Private Vatican Tour: Museums, Sistine Chapel, & St. Peter’s

**This tour will be conducted in English unless you request a Spanish or Portuguese-speaking guide when booking.** Avoid the crowds, spend more time in the Sistine Chapel, and enjoy a truly special Vatican tour! Our private guide gets you into the Vatican Museums ahead of the line, where you’ll explore masterpieces like Raphael’s Transfiguration, the Belgian Tapestries, and Da Vinci’s St. Jerome. Admire the Papal Carriages and stand in awe of the Sistine Chapel before accessing St. Peter’s Basilica through an exclusive passage used by very few tours. You’ll descend the Scala Regia, pass by the Pope’s office and the Swiss Guards — a route rarely offered, making this experience truly unique!

Start your tour at the renowned Vatican Museums. Aside from being the home of the Pope, Vatican city is also home to the Vatican Museums, the world’s largest collection of art with 9 miles of art that could wrap around the Vatican walls 4 ½ times! It contains 54 museums, 1400 rooms, chapels, and galleries. Aside from the renowned Sistine Chapel, the museums also display the only work of Leonardo Da Vinci in Rome, St. Jerome, the Raphael Rooms, and the Pinoteca, which contains collections of the Popes, all dating back to the middle ages and are set in chronological order.

Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel is possibly the most well known masterpiece in modern day, with over 5 million visitors per year. It was a project the artist took on reluctantly because his focus was sculptures, and he would complain about the physical toll it took on his body. It is said that the design of the chapel from Pope Sixtus IV, is modeled after Solomon’s temple from the Old Testament, measuring at just larger than a professional basketball court! There are many more frescoes to admire here from other artists, including: Domenico Ghirlandaio, Pietro Perugino, Cosimo Roselli and Sandro Botticelli.

You will head through a secret entry into our last stop on the tour, St. Peter's Basilica: the largest basilica in the world, with markings inside the church to ensure every other basilica would fit inside. The curious visitor is treated to Michelangelo’s Pieta at the front, 150 mosaics, and Bernini’s baldacchino, which stands at 96 feet tall and 100,000 pounds of bronze! Surprisingly, there is only one actual painting in the basilica, and it can be spotted hanging above the Pieta. Many popes are buried in the church or are on display, but most of the popes are buried underneath the basilica including St. Peter, the first pope.

• Wheelchair accessible
• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
• Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
• Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
• The tour itinerary is 2.3 km long on hard marble. Hence wear comfortable sneakers or shoes with orthopedic inner soles.
• If it is raining carry umbrellas that are compact and can be folded and not ones that have sharp pokey end. The long one give by your hotels will have to be checked into the cloakroom of the museum and involves a 1 km walk to get it back again.
• Photography is permitted in most rooms but without flash. It is prohibited to photograph inside the Sistine Chapel.
• The tour ends in front on the Basilica. You can spend more time inside the Basilica but you cannot go back to the Sistine Chapel nor the Museum.
• Please note that 2025 is a Jubilee Year, which may result in restricted access to certain areas of the Vatican Museums due to religious ceremonies. Additionally, entry to St. Peter's Basilica may be subject to unexpected closures or limited availability of tickets. If an area typically included in the tour is closed, our guide will provide an explanation and show an additional site or gallery to compensate As these circumstances are beyond our control, we appreciate your patience and understanding.
• A dress code is required to enter places of worship and selected 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
• Not recommended for clients who cannot climb and decent stairs

• Private Vatican Tour: Museums, Sistine Chapel, & St. Peter's
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• Ear phones are included for groups of 6 or more

Your guide will come with the tickets for Vatican Museums in hand. • Comfortable walking shoes are recommended. Itinerary involves 2.5 km of walking • Visitors must pass through metal detectors at the security check point. Please expect to maximum wait 20 minutes to clear security even with skip the line option.  • Travelers carrying large backpacks, glass bottles,  large tripods or umbrellas which cannot fold will have to check in their belonging in the cloak room. At the end, one would have to walk 1 km to retrieve their belongings from the Vatican Museum. • Strollers/ Prams are allowed in the Vatican museum but have to be checked in to the Basilica's cloakroom while entering the St.Peter's. Retrieving them is pretty easy. • A dress code is required to enter places of worship and selected 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 • The itinerary is not wheelchair accessible unless the person in the chair can stand up, climb and descend a few stairs. Please note that 2025 is a Jubilee Year, which may result in restricted access to certain areas of the Vatican Museums due to religious ceremonies. Additionally, entry to St. Peter's Basilica may be subject to unexpected closures or limited availability of tickets. If an area typically included in the tour is closed, our guide will provide an explanation and show an additional site or gallery to compensate. As these circumstances are beyond our control, we appreciate your patience and understanding.

Please be advised..

• This Tour is Provided by Europe Odyssey Tours di Rahul Raghavan & C.sas.
• Tour Timezone & Starts at Europe/Rome.
• Mobile or paper ticket accepted.
• For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
• This Tour is Rated 5 Stars based on 77 valid reviews on VIATOR.
• Minimum 1 Travelers is required to book.
• Maximum 10 Travelers is accepted for booking.