Skip-the-Line Vatican, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's | Small Group

based on 4004 reviews

Duration:3 hours (approx.)
Location: Rome, Italy

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Why book this tour? You visit the Vatican once in a lifetime! Skip-the-line access means you’ll have more time to explore millennia of art and history within these hallowed walls without waiting in the long general admission lines.

Explore the highlights of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica in a small group.

Get straight inside with skip-the-line access to see a host of treasures of the Vatican City, all with enlightening storytelling from a passionate guide.

Dive into the Vatican’s must-see attractions with the highlights you absolutely can't leave Rome without. This tour has been specifically designed to get you inside as quickly as possible with skip-the-line entry.

This is hands down the perfect tour for families traveling with small children or teens, people who "don't do" museum tours, or those who have limited time and want to see the Eternal City in less than an eternity.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

WHAT TO EXPECT

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Meeting Point: The meeting point is our office, very close to the Museums' entrance, the exact address is Via Santamaura 14B. The closest Metro stop is Ottaviano. Please allow extra time due to traffic during the summer months! AFTERNOON TOUR - Meeting Point: Our office is located 2-min away from the Vatican Museums' entrance, the exact address is Via Santamaura 14B. If you do need assistance with how to reach the meeting point, please don't hesitate to contact us.
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We continue our visit entering Vatican City, the smallest country in the world. Encircled by a 2-mile border with Italy, Vatican City is an independent city-state that covers just over 100 acres, making it one-eighth the size of New York’s Central Park. Vatican City is governed as an absolute monarchy with the pope at its head. The Vatican mints its own euros, prints its own stamps, issues passports, licenses plates operates media outlets and has its own flag and anthem. One government function it lacks: taxation. Museum admission fees, stamp and souvenir sales, and contributions generate the Vatican’s revenue.
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The Vatican Museums feature many works of art that belonged to the different Popes and are full of artistic beauty. Here is a glimpse of some of the most beautiful things to see in the Vatican Museums. Rooms and Galleries of the Vatican Museums, as the Greek Cross Room, the Gallery of Maps, the Gallery of Tapestries, Raphael Rooms and much more! These collections have been piled up over the course of centuries through acquisitions, donations, commissions, confiscations, and quite often lucky discoveries from underground Rome and not only.
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The Gallery of Maps is a stupendous hallway where geography and history are perfectly intertwined. Created at the end of the 16th century, the entire room is dedicated to customized maps, which display the whole of Italy. On one side of the 393-foot long gallery are two representations of the country: one from the Imperial Roman Era and the other from the 1500s. Each map shows political happenings, religious roles, and major battles. The ceiling is no less remarkable, with frescoed scenes displaying episodes and miraculous events of apostles, saints, and martyrs, which are linked to the geographical maps below.
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Admire the breathtaking Sistine Chapel of Michelangelo! The most famous section of the Sistine Chapel ceiling is Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam. This scene is located next to the Creation of Eve, which is the panel at the center of the room, and the Congregation of the Waters, which is closer to the altar. Not everything was done by Michelangelo and your expert guide will be able to point that out. This proves just how great artists, even little known, left their marks in these magic locations. This is the right time to discover that!
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If you thought the size of the Vatican Museums was overwhelmingly spectacular, St. Peter’s Basilica takes the “wow factor” to another level. The sheer capacity of the interiors is enough to leave any visitor searching for words to describe its vastness. At 613 feet long, 85 feet wide and 147 feet high, it took an incredible 120 years to build, starting from 1506. Admire Michelangelo’s unparalleled Pietà masterpiece and stroll towards the center-right nave to observe Bernini’s 30-foot high bronze Baldachin, which sits directly atop the site of St. Peter’s tomb.
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A visit to Vatican City would not be complete without standing in awe of the beauty in St. Peter’s Square, also known as Piazza San Pietro. This massive square framing St. Peter’s Basilica is the location where the pope holds Wednesday General Audiences and special masses on religious holidays.

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Posted By : stevenbF9363GO
Great tour of the Vatican and Mario our guide was terrific! The group size was so small (12 people!)…..would DEFINITELY recommend this tour to anyone seeking to see the Vatican while they are in Rome!
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-07-01 10:37:10

Posted By : J4023BEcatherinew
Gabriel on What a Life Tours was great!! I don’t think we were expecting to see as much as we did And was such an ease and clarity. Absolutely loved it🥳!
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Posted On : 2024-07-01 09:00:57

Posted By : Q3781JVclarad
Our guide Gabriel was very knowledgeable and showed us the most important sights and pieces of art. There’s so much to see at the Vatican museums but he kept us focused on the most important things.
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Posted On : 2024-07-01 09:00:04

Posted By : Premmsn
Gabriel was amazing, so much history and facts, he is patient and he explained with in depth knowledge. The tour is well sized small group provided with headphone which are essential to be able to hear clearly.
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Posted On : 2024-07-01 08:59:42

Posted By : Brenda_R
Very packed too many people in the museum at one time. The push 20,000-60,000 people through a day. Unable to stop and actually look at items. They kept you constantly moving. Even with skip the line pass, it was a 45-60 min wait to get in with all the other skip the line tours. Very little early Christian artifacts. Mostly early Roman artifacts. The Sistine Chapel itself was so full, you really were not able to even turn around without hitting someone else. Very little to no air conditioning.
Our tour guide was very knowledgeable.
Had it not been for the way the Vatican pushes people through, it probably would’ve been a better experience.
The St. Peter’s Basilica was very interesting with the mosaic tile artworks that really look like portraits. This is why we gave it even 2 stars.
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Posted On : 2024-07-01 06:54:29

Posted By : Susan_T
Definitely worth it to skip the lines! Our guide John was super knowledgeable and made the whole experience a great one. We learned so much! Book it!
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Posted On : 2024-06-30 11:37:29

Posted By : 316abbeyw
Our tour guide, John, was extremely knowledgeable. He got us in and out of the Vatican in no time. He answered all our questions and was very personable.
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Posted On : 2024-06-30 03:15:42

Posted By : Lauren_R
Mario was very informative, and knowledgeable about all things Vatican. He was also great at answering our questions, and engaged us within the tour. I also really liked how he gave us an overview of the meaning of the paintings within the Sistine Chapel, and provided us with a guide to help us figure out which things were which within the paintings. Overall great tour, and experience, and I would highly recommend it.
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Posted On : 2024-06-29 15:04:22

Posted By : Connector691986
We met our guide, Beatrice, at the tour office near the Vatican. She was warm and friendly, told us about herself, and spoke with all the guests on her tour (four couples). She led us expertly through the Vatican Museums, sharing her vast knowledge, and highlighting specific works of architecture and art. Through the interior and exterior areas she taught us so much of the history of the Vatican. We then went through the Sistine Chapel, where we were given between 10 and 15 minutes to explore, as the guides aren't allowed to speak within those walls. What a moving experience! From there we went outdoors again and over to St. Peters, where we spent more than a half-hour exploring with Beatrice and learning about the history of the Basilica. When the tour ended after more than two hours, she told us we were welcome to stay in St. Peters for another half hour to explore on our own.
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Posted On : 2024-06-29 11:26:28

Posted By : Julia_P
Excellent tour. Lara the guide was so knowledge and thorough. Easy to check in. Highly recommend. The skip the line was well worth the extra money.
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Posted On : 2024-06-29 03:18:06