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Early Morning Vatican Tour | Small Group
Experience a complete tour of the Vatican. Visit the Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museums and Saint Peter's Square as well as exploring the Raphael Rooms and other rooms normally closed to the public.From
€89Book Now3:30hSmall GroupAbout Rome
Why Choose It?
- Save time: entering the Sistine Chapel with skip-the-line tickets.
- Maximize your experience with entry 1.5-hours before everyone else.
- Enjoy personalized attention within the intimacy of a small group.
- Discover Michelangelo's masterpieces without any crowds
Tour Description
**Temporarily Unavailable. Please check out our Early Bird at the Vatican with Breakfast tour instead**
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to wander the Vatican’s fabled halls alone? To have its treasures all to yourself? Now, thanks to our valued partnership with the Vatican Museums, you can do just this, embarking on the experience of a lifetime right in the heart of the Papal State.
Your private, in-depth 3.5-hour tour takes you through the vast collections of the Vatican Museums, honing in on the highlights as you make your way towards the sublime Sistine Chapel. After admiring Michelangelo’s masterpiece and soaking in the Vatican’s insurmountable artistic beauty, your tour arrives in Saint Peter’s Basilica, the most important holy site in the western world, and concludes in its square.
Embark on your cultural odyssey in the Vatican Museums
Because the Vatican Museums are amongst the largest in the world, visiting them without a guide can be daunting. Going on a private Vatican tour means you can ensure your Vatican experience will be as enriching and efficient as possible, as your expert guide picks out the right highlights for you. If there’s something in particular you would like to see or something you want to know more about, you can always personalize your tour to dig deeper into the Vatican’s history.
As you make your way through the Vatican Museums, you’ll encounter the busts of the Roman emperors who shaped the Eternal City and statues of the Greco-Roman gods they worshipped. Many reside within the stunning Gallery of the Candelabra, but we’ll take you deeper, nourishing your knowledge with art, history, and even space.
Visit the Gallery of Maps, Gallery of Tapestries, and the Hall of Masks
The Vatican Museums’ Gallery of Maps displays another stunning collection. Its impossibly ornate golden ceilings shine ever brighter when there are no crowds below. Learn all about how those before us understood their world as your guide deciphers the maps and symbols painted onto the walls.
Your private Vatican and Sistine Chapel tour makes another stop at the Gallery of Tapestries. So impossibly intricate are the tapestries’ Flemish designs that it’s difficult to believe they were woven by hand. Each tapestry tells a story – from biblical episodes to the assassination of Caesar – which your guide will bring to life.
Experience having the Sistine Chapel almost entirely to yourself
Most consider the Sistine Chapel the highlight of their private Vatican tour. When experienced in near silence, without the hundreds of tourists who crowd it every day, it really is a sight to behold. Savor this sacred moment as you marvel at Michelangelo’s epic Last Judgement and glorious Creation of Adam.
An expert in art history and specialist in the Vatican’s collection, your guide will provide all the context you need to fully appreciate these seminal pieces in western art. Michelangelo was as prolific as he was brilliant and can be credited with contributing many things to the city of Rome – including the Dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica. Stand in the Sistine Chapel, however, and you’ll likely agree that this was his magnum opus.
Surround yourself with the ornate splendor of Saint Peter’s Basilica
Our licensed guide will navigate you through the special skip-the-line secret passage to Saint Peter’s Basilica. Lining the medieval walls and vaulted ceilings of this epicenter of the Christian world are some of Rome’s most stunning artworks. Mosaics, one of Rome’s most traditional forms of art, narrate many significant episodes from the Bible – episodes brought to life by your expert guide.
As well as mosaics, Saint Peter’s contains an array of Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces. As well as designing the magnificent Dome, Michelangelo left another legacy here. His Pietà is one of the western world’s most moving statues – its pathos echoed by the brilliance of Bernini’s Baldachin, which you’ll discover too.
Your VIP Sistine Chapel tour concludes in Saint Peter’s Square
Leaving Saint Peter’s Basilica, we come onto the expansive Vatican Square. Its stunning colonnades are the work of Bernini, whose influence resonates across the whole of Rome. Admire the towering Egyptian obelisk standing in the center of the square, a monolith dating back to the 19th century BC and imported to Rome from Heliopolis in Egypt by the mad emperor Caligula.
Standing in the shade of this structure, you can soak in the Vatican’s atmosphere as the crowds arrive and join the long lines outside. Having explored all the highlights of the papal collection, you can then go about your day and continue exploring the Eternal City.
9015
- Itinerary:Vatican MuseumsGallery of TapestriesGallery of MapsGallery of the CandelabraRaphael Rooms or Cabinet of MasksSaint Peter's BasilicaSaint Peter's Square
- Included:Skip-the-line entranceExclusive earliest access to the Sistine ChapelPrivate licensed tour guide
- Wheelchair accessible:Yes
- Meeting Point:Entrance of the Vatican Museum, Viale Vaticano.
excellent guides
Our guides are fluent in English and have a contagious passion for the inspiring cultural heritage of our Italian cities. Experts in their fields, they will immerse you in the hidden histories and intriguing lives of history's great protagonists. So much to see, so easy to miss out: with the help of our guides, visit the most absorbing sites and uncover the stories that have changed the world. Don't miss this fascinating journey!
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