Home > Rome > Skip the Line: Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica Half-Day Walking Tour
USD $39.00
Skip the Line: Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica Half-Day Walking Tour
Rome, Italy
See the highlights of Vatican City with an expert guide, visiting the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica! After paying your entrance fee direct, head inside the world’s largest collection of private art with an expert guide, and see for yourself why the Vatican is a mecca for millions of travelers. Explore intriguing sites like Raphael’s Rooms and then visit the Sistine Chapel to see incredible frescoes by Michelangelo. Finish with a tour of St Peter’s Basilica, and see the beautiful ‘La Pieta’ sculpture while learning about it from your guide. Choose from a selection of different start times or upgrade to a small-group tour (12 people maximum).
After meeting your guide in Vatican City, pay your entrance fees directly, and then head inside the incredible Vatican Museums with your skip-the-line ticket. As you walk through its corridors, your guide will regale you with tales of Vatican saintliness and sin – an intriguing insight into the holiest place in the Christian world.
At a time when Italian art blazed a trail around the world, the Vatican employed only the best Renaissance and Baroque architects to furnish their surroundings. No surprise then that the popes amassed one of the world’s finest collections of sculptures, carvings, frescoes and paintings – a visual feast for art connoisseurs and amateurs alike.
Walk through breathtaking galleries like Raphael’s Rooms, a series of interconnecting papal chambers that showcase the artistic genius of Renaissance master Raphael and his pupils. Stop to look at mesmerizing paintings like the School of Athens, which features images of Michelangelo and Raphael himself, and hear about the rivalries that resulted in some of the most influential works of Western art ever created.
Stroll through more captivating rooms including the Gallery of the Maps and Gallery of Masks, and then head inside the Sistine Chapel – the popes’ private place of worship. Besides its sacredness, the main draw of the Sistine Chapel is the incredible frescoes, created solely by Michelangelo. Gaze skyward at The Creation of Adam ceiling fresco, and look to the back wall to see The Last Judgement.
Finish with a walk inside St Peter’s Basilica – Italy’s largest and infinitely most spectacular church that’s built on the site of St Peter’s supposed burial place. Marvel at La Pieta, one of Michelangelo’s early sculptures, and stop to rub the foot of St Peter himself for good luck and a blessing. Your tour then finishes outside the church.
8am Tour: Want to skip the line and the crowds too? Upgrade to the 8am small-group tour and after skipping the long entrance lines, gain access to the museums before the general public set foot inside! See all the classic Vatican sights in a small-group of no more than 12 people, with personalized attention from your guide.
7:30pm Tour: Book the 7:30pm tour and explore the Vatican Museums after the main closing times – an opportunity available for a strictly limited season. Access is only possible for people pre-booking an evening tour, so book now to secure your spot! The season runs every Friday from May 6 until July 26, and then from September 6 until October 25. Numbers are limited to 20 people. Please note that entry isn't permitted to St Peter's Basilica in the evening tour.
Francesca was amazing! So knowledgeable - her passion for the history of this incredible place was infectious. There is so much to see, she made it easy to focus on the important pieces of the tour but also left us with time to discover on our own. Thank you so much, Francesca!!!
Review by: Robert E, May 2018
The Vatican is awe inspiring. Our guide, Elaria, was great. She shared so much history with us and was very nice. The only negative is that it is soooo crowded that it is challenging to stay with your group. There are so many people pushing through that you don't have mush time to view the art. It was hard to take in the beauty of The Sistene chapel, which was unfortunate. St Peter's Basilica is so amazing! Elaria knew so much! We took the elevator up to the inside dome. I highly recommend doing this. It is AMAZING. Not many people can say they had a picnic on the roof of the Vatican. Climbing up to the next level is not for the faint of heart! But the view from the top is worth it! This was a great tour!
