Skip-the-Line Group Tour of the Vatican, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica
Overview
A holiday in Rome without visiting the Vatican is like a day at the beach without swimming in the sea. See the best of the Vatican museums and gain direct entrance with skip-the-line access to the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica, while our excellent guides entertain you with stories that go with each masterpiece.
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This budget-friendly tour is the best value for money for travellers that are interested in 1) seeing the museum’s highlights 2) meeting a new friend or two through your group and 3) skipping the lines (trust us, with over 6 million tourist spilling into the museum every year, you'll want it!)
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Disclaimer: you will be entering the Vatican museum during one of the busiest times of the day. While the tour provides skip-the-line access, the crowds in the museum vary from day to day and some delay with security can be expected (it would be misleading for other tour operators to not tell you this!)
.
This budget-friendly tour is the best value for money for travellers that are interested in 1) seeing the museum’s highlights 2) meeting a new friend or two through your group and 3) skipping the lines (trust us, with over 6 million tourist spilling into the museum every year, you'll want it!)
.
Disclaimer: you will be entering the Vatican museum during one of the busiest times of the day. While the tour provides skip-the-line access, the crowds in the museum vary from day to day and some delay with security can be expected (it would be misleading for other tour operators to not tell you this!)
Inclusions
- An expert tour guide with over 10 years of experience. Excellent story teller.
- Guaranteed skip-the-line access to the Vatican Museums
- Admission tickets to the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica
- Guaranteed to skip the lines
- Entry/Admission - Sistine Chapel
- Entry/Admission - St. Peter's Basilica
- Entry/Admission - Vatican Museums
What to expect
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Borgo, Via dei Corridori, Rome Italy
Meet your tour guide at our office, located in the oldest neighbourhoods of the Vatican, Borgo Pio. Following a self introduction by your guide, you will walk through the charming shops of the Borgo, as he/she shares some local tips for eating and site seeing in Rome, including off the beaten track sites that you must visit during your holiday!
Some background will also be provided on the history of the Sistine Chapel (we do it here as the chapel forbids noise and travellers are expected to observe silence once entering).
Duration: 40 minutes
Pass By: Via della Conciliazione, Rome Italy
Admire the flags and surrounding embassies as you walk through this street, which serve as the primary access point to St. Peter's Square, and by extension, to the Vatican City itself.
Stop At: St. Peter's Square, Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Vatican City Italy
We arrive at St. Peter's Square, which is marked by a towering Egyptian obelisk and enveloped by columns and statues of saints. Hear about the history of the square and the legendary artist Bernini who designed it.
Fun fact- the Pope addresses crowds from his apartment window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, during the Papal audience held every Wednesday and Sunday morning.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Vatican City Italy
En route to the museum, you will get to see and hear about how residents of the smallest city in the word go about their day to day life (including getting their mail!) Snap a pic of the Swiss guards- the pontifical bodyguards in their distinctly Renaissance uniforms.
Our Tip: send yourself a post card after the tour. The post office sells a variety of memorabilia, including stamps with Pope Francis's face!
Then, slowly head towards the museum's entrance, where you will be led to a special area reserved for skip-the-line groups.
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Vatican Museums, Viale Vaticano, 00120 Vatican City Italy
Be prepared to hear about stories as your guide walk you through an astonishing collection of Roman and Greek statues, the gallery of tapestries, and a gallery of maps depicting 16th century Italy.
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: Sistine Chapel, Viale Vaticano, 00165 Vatican City Italy
Admire Michelangelo's famous works, including the Creation of Adam and the Last Judgement. This spectacular fresco evokes lifelike images within the mind, vividly portraying stories of mankind in the biblical era.
Note that the museum requires visitors to observe silence and a dress code (knees and shoulders covered).
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: St. Peter's Basilica, Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Vatican City Italy
You will be brought in front of St. Peter's Church, where a special entrance will allow you to enter directly from the museum and bypass the long queue out in the square. Got questions? Ask you guide before parting ways!
Duration: 15 minutes
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Borgo, Via dei Corridori, Rome Italy
Meet your tour guide at our office, located in the oldest neighbourhoods of the Vatican, Borgo Pio. Following a self introduction by your guide, you will walk through the charming shops of the Borgo, as he/she shares some local tips for eating and site seeing in Rome, including off the beaten track sites that you must visit during your holiday!
Some background will also be provided on the history of the Sistine Chapel (we do it here as the chapel forbids noise and travellers are expected to observe silence once entering).
Duration: 40 minutes
Pass By: Via della Conciliazione, Rome Italy
Admire the flags and surrounding embassies as you walk through this street, which serve as the primary access point to St. Peter's Square, and by extension, to the Vatican City itself.
Stop At: St. Peter's Square, Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Vatican City Italy
We arrive at St. Peter's Square, which is marked by a towering Egyptian obelisk and enveloped by columns and statues of saints. Hear about the history of the square and the legendary artist Bernini who designed it.
