Skip-the-Line Vatican, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's | Small Group

based on 2962 reviews

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

From $97.42

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Why book this tour? You visit the Vatican once in a lifetime! Skip-the-line access means you’ll have more time to explore millennia of art and history within these hallowed walls without waiting in the long general admission lines.

Explore the highlights of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica in a small group.

Get straight inside with skip-the-line access to see a host of treasures of the Vatican City, all with enlightening storytelling from a passionate guide.

Dive into the Vatican’s must-see attractions with the highlights you absolutely can't leave Rome without. This tour has been specifically designed to get you inside as quickly as possible with skip-the-line entry.

This is hands down the perfect tour for families traveling with small children or teens, people who "don't do" museum tours, or those who have limited time and want to see the Eternal City in less than an eternity.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

WHAT TO EXPECT

1.
Meeting Point: The meeting point is our office, very close to the Museums' entrance, the exact address is Via Santamaura 14B. The closest Metro stop is Ottaviano. Please allow extra time due to traffic during the summer months! AFTERNOON TOUR - Meeting Point: Our office is located 2-min away from the Vatican Museums' entrance, the exact address is Via Santamaura 14B. If you do need assistance with how to reach the meeting point, please don't hesitate to contact us.
2. Vatican City
We continue our visit entering Vatican City, the smallest country in the world. Encircled by a 2-mile border with Italy, Vatican City is an independent city-state that covers just over 100 acres, making it one-eighth the size of New York’s Central Park. Vatican City is governed as an absolute monarchy with the pope at its head. The Vatican mints its own euros, prints its own stamps, issues passports, licenses plates operates media outlets and has its own flag and anthem. One government function it lacks: taxation. Museum admission fees, stamp and souvenir sales, and contributions generate the Vatican’s revenue.
3. 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! These collections have been piled up over the course of centuries through acquisitions, donations, commissions, confiscations, and quite often lucky discoveries from underground Rome and not only.
4.
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.
5. Sistine Chapel
Admire the breathtaking Sistine Chapel of Michelangelo! The most famous section of the Sistine Chapel ceiling is Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam. This scene is located next to the Creation of Eve, which is the panel at the center of the room, and the Congregation of the Waters, which is closer to the altar. Not everything was done by Michelangelo and your expert guide will be able to point that out. This proves just how great artists, even little known, left their marks in these magic locations. This is the right time to discover that!
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.

ADDITIONAL INFO

CANCELLATION POLICY

Posted By : Philip_A
Gabriel was one of the, if not THE best tour guide we’ve ever had. He made it so interesting and entertaining but so informative as well. The areas we got to see were amazing. We loved his jokes and enthusiasm. He clearly loves his job and is so knowledgeable. His book has all kinds of photos that added to the experience. He also made it fun for the kids as well. We highly recommend this tour.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-01-08 09:23:40

Posted By : corinnegZ4695EF
Magnificent tour! We met our tour guide, Daniela and immediately she introduced herself and everyone in the group. She explained that miracles happen at the Vatican. I explained that this was my third visit to the Vatican but I had requested tickets in June 2023 to the Vespers Te Deum Mass with Pope Francis on December 31st. Received a response on Dec 28 th stating that my request for 4 tickets was not approved. Daniela said that we could talk to a Swiss guard and double check if there were any tickets available. Upon completion of our exciting tour of Sistine Chapel we met with a Swiss guard. Daniela explained the situation to the guard and after verifying that an initial request had been requested, the guard proceeded to check all the envelopes and found an envelope with our name and four tickets.
This is a miracle as stated by our great tour guide, Daniela. The history, views and art was so overwhelming and beautiful. I loved every aspect of this tour especially the miracle.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-01-05 16:15:53

Posted By : ivonnes455
It was a grate experience ! The guide Ian took us through the mass of people with professionalism, explaining very well the most relevant works of art as well as some interesting details of history.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-01-05 11:55:53

Posted By : Adventure21591177436
What a Life Tours are a very professional company.

Our guide (Michele) was brilliant. He was truly passionate about the places we were visiting, sharing interesting lesser known details throughout the tour. Worth mentioning, he was also quite respectful of the religious importance of these locations (unlike other guides we encountered throughout).

Would strongly recommend.
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Posted On : 2024-01-05 08:40:10

Posted By : Mark D
The company was so well organised and all friendly. Our guide Mario was fantastic! Very knowledgeable, moved at a great pace and had a very good sense of humour which made it so much fun! Highly recommend!
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Posted On : 2024-01-05 04:01:24

Posted By : LydiaS1301
We really enjoyed our tour with Robert who was able to point out many details at the Vatican, Sistine chapel and St. Peter’s basilica. He also gave us a nice history of the Roman Catholic Church. The tour was very organized and had a relaxed pace. My 12 and 15 year olds were both engaged the entire time.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-01-04 17:29:03

Posted By : Chris_C
Daniella was fantastic. She had tons of knowledge and was very patient with our little girls. The tour was made much simpler and efficient with our easy access to places people Thad to wait in line for all day.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-01-04 16:40:02

Posted By : Andrew_H
Great skip the line tour that was a perfect balance of information and sights seen. Our guide was easy to hear and understand. I highly recommend the small tour group as the crowds are large and I don’t think the experience would be the same with a larger group.
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Posted On : 2024-01-04 12:48:43

Posted By : rodneym883
Absolutely fantastic small group tour with Daniela, very informative and fun facts Good pace, really memorable. All in English and the headsets were helpful in the crowds
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Posted On : 2024-01-04 11:53:52

Posted By : Raschel Y
We loved our tour with Ian! He was so very knowledgeable and gracious. He took his time with us and answered everyone’s questions with such patience. The Vatican, museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s are overwhelming to see in just a few hours, but we never felt rushed. Ian was perfetto!! ?
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Posted On : 2024-01-04 09:11:54