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Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel Tour: Skipped Lines and Treasured Art
4.7
1,009 Ratings
Roma
Experience the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel like never before with a Skip the Line tour. Enjoy treasured art, expert guides, and the option to upgrade to a private or small group tour.
Duration:
2 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Vatican City - The Vatican Museums are the crowning highlight of Vatican City. Explore with us on a group tour led by a expert local guide.
- Vatican Museums - Together with your guide, set foot inside the smallest country in the world via the fastest possible entrance!
- Sphere within a Sphere - The bronze Sphere within a Sphere sculpture by Arnaldo Pomodoro marries this historic setting with a touch of modern art.
- Cortile della Pigna - One of the first stops inside the Vatican Museums is the Pinecone Courtyard where you will find the Sphere within a Sphere sculpture as well as the Roman fountain, an enormous bronze pinecone, that lends the courtyard its name.
- Gallery Of The Maps - In this Gallery of hand-painted maps, you can admire the world how it was seen nearly 5 centuries ago. With the help of your guide, pick out the towns in Italy you have visited, or just enjoy the incredible hand-painted details that make these maps unique.
- Stanze di Raffaello - “Raphael’s Rooms” inside the Vatican Museums are a spectacular testament to the talent of the painter Raphael, as well the inspiration of the master Michelangelo. Explore them with your guide.
- Sistine Chapel - Your guide will prepare you to take in the Sistine Chapel ahead of time, as no speaking is allowed in this sacred place. Admire this monumental work by Michelangelo.
- Museo Pio Clementino - The Vatican Museums are made up of multiple Museums forming many “wings”. The wing containing the highest concentration of highlights is the Pio Clementino Museum. Follow your guide from the Octagonal open-air courtyard where you will encounter the Laocoonte and Apollo Belvedere, to the eerily life-like statues in the Room of the Animals. Check out the masterfully painted vaults creating a 3D effect in the Gallery of the Candelabra.
- Museos Vaticanos - Your visit ends at the entrance of the Vatican Museums. From here, you are free to continue to explore on your own within official opening hours.
- St. Peter’s Basilica - For the guided tour options only, and when available, Skip the Line access to St. Peter’s Basilica via a special exit from the Sistine Chapel will be offered to you at no extra cost. Please note that St. Peter’s Basilica is a separate venue from the Vatican Museums, is free to enter and does not require ticket. However, skip the line access is only possible via the museums and is not available at all dates and times. It is not possible to know in advance when access to the Basilica will be available. At the time, our 3:15PM tour departure does not include Basilica Access.
What's Included
- Skip-the-Line access to Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel
- Headsets for clear guidance (guided tours only)
- Expert Insider Guide (guided tours only)
What's Not Included
- Food & Beverages
- Gratuities
Additional Information
Take part in the classic Skip the Line tour that includes the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and Raphael’s rooms. When possible, enjoy Skip the Line Access to St. Peter’s Basilica at the end of your tour. Experience all of the key points of interest. Let your knowledgeable guide make your tour fun and engaging! Group tours are limited to a maximum of 20 people for easy listening via headsets during exploration. Want a more personalized or intimate experience? Upgrade to a Private Tour or opt for the Small Group option (10 people or fewer). Prefer to explore independently? Choose the ticket-only escorted option, bypass the lines, and then roam freely. However, note that ticket-only escorted options do not grant entry to St. Peter’s Basilica.
- Children 6 and under are entitled to free access to the Vatican Museums (with proof of age)
- Children aged 7-18 are entitled to a reduced entry fee (see tour and ticket pricing) and must provide proof of age.
- Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
- 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 requirements.
- At least 4 people are required for the guided tour option to take place.
- Check-in is 15 minutes prior to the booked start time. Tickets are time sensitive and we cannot accomodate late arrivals.
- Entrance into St. Peter’s Basilica is separate from the Vatican Museums and is not always available. When available, you will be given the option to benefit from Skip the Line Access to St. Peter’s Basilica at no extra cost. Entrance to the Basilica is free and does not require a ticket.
- Guests with a certified disability of over 75% are entitled to free entrance to the Vatican and do not require a ticket. For guests who are not self-sufficient, free entry is extended to a companion.
