Skip the Line: Vatican Museums Walking Tour including Sistine Chapel, Raphael's Rooms and St Peter's

Rome, Italy

Take a small group walking tour of the Vatican Museums and St Peter's Basilica, and jump the queue by booking ahead. Numbers are limited to a maximum of 20 people on this small group walking tour, ensuring you'll receive personalized attention from your guide. And by booking ahead, you won't waste any time waiting in line!

Your knowledgeable guide will escort you into the Vatican Museums to explore the world's most extensive collection of art. Brilliantly decorated and lined with masterpieces, the museums are brimming with treasures and history. Your guide will lead you through the 2000 rooms that stretch over almost nine miles, and share the stories and secrets contained within the Vatican's walls.

Highlights of the museums are Michelangelo's famous Creation of Adam fresco in the Sistine Chapel and Raphael's Rooms. After taking in the Vatican Museums, you will encounter another of Michelangelo's masterpieces, La Pieta, in St Peter's Basilica. For a fascinating finish to your small group guided walking tour, stop to admire magnificent St Peter's Square, as your guide points out Bernini's ingenious use of optical illusion.

Do you want to skip the line AND the crowds too?
Upgrade to the 8:10am tour and not only will you skip the long lines (which can last up to two hours!) to enter the Vatican Museums but gain access as soon as the doors open - before the general public step foot inside! Tours are arranged exclusively for our guests and groups never exceed 10 people in total. No upgrades available on Wednesday.

Do you want to see the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel at Night?
Upgrade to the 7:30pm tour and gain access to the museums after the official closing times - an opportunity available for a strictly limited season. The general public are not permitted into the Museums in the evening - you must pre-book a guided tour to gain access. Hurry! The season will run from May 06 every Friday until July 15. Then it will stop to start again from September 02 until October 28.

USD $74.06

Review by: Rabbidal	April 2012
Excellent tour. Very pleased with all the arrangements. Our guide was very knowledgable and her information was interesting and engaging.

Review by: christine	April 2012
It was easy to find the meeting spot for this tour. Our guide was very informative and we loved the tour of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. We chose to stay in the Vatican Museum and not go to St. Peter's as we had done that another day, which worked well for us.

Review by: windfalltraveller	April 2012
Guide was very good, however we chose this tour because it promised small groups of no more than 20 people. This was not the case when we got there, the group exceeded this number. Annoying as it was more expensive than other operators.

Review by: Radhakrishnan P	April 2012
The guide, Pablo, was great and we enjoyed the tour.

Review by: Ali & Steve	April 2012
Great tour, great guide. With so much to see, Angela made sure we got through the crowds to all the "must see" bits and did a great job explaining the history and significance. Well worth it.

Review by: Simon P	April 2012
Guide was very pleasant and clearly knew her subject, thanks.

Review by: Silbiger	April 2012
Rachel our guide was outstanding, who made it fun and interesting. The tour went like clockwork and we saw all the major places without a major rush. It was a small tour size that made it more enjoyable. Using headphones, you did not have to worry about missing anything from the guide in the noise of many people. Super value for the money, could not think that it could have been better.

Review by: Life-is-good	April 2012
Simply perfect. It was very crowned indeed during our Easter visit.

Review by: Urszula Danuta R	April 2012
The tour guide was very informative and made the tour very entertaining. She looked after us very well. I would recommend this tour to anyone.

Review by: RICHARD S	April 2012
Cannot praise this trip enough- what an amazing educational aesthetic extravaganza! Finally understood the Sistene Chapel and the Vatican politics and drama.

Review by: DevonAshton	April 2012
This was an excellent tour! Our guide even spent some additional time with us in St Peter's Basilica. Really excellent and knowledgeable about everything there. I would highly recommend this tour!

Review by: Kevin D	April 2012
Well worth it! Thanks to our guide, who made the visit very enjoyable, helping to focus on the important pieces (so many things to see!) with the explanations and interesting facts that you would definitely miss by visiting on your own. Also really nice to skip about 2-3h queue. We just regret we got out of St Peter's basilica before climbing up to the dome, thinking we would come back later (the queue for the basilica and the dome are the same!)

Review by: Beth E	April 2012
We had a great tour guide, David. Tour was very interesting and informative. Kept our young teens engaged for over 3 hours!! Highly recommend.