Review by: Victoria A, May 2018
Our tour guide was great the Vatican was packed and skip the line was worth it
Review by: Lisa M, May 2018
Would not use this company again. Our tour guide rushed thru everything from the start. Almost leaving 3 couples at security. A 3 1/2 hour tour was completed in 2 1/2. Spent 5 minutes max in Sistine chapel and he was annoyed waiting for some people in our group that were taking their time. Left the tour in the Basillica so we could wander around ourswlves and look at all that we wanted.
Review by: Bernard T, May 2018
Pre-booking these tours is the only way when visiting popular sites such as this. Finding the office meeting point was fairly easy. A tour that includes a guide is the best way to visit a well-known site. Our guide Sylvia knew her subject very well. She had an engaging personality and used this to good effect by posing questions to the group. Definitely a must see when in Rome.
Review by: merb897, May 2018
Overall I enjoyed this tour and learned a lot! Pros definitely included skipping the line, I heard that the summer months were the busiest and didn't think it would be too crowded in April but I was so wrong! It was very busy when we went and it saved us a lot of time to have skip the line passes. Our guide was very knowledgeable and nice and with so much to see in the Vatican museums it was really nice to have someone to highlight some of the most interesting and important parts rather than just wander around aimlessly by ourselves. Cons would include the fact that since the Vatican is so busy and we opted for the regular tour that can have up to 25 people the guide speaks into a mic that transmits to an earpiece, my husband found in particularly hard to hear and understand her with the ear piece and I had difficulty sometimes as well. If I were to do it again I think I would pay the extra to do a smaller group tour. Overall a good tour if you are on a budget and want the benefits of a knowledgeable tour guide and skip the line access but don't want to pay too much. If you can afford it I would recommend upgrading to the smaller group tour!
Review by: Traveling Techie, April 2018
Our family truly enjoyed the guided tour of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. We were in port on a cruise ship, and only had a few hours to explore, so we did the skip the line tour of the Vatican to get right in to the museum see the sights. Great tour, highly recommended!
Review by: conrn, April 2018
All amazing but tour guide made us feel like we were running through a lot of it. Some areas would of been nice to see longer to take it all in. So much history. A must see.......
Review by: Chinmayee m, April 2018
Best experience ever!
Review by: Karen P, April 2018
Our small group of 3 had an 8 am tour which was ideal, even though there were already lines, our tour guide Francesco led us through and into key areas he said were often too crowded to see clearly. Felt like we had parts of the museum to ourselves! It was great. Francesco was wonderful, very interactive, and gave us tons of interesting information. It was a pleasure to have a guide who seemingly enjoys their job so much! Sistine Chapel and St Peters Basilica were wonderful. Our tour included a trip up to the top of the dome, which was amazing. There was a service going on and being able to watch and listen to the beautiful music echoing through the area was very moving. The weather left a little to be desired so we did not spend much time outside the dome or in the Plaza. Also due to the service going on we could not get into the crypts. But the tour was overall a 5 out of 5, we loved it.
Review by: alyx, April 2018
The Vatican is certainly a place where you want to take advantage of skipping lines! Highly recommend this tour.
Review by: Mary C, April 2018
Skipping the line alone was well worth it. Having someone help navigate and point things out, you just can't see the Vatican any other way.
Review by: Natalie W, April 2018
Tour was extremely expensive. For 3 adults 3 teens and 1 preschooler, we paid $289.08. The Viator “skip the line” for three places is deceiving. We ended up paying an extra 24€ for each adult and half price for teens = about $129.00 some dollars!!! Weds- St Peters Basillica is closed and free.
Review by: Gordon N, April 2018
This is an essential tour. I loved the Vatican museum, and of course seeing the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. But for me the highlight was being inside St Peter's Basilica. The guide was fantastic. So much history. Wonderful!
