Christian Rome Tour: Explore Religion, History, and Art in the Papal Basilicas
4.3
9 Ratings
Roma
Embark on a Christian Rome Tour and delve into the rich history, art, and religion of the Papal Basilicas. Explore the ancient sites where faith, history, and art converge, and marvel at the architectural masterpieces of St. Peter's Basilica.
Duration: 4 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Basilica Papale San Paolo Fuori le Mura - The Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls (Italian: Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura), commonly known as St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, is one of Rome’s four ancient, papal, major basilicas,[a] along with the basilicas of St. John in the Lateran, St. Peter’s, and St. Mary Major.

The basilica is within Italian territory and not the territory of the Vatican City State, but the Holy See owns the Basilica, and Italy is legally obligated to recognize its full ownership and to concede to it “the immunity granted by International Law to the headquarters of the diplomatic agents of foreign States”

What's Included
  • Small group limited to a maximum of 14 people
  • Local guide
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off inside aurelian walls
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Food & Drinks
Additional Information

Embark on a journey of discovery through Rome, amid sights that mark it as the heart of Christianity. Experience the ancient history by traversing the awe-inspiring Papal Basilicas, where the worlds of history, faith, and art are woven together by popes, saints, and artists. Traverse the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, which boasts a scenic medieval cloister, before traveling to Rome’s first Basilica, St. John Lateran, the site where political powers and the Church collided. Further immerse yourself in Catholic heritage at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, the most significant Roman church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, laden with an abundance of mosaics and adornments. Culminate your tour by marveling at the artistic loftiness and architectural grandeur of St. Peter’s Basilica, and the supreme works of artistry from Bernini and Michelangelo.

  • It is recommended to wear comfortable shoes
  • A dress code is required to enter places of worship and selected museums. No shorts or sleeveless tops allowed. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women. You may risk refused entry if you fail to comply with these dress requirement
Location
P.za della Repubblica, 48
Piazza della Repubblica
Meeting point is in front of Palazzo Naiadi hotel.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.3
(9 Ratings)
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1 star
Razteach
Oct 23, 2019
Christain Rome Tour Semi-Private - Our Tour Guide was excellent. She was very knowledgeable. There were only four of us on the tour and we are family members. I appreciate Viator accommodating us when I requested a shorter tour due to time constraints as to when we had to meet our Trafalgar Tour at the hotel. The three basilicas we saw were very beautiful and impressive. (We had to omit one basilicas the reason above and we were going to see St. Peter's the next day anyway.) Our driver was also excellent and very friendly. I highly recommend this tour
Review provided by Viator
Lynne
Jun 27, 2019
Great tour - We had booked the semi-private tour but it happened that we were the only two on the tour. They picked us up on time and Debra did a wonderful job explaining the Churches that we saw while Alexander drove us safely around Rome. Since we were the only ones on the tour we were able to adapt it a bit to something we really wanted to see. I would recommend this company.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kerry_e
Jun 8, 2018
This was the most wonderful tour... - <p>This was the most wonderful tour. The extraordinarily knowledgeable young woman who ran the tour covered, art, history and theology and was such a delight. She has been studying archeology for a long time and it showed. She also gave us tips about getting around the city and what to look out for. As the tour is recently new on viator I was unsure what to expect but it exceeded our expectations and was one of the best if not the best Roman tour we took. We had our own driver as there was only the two us booked and he was also very accommodating and pleasant. Apparently they never take more that eight as they like to ensure you have their full attention. The car/van was spotless and the air conditioning was a treat in the Roman heat. Thank you so much, you made the start of our holiday very special. Wow, wow and wow! Kerry and Harry Williams</p>
Review provided by Viator
John
Apr 4, 2018
This was our favorite tour. Both... - <p>This was our favorite tour. Both the guide and driver were fantastic. If you like visiting very old churches and enjoy factual information take this one. Another great perk-- they pick you up at your hotel! No running around trying to find meeting places!</p>
Review provided by Viator
Michele
May 23, 2023
Great quick tour - Very quick tours in and out of the cathedrals, but very knowledgeable guide and great driver! Great way to see all the important Catholic basilicas.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hemin_p
Jun 6, 2024
Expected more - I think for us we expected this to be a Christian tour as the title says, however our guide was non religious and it seemed like we learnt more about the art work or artists, than about how the church’s relate to Christianity. I would have appreciated the tour to be a little more in depth, it felt like we were in and out. Our driver was amazing, the tour guide was also amazing, only thing is we wanted more knowledge on the Christianity side of things, which is why we booked a Christian tour.
Review provided by Viator
John_e
Jun 12, 2019
Not worth the money - basically paid for the ride - Started with confusion on hotel pick up - we were waiting at front of hotel, don’t know where the guide was waiting. The guide (female, already forgot her name) seemed unorganized and did not fully plan ahead. We were grateful that we were the only ones to sign up for this tour as we had the tour to ourselves. The driver seemed nice, and did his job of dropping us off and picking us up from each location. However, both the driver and guide seemed to disagree/argue in Italian frequently during our tours which was not very professional. Overall the guide seemed to pick the churches that did not have a fee (and therefore did not need to have a schedule or much of a plan). She also seemed to lack in Catholic and historic information, but was ok with knowledge of some architecture. We tried to give her the benefit of the doubt and be polite. First stop we visited St. Peter square only. Our guide said the lines were too long and our whole trip would be wasted waiting to get in (so why didn't she purchase advance tickets for us??). Visited Saint Paul outside the walls - beautiful church with lots of history but the guide basically let us go on our own. A quick tour of St. Basilica of St. John in the Lateran. When we arrived at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore we were too late to see it since it closed at 7 & we arrived 6:40 (the guards wouldn’t allow in since they closed in 20 minutes). Maybe not entirely our guides fault but the timing should have been planned better. We did get to go across the street to St. Lawrence to see the Holy Stairs, but again we went inside without the guide. The guide wanted to find another church to tour (to make up for the ones we couldn’t see?) but by that time we were tired and just wanted to return to our hotel. Perhaps with a different guide or a more definitive plan, the tour would have been satisfactory.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 13 guests
1 Adult
July 2024
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