Review by: Nickey	April 2012
Skipping the line during Holy Week was definitely worth it, so many people were there. The guide Angela was very informative and engaging. She did a great job. Everything we saw was beautiful and it makes it so much easier to have a guide that is obviously so knowledgable and really enjoy's giving the tour. Definitely will recommed this tour. The only problems we had, which weren't real problems, was it was Holy Week, so some places were off limits due to cleaning and set up for Easter Sunday Mass. Overall very enjoyable.

Review by: George B	April 2012
Great.

Review by: mamtavn	April 2012
I wasn't so happy with this one. May be my expectations were high. Skipping the line was the best part of this tour.

Review by: Grace M	April 2012
we loved every minute of it

Review by: Traveler	April 2012
Save you maybe hours to skip the lines and the tour guide is professional and knowledgeable. I learned a lot.

Review by: Lynne F	April 2012
We had a superb guide, Shannon, who made the tour wonderful. She was not reciting a speech; this is her field of study -art history and she is very well informed. The tour is thorough and starts with the Vatican and then the Sistine Chapel and ends with St. Peters. Only regret is that the tour was so long we had to go to lunch after and could not climb the dome because we were all hungry and tired. We did this tour with 2 teenagers who also found it very interesting. The company was very organized and the small group allowed us to cover more ground and the equipment all worked perfectly. As the day goes on the Vatican gets very crowded. This tour is worth every penny!

Review by: Jono	April 2012
Our guide Angela was great! She was very informative and knowledgeable- it is a long tour with lots of walking and lots to see but Angela kept us engaged the whole time.

Review by: happy ski's	April 2012
The Vatican, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peters Basilica is a MUST when in Rome. Make certain that you don't miss Raphael's rooms. Not all tours incorperate this. I loved Italy and it's historical past, so many tworlds are held in the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and Basilica that stir ones interest. Fantastic but requires more than a day to absorb all it has to offer, we went twice but feel we would love to spend more time to bathe in the beauty of it all, and we are not of the Catholic religion, We have a keen interest in the architecture, art and history of such a great place.. Will be going back again some day.

Review by: Maria L	April 2012
Simon was a fantastic tour guide. He really knew what he was talking about, was able to answer any questions he was asked and was also funny. It was a fascinating tour and I could not recommend it enough!

Review by: Kevin M	April 2012
Excellent tour. Our guide was knowledgeable and very enthusiastic which was inspiring. We covered considerable depth but it was made interesting and didn't get boring.

Review by: robert b	April 2012
Our tour guide was excellent. She was very knowledgeable and engaging. I had visted the Vatican Museums on my own and did not appreciate the art history that our guide provided in vivid detail. I would have liked to ave spent more time in the Sistine Chapel, but it was very crowded. I highly recommend this tour.

Review by: Edith S	April 2012
Outstanding guide, fun and very informative! Was able to hear well. Group was right size. Loved not waiting in long line.

Review by: Stacy K	April 2012
Our tour was great and our guide was entertaining. She was definitely the best English speaking guide we had encountered and was full of information.

Review by: Calbaby	April 2012
Good tour and well worth the extra for skipping the line. The regular line into the Vatican Museum was over 3 blocks long at 9am. Only issue is that the Sistine Chapel was so full of people that it was elbow to elbow, but that isn't the tours fault. Also very crowded in the museum and some very rude and obnoxious teens and adults. Make sure you wear pants or dresses that cover your knew. St Peter's is very strict about it.

Review by: Anil B	April 2012
Very knowledgable and pleasant guide which enhanced the tour experience.

Review by: Anonymous	April 2012
This is a necessary tour to get the full blown experience of being in Vatican City. We went at a low time and it was incredibly crowded so be prepared.

Review by: Margaret H	April 2012
Guide was wonderful.

Review by: jb5q8	April 2012
The American Tour Guide Lady could have slowed down by a notch, so that people could take a bit time to see Museum. Overall, was fine

Review by: Carol O	April 2012
The tour guide was wonderful. the tour was tiring but very worthwhile. The highlight of our trip.

Review by: Clifford R	April 2012
Excellent experience...This was my first trip to Rome and therefore, to the Vatican. I cannot imagine trying to navigate that place without the guide pointing out all of the rich history of that place. Highly recommended to get the full experience of your tour. Also very nice to skip the lines.

Review by: vrmsjm	April 2012
We had a great time with the tour! Worth the money.

