Vatican Tour: Explore Art and History

Experience the best of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel with a skip-the-line group tour. See masterpieces, get direct access to St. Peter’s Basilica, and learn from an expert guide.

Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Vatican Museums - Discover the Vatican Museums with a knowledgeable guide, and explore the highlights of the remarkable collections featuring an impressive 20,000 works on display. Enjoy over 4 miles of art, sculptures, tapestries, paintings, and architecture.
    Belvedere Courtyard
    Pinecone Courtyard
    Pio Clementino Museum
    Octagonal Courtyard…
What's Included
  • Skip The Line Priority Access Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel Tickets
  • Small Group Tour Experience with Expert Official Licensed Vatican Guide
  • St. Peter’s Basilica if open on the day of your tour (if option selected)
What's Not Included
  • Location Pick Up & Drop Off
  • Scavi / Necropolis
  • St Peter’s Basilica is subject to last-minute closures for religious ceremonies, with no warning
Additional Information

Bypass the line, skip the lengthy queues, and discover the Vatican’s remarkable collections and the breathtaking Sistine Chapel with a knowledgeable guide in a small group setting. This comprehensive and exclusive tour is perfect for those keen to explore all the Vatican has to offer.
The Vatican Museums boast a vast collection of art, showcasing…

Location
Via Germanico, 16
Via Germanico
Once you book, we organize everything. Just show up and check-in at the office (VIA GERMANICO, 16) at the correct time (Please arrive 10 minutes before your booked departure time) and your guide will escort you inside the Museums & provide you with your ticket.
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.6
(3920 Ratings)
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Lisa_c
Jul 23, 2025
Basilica and Sistine chapel tour. - Inside the Sistine chapel and Basilica with highlights of the history by Maggie . Our tour guide was amazing . She was so warm and welcoming and knowledgeable! She contributed to an excellent tour.
Review provided by Viator
Dawn_b
Jul 23, 2025
Christine was awesome-... - Christine was awesome- very knowledgeable - made it very easy to understand and loved that she was American- it is hard to understand the other tour guides that English is second language!
Review provided by Viator
Aszabova
Jul 23, 2025
Would do it again! - So worth the money! Maggie did a wonderful job tying different pieces of history and exhibits in Vatican museum, Sisstin chappel and and St Peter Basilica. It would have been an overwhelming experience otherwise, with crowds and hot weather, but she moved us swiftly through the premises. She engaged entire group, she was witty and passionate. Well done!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cheryl_c
Jul 22, 2025
Vatican - The tour was long and hot but our guide was very informative. The Sistine chapel and St. Peter’s basilica are amazing. Go early as it is hot in there.
Review provided by Viator
Honeycat2307
Jul 20, 2025
Knowledgeable guide and well organised entry. - We booked this tour through GetYourGuide. The information provided before we arrived was excellent. We arrived 20 mins before our allotted time and the check in process was very smooth. I’d forgotten my ID but all was ok. There is a loo at the office on Via Germanico if you need to visit before you leave. Our guide, Christina, was amazing. She set us up with headsets and we followed her to the entrance to the Vatican museums. Taking note of the blistering heat most of our information was shared in the shade - much appreciated. Christina explained all about the Sistine chapel ahead of us going in so that we knew what to look for. Her knowledge of the art was fabulous. We then went to the basilica and again our guide explained what we would see. Would I recommend this way to see the museums- absolutely! There is no way I’d stand in a massive queue to get in and having the guide was essential to get the most out of it. Great value for money.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dustin_s
Jul 19, 2025
The beginning of the tour... - The beginning of the tour was a bit of chaos. Deborah was our guide and she knows how to crack the while but she kept the tour on task and we saw a lot with efficiency. Impossible to take everything in in such a short period but well-done
Review provided by Viator
Mindi_e
Jul 19, 2025
Worth it!!! - We did a tour with Christine & Maya Tours. She was amazing. She was so knowledgeable and the lines were so long but she got us through very quickly and even though it was packed everywhere she seemed to find hidden spots that made it not seem so bad. I went into the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel not knowing much but she explained things so well that I Was able to really understand what I was looking at and when I looked at the paintings and the statues, I knew exactly what I was seeing. I wanted to take her with me for my entire trip to Rome so she could show me all the sites. She was amazing. I highly, highly recommend doing a tour with her. With every penny.
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Melissa_n
Jul 22, 2025
Don’t book this - This was not worth the price. The tour guide was in a rush. Skip the line, literally was like cutting in front of other groups. The guide was rude to others. We couldn’t take our time to enjoy what we were looking at. Even if we tried to, she would start to yell. It was extremely embarrassing and not what a tour should be. Very disappointed and even though I complained at the tour office, it was just brushed off like it didn’t matter to them because it was all already prepaid.
Review provided by Viator
Scott_c
Jul 20, 2025
Got separated from guide prior to even entering. :( - We got separated from guide on a busy street walking to Vatican museum. We never found her so did museum & Sistine on our own but sadly, we’re unable to access the Basilica even though we had upgraded the tour to include skip the line here. We then had to walk back to meeting location to return our listening devices. Disappointing tour for us.
Review provided by Viator
Alison_g
Jul 19, 2025
Do a self-guided tour instead - Honestly the only thing good about this tour was skipping the line, which you can do just by purchasing a skip the line self guided tour (I think). Our guide gave us a history lesson that took over 30 minutes and while that was fine, it doesn’t say that in the tour description. Consequently we had less time to serenely move through the Vatican. The Sistine chapel is a huge disappointment but this isn’t the Tour’s fault. It’s just that if you are expecting an inspirational, even religious experience, you are probably not going to get it here or anywhere in the Vatican. Just too many people.
Review provided by Viator
From $81
up to 10 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).