Location
Via Tunisi, 4
Via Tunisi
Plan on arriving to our meeting point at least 15 minutes in advance of your selected
departure time. Meet our representative on the steps at Via Tunisi, located at the corner with Via Sebastiano Veniero. They will be holding a sign with the green EcoArt logo.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.7
(1009 Ratings)
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Constantinap29
May 28, 2024
An informative, awe inspiring tour filled with art, architecture and history in the splendour of the Vatican. - It was an amazing full 2.5hr tour of the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel & Raphael Rooms, where a lot would be lost without a very informative tour guide like Stephano. The Basilica is not part of the guided tour. Stefano our guide was extremely informative, charismatic and multilingual too. He guided us through the many throngs of visitors and other tour groups, with explanations, and info of the various awe inspiring sculptures, art, architecture, tapestries, techniques, history etc and extra info in pdf form of the Sistine Chapel as no photos are allowed. We also skipped the huge lines for the St. Paul's Basilica, where Stefano also gave us all the necessary directions and info before we entered St. Paul's. Well done Eco art and Stephano.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
K1408omjonathanv
May 28, 2024
Amazing Tour Experience!! - Sara was an AMAZING tour guide!!! We all really enjoyed her guiding us through and explaining each area. She was so sweet. The tour itself was great! We were able to get easy entry into the museums and able to bypass the long lines.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lillian_m
May 27, 2024
Great experience! - Everything was so beautiful and spiritually enriching. Our guide Sufania , ( sp?), was knowledgeable, kind, personable and very considerate of everyone in our group, ( we had a gentleman who had issues with stairs and a lady who was hearing challlenged, and she worked to accommodate both). She was a fabulous guide.
Review provided by Viator
O7670anwilliaml
May 27, 2024
Crowded, but the guide was well informed and allowed us to get the important information. - Francesco did an amazing job breaking down the art, details, and history of the Vatican. It’s a chaotic place to visit in May, and he was able to skillfully maneuver the group to what he wanted to discuss, and carve out enough space in the crowd to make it not feel so rushed. Fantastic job.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alison_p
May 26, 2024
Great tour! - Polina was our guide and did an excellent job explaining all the important pieces in the Vatican and Sistine Chapel and always answered any questions anyone had. Being pregnant, I was having a hard time on the tour as I have been having fainting spells, and, of course, that kicked into full gear during the tour. Polina was very accommodating and let me sit/rest whenever there was a chance, as this tour is lots of walking and standing. It was a beautiful tour and we left feeling like we learned a lot!
Review provided by Viator
L1372bdjamiej
May 26, 2024
Great pace and guide! - Loreley was a wonderful guide and kept a well rounded pace. She was patient and attentive. As expected the Vatican was very crowded, but having her guide us through the maze made the experience more enjoyable than being lost ourselves. Skip the line access is worth it in our opinion especially since we don’t have the knowledge as Loreley did.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
K2942ijmaryc
May 25, 2024
Great visit to Rome. - Very good. Nicolette was excellent! The crowd were high and Nicolette was very good at keeping us together while being polite to the other groups.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
H1461yjtomh
May 25, 2024
Holy smoke - A very nice guided tour that gave a lot of information about what we saw and about the history behind it. Our guide Laura was absolutely fantastic and made a 2.5 hour tour a great experience. She had a lot of knowledge and told interesting stories in a fun way. Extremely pleased with her and the experience. Roll of the dice 6
Review provided by Tripadvisor
2830tracey
May 27, 2024
Definitely worth a visit - We visited as a group of four and all agreed the visit was definitely better with a live tour guide. Our guide, Elena, was very informative and passionate. Keeping the group together in the very, very busy Vatican Museums. The Basilica is a must visit at the end of the tour, very impressive. We found the meeting point a little difficult to find, so recommended arriving in plenty of time. Tour is not cheap but we couldn’t visit Rome and not visit the Vatican
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lindsey_k
May 26, 2024
Great experience - I was slightly concerned about the ease of finding our group, but the company gave wonderful ad easy-to-follow instructions for meeting our tour guide.
Assunta, our guide, was fantastic! She was knowledgeable about the incredible array or art we saw, had very interesting tidbits to share, and was skilled at navigating a group through a sea of humanity! Well done!
My only complaint is that we were not able to stay in the museum longer to explore portions not covered by our tour.
Review provided by Viator
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