Fun fact- the Pope addresses crowds from his apartment window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, during the Papal audience held every Wednesday and Sunday morning.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Vatican City Italy
En route to the museum, you will get to see and hear about how residents of the smallest city in the word go about their day to day life (including getting their mail!) Snap a pic of the Swiss guards- the pontifical bodyguards in their distinctly Renaissance uniforms.
Our Tip: send yourself a post card after the tour. The post office sells a variety of memorabilia, including stamps with Pope Francis's face!
Then, slowly head towards the museum's entrance, where you will be led to a special area reserved for skip-the-line groups.
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Vatican Museums, Viale Vaticano, 00120 Vatican City Italy
Be prepared to hear about stories as your guide walk you through an astonishing collection of Roman and Greek statues, the gallery of tapestries, and a gallery of maps depicting 16th century Italy.
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: Sistine Chapel, Viale Vaticano, 00165 Vatican City Italy
Admire Michelangelo's famous works, including the Creation of Adam and the Last Judgement. This spectacular fresco evokes lifelike images within the mind, vividly portraying stories of mankind in the biblical era.
Note that the museum requires visitors to observe silence and a dress code (knees and shoulders covered).
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: St. Peter's Basilica, Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Vatican City Italy
You will be brought in front of St. Peter's Church, where a special entrance will allow you to enter directly from the museum and bypass the long queue out in the square. Got questions? Ask you guide before parting ways!
Duration: 15 minutes
Additional information
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 200 travelers
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Ticket delivery
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
Cancellation
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.
Sarina T
June 2022
Good tour, very informative. St. Basilica was amazing. I guess under the circumstances you could say it was skip the line but to be clear, there are still lines to stand in and waiting around that will happen. Wish we had more time at the church for sure & the opportunity to go to the top for tho...
Good tour, very informative. St. Basilica was amazing. I guess under the circumstances you could say it was skip the line but to be clear, there are still lines to stand in and waiting around that will happen. Wish we had more time at the church for sure & the opportunity to go to the top for those who were interested. Having the guide was great - I definitely learned a lot in the Vatican Museums. It was a tonnnn of walking. By the time we reached the Sistine Chapel my lower half was on fire so I didn't stay as long as I'd originally planned. Wear great shoes!VictoriaSitters
June 2022
You really don’t skip the line but the information from the guide was worth it especially getting around without becoming lost.
You really don’t skip the line but the information from the guide was worth it especially getting around without becoming lost.Lorraine_B
June 2022
We lost the guide when we went through the disabled access to get into the basilica. The guide then waited until 11am to try to contact me through messenger from a 9 am tour. We ended up having to do the museum on our own and had an argument with the staff at the Sistine chapel as we didn’t have ...
We lost the guide when we went through the disabled access to get into the basilica. The guide then waited until 11am to try to contact me through messenger from a 9 am tour. We ended up having to do the museum on our own and had an argument with the staff at the Sistine chapel as we didn’t have a ticket,!Elise_B
June 2022
Our guide was FANTASTIC. It was an incredibly hot day but he kept his energy and ensured we were all well looked after (and found lots of shade). Very knowledgeable and entertaining. Take this tour!
Our guide was FANTASTIC. It was an incredibly hot day but he kept his energy and ensured we were all well looked after (and found lots of shade). Very knowledgeable and entertaining. Take this tour!Marni G
June 2022
We started our tour at 8.45 with our guide explaining that it would be a three hour tour. I completely get that the line just to get through security was nearly an hour. No one can skip this queue. Then we had to wait for our earpiece things. Then we got in to St. Peter’s which was beautiful and ...
We started our tour at 8.45 with our guide explaining that it would be a three hour tour. I completely get that the line just to get through security was nearly an hour. No one can skip this queue. Then we had to wait for our earpiece things. Then we got in to St. Peter’s which was beautiful and learned some very interesting things. Then we went into the Vatican museum - we could skip the line here as there was some people queuing for tickets. But it was really getting on now and it was around midday and three hours in. At 12.30 in the Vatican museum, the guide says there’ll be 3 more hours!!!! At that point we hadn’t seen anything but the Roman sculpture. We handed our headsets back to the guide. The kids were exhausted and hungry. We marched through the rest of the Vatican museums pausing for the Raphael rooms and the Sistine chapel. If you go on this tour you will need to bring your lunch and possibly your dinner too, and litres of water. The guide was pleasant and knowledgeable but it was just too long.Marc_B
June 2022
Norman was very knowledgeable but also very personable. He made the tour as interesting and exciting as it could be. While waiting for security check he made sure to give tidbits of information so it felt we weren’t spending too much time on line. Would recommend this to anyone and everyone looki...
Norman was very knowledgeable but also very personable. He made the tour as interesting and exciting as it could be. While waiting for security check he made sure to give tidbits of information so it felt we weren’t spending too much time on line. Would recommend this to anyone and everyone looking for a deep dive into Vatican City and all it has to offer.