Guided tour

Rome: Vatican City Highlights Tour with Skip-the-Line Entry

Activity provider: What a Life Tours
Guided tour

Rome: Vatican City Highlights Tour with Skip-the-Line Entry

Activity provider: What a Life Tours
Likely to sell out

From US$ 79 per person

Likely to sell out

See artistic masterpieces the on a guided tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. Skip the long lines to the popular monuments to get a complete Vatican City experience.

About this activity

Free cancellation
Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
Reserve now & pay later
Keep your travel plans flexible — book your spot and pay nothing today.
Duration 3 hours
Check availability to see starting times.
Skip the line through a separate entrance
Live tour guide
English, Spanish
Optional audio guide
Spanish
Small group
Limited to 10 participants

Experience

Highlights
  • Skip the long lines to the main monuments of the Vatican City
  • Marvel at masterpieces of art from Ancient Greece and the Renaissance
  • Explore the Vatican Museums with your tour guide
  • Learn about different artistic techniques and the rivalry between artists
  • See mosaics, golden ceilings, and memorable statues at St. Peter's Basilica
Full description

Save precious time while in Rome with skip-the-line access to the popular monuments of the Vatican City on this guided tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. 

Follow a meticulously designed itinerary to see the best of the city-state and admire priceless treasures such as the massive bronze statue in the Pinecone Courtyard and the historic maps in the Vatican Museum's dedicated Gallery of Maps.

Look at the enigmatic sculpture of Laocoön and His Sons, and discuss techniques used by different artists with your guide. Marvel at Michelangelo's miraculous ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, and get inside details about the 4 years of back-breaking labor it took to complete. Conclude your tour inside St. Peter’s Basilica. Witness the incomparable grandeur of its mosaics, golden ceilings, gigantic statues, and the spectacular dome.

Includes
  • Skip-the-line entrance to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
  • Skip-the-line entrance to St. Peter's Basilica
  • All entrance and reservation fees
  • Professional guide
  • Headsets
  • Free Wi-Fi at the meeting point
  • Hotel pick-up and drop off
  • Optional gratuities
  • Access to the dome at St. Peter's Basilica

Select participants and date

Participants

Date

Meeting point

Meet your guide directly in the office at Via Santamaura 14B.

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Important information

What to bring

  • Face mask or protective covering

Not allowed

  • Pets
  • Shorts
  • Sleeveless shirts

Know before you go

  • This tour involves a fair amount of walking. Comfortable shoes are strongly recommended
  • All visitors must cover their knees and shoulders to enter the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica
  •  Bags measuring more than 40 x 35 x 15 centimeters, tripods, large umbrellas and objects that could be harmful to other visitors or damage the works of art are not allowed into the Vatican Museums and must be stored in the cloakroom
  • The cloakroom is a 20-minute walk from the end point of the tour
  •  St. Peter’s Basilica is an active parish church and subject to unforeseen closure for spiritual celebrations. In the event this happens, the local tour operator will contact you in advance with an alternative tour time or itinerary
Customer reviews

Overall rating

4.7 /5

based on 201 reviews

Review summary

  • Guide
    4.8/5
  • Value for money
    4.6/5
  • Service
    4.5/5
  • Organization
    4.5/5

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Star rating:

We had an incredible experience with our guide. They were very informed, excellent at explaining details that might be missed in the chaos with all the other tour groups simultaneously trying to do the same. 10/10 would recommend this experience to others interested in seeing the Vatican museums and St Peter’s basilica

March 26, 2023

We were a small group of three couples with Marc. We walked a short distance to the entrance of the Vatican Museums before we were handed our tickets and off we went on an amazing journey though one museum after the other with Marc giving a whole array of interesting information. The map room is just wonderful- what a beautiful hall! We then went on to the Cappella Sistina another very special place. From there we took a short route to the Basillica di San Pedro which is more beautiful than you can imagine. We finished the tour there with the option of going up to the top of the dome and/or down into the tombs underneath the Basillica. The three hours flew by and we were all very pleased with the tour. I would highly recommend this particular tour.

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March 26, 2023

Mario was the best guide we had on our tour and that is saying something as we had many excellent guides. He is an incredible story teller that is skilled at putting things in context so you can really understand what you are seeing and why it is there. Hard not to walk through the paintings on the way to the Chapel as there are some amazing works there, but I understand the time constraint.

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March 26, 2023

Product ID: 61140