Review by: Liza E, April 2018
Very good tour
Review by: Nancy W, April 2018
This tour was on the Sat. before Easter. It was supposed to have a maximum of 25 on it but there were 31 on our tour. The museum was crazy crowded that day. The company had not purchased our entry tickets prior to entering the museum so the group had to wait for our tickets. Two in my group of 6 had to leave due to being very sick before the entrance tickets were purchased and the guide knew this but she went ahead and purchased the tickets when she could have saved that money. There were 3 children under 18 in my group. The entrance ticket price for them is 8 Euros but the company charged 16 Euros for each of them. They also charged 8 Euros over the price of an entrance ticket for the adults. It was a big rip off. Do not use this company. The tour was supposed to be 3.5 hours and we were not even in the museum and St. Peter's for 3 hours total. We saw very little of the Vatican Museum.
Review by: Ryan W, April 2018
No signage, instruction, etc. so I got into the French line unknowingly. Once I got to the front I was directed back to the english line. Neither my wife or my headphone worked well. The guide got us in but knew little. Only benefit is skipping the regular line, but you can do that other ways.
Review by: Jacs, April 2018
A lovely lady,Christie, was our tour guide. She was very knowledgeable and made sure we all kept together. The Vatican is very busy and so great to skip the line. Recommend this trip.
Review by: Pilar I, April 2018
Extremely crowded. There was a charge to skip the line even though we still had to wait in line, the guide was excellent but it was difficult to hear her. I do not understand why I had to pay an additional 24 euros as it should have been included in the price of the tour. It certainly does not make sense to wait until the day of the tour to purchase the tickets. If this was the case, it would have been best to buy them online from the Vaticano and gotten a guide with the price included. I don't think it is worth it going with this company. We had a tour for the colosseum tour with another company through viator and did not have the tickets problem.
Review by: Carmen, April 2018
A little disappointed, could not go to Basilica because it was closed for Easter. Went next day and stood on line for 1 and 1/2 hours to get in. No skip the line there...... Otherwise a good tour. Guide was very knowledgeable.
Review by: Helen J, April 2018
Only way to see the Vatican is to skip the line. Truly amazing - both the sights and our guide's knowledge and passion she has. Well worth it. Don't forget to climb to the roof.
Review by: Samir E, March 2018
Very knowledgeable tour guide, very organized.
Review by: Sharon A, March 2018
Our tour was changed from an AM tour to a PM tour due to an unscheduled Vatican Museum closing. We were contacted by Viator and offered the later time and were appreciative that we were still able to get into a scheduled tour. Since the Vatican Museums had been closed for many days, it was very busy but we still had a great tour with Vasco as our guide
Review by: Yvie, March 2018
Full morning, went on a Sunday so we got a papal blessing. Even with crowds this was an awesome experience and an exceptional guide.
Review by: vikki, March 2018
Great tour and overwhelming amount of information. It's a memory and visual overload. There is so much to see. No way to see it all even if you were there a week. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. 1/2 is plenty to do in a day. By the end you are tired and brain shot. I would recommend to anyone just be prepared for lots to look at. Our guide was great. Her English was a little hard to follow but she was great none the less.
Review by: Stephen, November 2017
A good guided tour but there was not much skipping the line because of the size of the crowds in the Museum and the Chapel. An awesome place to see with the displayed wealth and history. It is recommended that an early tour be taken to try to avoid the crowds. The whole day could be spent in the complex to try to get an idea of the history of the place and see most of the content of the whole place.
Review by: CHIA CHEN L, November 2017
We really enjoyed this tour. Highly recommended.
Review by: winder, November 2017
Excellent tour and well managed. Do not miss this when in Vatican, it's a beautiful experience.
Review by: Victoria M, November 2017
The guide was fantastic. He was very knowledgeable and interesting. It was worth the extra money we paid for the tour.
