- Duration
- 3.5 Hours
- Product Type
- Tour
- Venues
-
- Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel
- St. Peter's Basilica
- Vatican Museums
- Sistine Chapel
- St. Peter's Basilica
- Early entry access tickets
- 3.5 hours with a Ph.D. or MA-level guide
Upon entrance this tour will start off in the Vatican Museums, discussing papal history as you start on the ‘percoso classico’, the path to some of the world’s most famous ancient and Renaissance paintings and sculptures. Along the way you may make a number of stops depending on your interests, including the Pio Clementino Museum, the Gallery of Maps, the Gallery of Tapestries, and maybe the Pinacoteca as well, connecting the dots between the history and aesthetic significance of these masterpieces as you stroll. You will benefit from some extra space as you navigate the hallways thanks to your early entrance.
Having been fully briefed by your expert guide when you meet, you will then have the opportunity to enter the Sistine Chapel and admire the intricacy and grandeur of Michelangelo's most admired work.
Your last stop will be St. Peter’s Basilica, where you’ll gaze upon the profound beauty of Michelangelo’s Pietà and survey the church’s celebrated architectural features, before heading out to St. Peter’s Square to finish off with a peek at the Swiss Guards.
Is this tour wheelchair accessible?
While it is possible to visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel in a wheelchair, there is no wheelchair access from the Sistine Chapel to St Peter's Basilica. If you use a wheelchair, please contact us to discuss alternate options.
How crowded are the Vatican sites?
Please be aware that during the summer travel period, the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica can be subject to extremely high levels of visitor traffic. It’s important to anticipate slower movement, limited visibility, and potential restrictions on accessing certain areas due to the density of crowds. Our experienced guides are adept at navigating through these challenging conditions and will strive to optimize your tour experience.
Does this tour include the Raphael Rooms?
They are one of the most visited parts of the Museums, and often become extremely congested, especially during the summer. Our experts typically like to curate a unique tour route that includes areas less explored, with exceptional work worth seeing with fewer crowds. You can request to visit the Raphael Rooms at the start of your tour and your expert can adapt the tour route to include them, please just note this means you'll likely be unable to see other parts of the Museum due to time restrictions.
Why is this tour special compared to other Vatican tours?
Context is proud to offer clients a very unique and exclusive 8 am first entry into the Vatican Museums’ doors, guaranteed to be reserved only to a handful of other collaborating tour operators. This means that you will be among the first to enter both the Museums' galleries and the Sistine Chapel, before the larger daytime crowds flood in.
Does this tour "skip the line"?
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