb_medic
We spent an incredible morning in the company of Elaine enjoying the artwork and history of the Vatican. My wife and I were thrilled with the experience and learned so much from our guide. She was incredibly knowledgeable about the history, slipping in interesting “secrets” that made it all the more fun. Going to the site without a guide would be chaotic, and if you are in the market for a top flight experience, “What a Life Tours” will deliver. Specifically, if you can request (or are lucky enough to get Elaine) your visit will be all the better!
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Posted On : 2024-05-16 08:35:11

Posted By : ian c
Elaine, our tour guide, was excellent. We also liked the smaller group. The Vatican museum tour was extremely extensive. The number of items inside were unimaginable. Unfortunately, we also learned about the dark side to the Vatican, the pope, the Cardinals and how they treated people years ago.
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Posted On : 2024-05-16 05:16:23

Posted By : KiraChristoffersson
Having been to the Vatican Museum over 5 times and using guidebooks and audio guides, I was pleasantly surprised on the wealth of knowledge I learned through our guide, Enrica. Her English is impeccable, her passion for art and history inspiring, and she was extremely personable and humorous. I HIGHLY recommend this tour with this company…they were professional, always helpful and the communication with them was exceptional.
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Posted On : 2024-05-16 04:57:18

Posted By : Michael P
Elaine was a fabulous guide! Can’t imagine visiting these museums without her expertise. Also highly recommend buying the tickets ahead of time it saves hours of waiting.
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Posted On : 2024-05-15 05:37:19

Posted By : Birmingham09
Our tour was very well organised & our guide was incredibly knowledgeable & brought the Vatican to life. St Peter’s Basillica was due to close early and she absolutely did her best to make sure we gained entry. It was incredibly busy but an unforgettable experience.
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Posted On : 2024-05-14 07:17:30

Posted By : Houstons96
Michele was FANTASTIC! Fun yet informative, patient, kind and animated! James and I learned so much that we'd love to visit again for another tour when we only planned on a one time visit to the Vatican.
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Posted On : 2024-05-11 20:14:08