Review by: Ambika S, November 2017
The Skip the line worked out perfect, we did not have to wait in lines, and we had a great tour guide, who was very knowledgeable and took us to the main sights. Make sure ladies, do not wear anything above the knees and cover your shoulders when visiting the churches, in case you forgot, there are vendors selling scarfs to cover your knees or shoulders. We had a great time
Review by: Michael S, November 2017
I highly recommend this tour, especially if its your first time visiting the Vatican. Skipping the line was almost worth the extra cost alone. Our tour guide was fantastic. She showed, and explained, some of the highlights of the Vatican. She let us spend free time at some of the attractions such as The Sistine Chapel.
Review by: Lisa N, November 2017
Our guide, Linda, was fantastic! There is so much to see in the Vatican Museums and having a guide was a huge plus, as was the Skip the Line. Really enjoyed this tour!
Review by: GABRIELLE M R, November 2017
Had a great guide who was very knowledgeable and thoughtful in how she led the tour and shared information. Totally worth it!
Review by: Carl H, November 2017
Excellent tour.
Review by: Kieran A, November 2017
An amazing trip and insight of the Vatican. Tour guide Gulio was informative and added that bit extra to the day and visit around the religious city! 5*
Review by: Thelma, November 2017
This tour was highly recomended. The tour guide Anna was excelent sharing her knowledge to us. We think Anna is the best guide in over all trip we done so far and the excellent service of Enjoy Rome agency was great. Thank you Viator.
Review by: William L G, November 2017
Very nice tour. Just enough history to keep it interesting. Got to see all the main things--V. museum, Sistine, St. Peter's. SKIP THE LINE is well worth the money. Lines everywhere that we just went right by and were able to use our time enjoying the sights instead of standing in line.
Review by: annemarieelam, November 2017
Well worth the money! The Vatican, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica can be overwhelming, so having a guide helps make the experience awesome! We learned so much and it was nice to know what exactly we were looking at. Our guide, Guillio, was funny and really knew what he was talking about.
Review by: Rex S, November 2017
We greatly enjoyed this tour, most especially St Peter's Basilica. Our tour guide was passionate and knowledgeable about The Vatican Museums. Highly recommended.
Review by: Jessica c, November 2017
Definetly worth it. Our tour guide was Gulio and he was funny and kept us entertained. This is the 3rd time I’ve done a tour similar to this one, and this by far was the best one.
Review by: polosandbelts, November 2017
great tour.
Review by: Florian Paul K, November 2017
It was a great experience using the skip the line guided tour. I would highly reccomend.
Review by: Jen, November 2017
Always buy a skip the line tour! You never want to waste your time in line if you don't have to. Make the most of your trip and book these tours wherever you are and whatever city you are visiting. You get to see the highlights w/very knowledgeable guides!
Review by: surfsierra, November 2017
Our guide Alfredo was very knowledgeable and truly seemed to enjoy what he was doing. When we saw the line wrapping around the entire square when we exited the basilica we were even more thankful to have skipped the line. All three sights were breathtaking.
Review by: Tonianne F, November 2017
Using a tour guide is the only way to learn about the history of the Vatican. Great Tour !
Review by: logan, November 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Mark, November 2017
We had so much fun with the tour. The tour guide was so enthusiastic and we had learned so much.
Review by: Maria V, November 2017
These places were my husband's favorite, I've been here 6 years ago, there are some changes. My husband loved all the art works, paintings, mosaic arts, tapestries. Religious artifacts of St. Peter's Basilica, all of it and all about it._br/_ Our guide Mama G was very nice and funny too.
Review by: Christine Z, October 2017
Valentina was lovely. She knew a lot about the paintings and patiently explained the Sistine Chapel's individual components/panels. This really helped make the experience more remarkable than just going straight there and staring up at the ceiling. The group was a decent size, and Valentina made sure to keep us entertained even as we shuffled along behind large crowds. She pointed out interesting statutes and explained each room of the museum.
Review by: ga_huber, October 2017
You want to book a Skip the Line tour to avoid the long lines. This is a tour you want to take. Our guide was excellent.
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