Review by: Adam O	April 2012
This tour was worth every penny! We learned so much and saw so many great works of art. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and put the pedal to the medal in relaying a ton of knowledge to each item we looked at. You MUST do this tour!! Couldn't have asked for a better experience! Thank you so much!

Review by: Eric R	April 2012
we thought the tour was delightful. the only downside was that our guide mistakenly thought St Peter's was closed (it wasn't) and didn't include it in our tour.

Review by: Jeffrey N	April 2012
The Vatican was beautiful but the tour we booked was only so-so. When we arrived, no one knew where to meet our tour guide. By the time the tour guides found a similar tour, we ended up joining a tour 1/2 hour later than our scheduled tour. The tour guide seemed very pleasant and knowledgable, but did not include St. Peter's in our tour saying "St. Peter's does not open until 2pm, we can stay in the area and tour St. Peter's on our own time. Meanwhile, all the other tour groups remained with their tours and went directly into St. Peter's. I know it was the week prior to Easter, but the tours were all so crowded, that we were squeezed and rushed from point to point and often could not hear our guide through the headphones.

Review by: Graham P	April 2012
Instructions for meeting were clear and booking online very good. Our guide Frederica was excellent, very knowledgeable, relaxed, funny and really made our day. We would recommend to other visitors.

Review by: Ashleigh R	April 2012
The tour was well worth the money, it was excellent. Our guide, Shannon was very knowledgeable and nice. She made the tour fun and very interesting. Without the tour we would have missed out on key things and interesting information. We had a really good time on the tour and then Shannon advised us how to do some other things in the vactican if we wanted to again and also where best to get lunch! We had a really good time at the vatican because of the tour and I would recommend it anyone.

Review by: cinderella67	April 2012
Great tour guide! Her name was Ana Lucia. She spoke well and explained many important notes of the Vatican. She gets a 10 plus!

Review by: Gerald L, Singapore	July 2010
Looking at the line, paying the premium was definitely worth it. Not to mention, we had an awesome guide - Michelle - who provided a very informative tour in an interactional and engaging manner that left us begging for more.

Review by: SACHIN S, United Arab Emirates	July 2010
Great tour. Must do it.

Review by: Tom L, United States of America	July 2010
The young woman who served as our guide was EXCELLENT - very knowledgeable and worked hard to keep us moving along as much as possible given that there were tremendous crowds that day at the vatican.

Review by: Christine F, United States of America	July 2010
Our tour guide was excellent. She was a wealth of knowledge. Thank You So Much

Review by: Suzy S, United States of America	July 2010
Robert was absolutely amazing - always informative and fully engaged! Would use him again in a second!

Review by: lynn c, United States of America	July 2010
This is well worth your time in Rome. As our cab drove us to the drop off point, we arrived at 9am, and weren't the first ones there, the entrance line for those not on a tour and without tickets had already snaked around the corner and was several people thick. The tour guides arrived right on time, and groups of 20 or less were assigned a guide, and headed to the entrance. We did not have to wait to get in. Once everyone went thru security, our tickets were handed out to us, and we were on our way. The Vatican gardens were first, and very beautiful. Then we took a bathroom break, and proceeded thru the museums. Last, was the Sistine Chapel, we had 20 minutes, and then we were guided over to St. Peter's. We were hungry for lunch, but stayed and finished St. Peter's since our kids didnt want to walk back across the square after lunch. The only place you need your shouldersknees covered is St. Peter's.

Review by: George X, Canada	July 2010
The tour was very informatve and enterttaining. The guide Dada was particularly knowledgeable and made the trhee hour tour worht every second!

Review by: Jessica A, Australia	July 2010
Fantastic tour company, best tour guide we had on our whole europe trip

Review by: Hal W, United States of America	July 2010
The tour guide Brian was knowledgeable, and entertaining. In addition, the technology wireless transmitters allowed us to easily hear what he was saying, even when we were walking in large crowds. I highly recommend this tour. We brought our two children 15 and 9 and they also learned, and were entertained.

Review by: Susan T, United States of America	July 2010
Our guide, Alex, was fantastic! She had an excellent background on all of the material, truly enjoyed her job, and was able to involve everyone in the tour! It was a very HOT day, but I could have listended to her for another 3 hours! Thanks to Alex, it was a wonderful experience!!!!!!!