Private Vatican Museums Tour with Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica

What better way to see the Vatican than with your own private guide? Do just that on this 3-hour walking tour, and explore the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica with customized commentary. From the splendor of Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgement” fresco to the intrigue of an architectural optical illusion in St Peter’s Square, this in-depth tour charts the stories behind the Vatican’s sacred sites. Even better, the tour provides access that allows you to skip all the entrance lines — even the priority ones.

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Vatican City, Vatican City, Lazio

Discover the renowned art and architecture of the Vatican on this skip-the-line private tour of the Vatican Museums.

Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Vatican Museums, Viale Vaticano, 00120 Vatican City Italy

After meeting your private guide, go straight inside the Vatican Museum with your skip-the line ticket, and let your guide know if there’s anything specific you want to see or any particular interests you have that you’d like to hear more about, such as the history of the Vatican or the sometimes-scandalous stories about its inhabitants over the years.

Follow your guide to some of the complex’s dozens of galleries and rooms, such as Raphael’s Rooms, the Gallery of Maps, the Gallery of Tapestries and the Pinecone Courtyard. Hear about the famed Renaissance masters like Raphael and Michelangelo who created art for the popes, and listen to stories about rivalries between artists.

Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Sistine Chapel, Viale Vaticano, 00165 Vatican City Italy

You’ll eventually reach the Sistine Chapel, known for its iconic frescoes by Michelangelo—The Last Judgment and The Creation of Adam, which decorates the chapel’s sacred ceiling. (Talking inside the chapel is prohibited, so any commentary from your guide will be given outside the doors.)

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: La Pieta, Chapel of the Pieta Basilica Di San Pietro, Vatican City Italy

Next, walk over to St Peter’s Basilica, the Italian Renaissance church that’s home to more artistic masterpieces, most famously Michelangelo’s La Pietà sculpture and Bernini’s bronze baldachin altar canopy.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: St. Peter's Basilica, Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Vatican City Italy

Then head outside for a stroll around St Peter’s Square, where your guide points out Bernini’s use of optical illusion at the colonnades. Your tour ends here, where you can continue exploring on your own.


Duration: 30 minutes