Vatican Museums Early Access Tour

Experience the Vatican Museums like never before on this exclusive small group tour. With early morning access and a maximum of 6 participants, enjoy a more intimate exploration of the treasures and avoid the crowds. Book now!

Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Vatican Museums - With our Prime Tour, we get you inside the Museums at its first access.
    Watch the Vatican Museum Galleries slowly come to life.
  • Cortile della Pigna - The Courtyard of the “Pigna”, created from the 16th-century area of the “Belvedere”
  • Sphere within a Sphere - The Sphere within a Sphere” by Arnaldo Pomodoro at the…
What's Included
  • Visit to St. Peter’s Basilica (Admission Ticket Free)
  • Guided Tour
  • Small-group Tour (max. 6 people)
  • First Access (8:00 AM)
What's Not Included
  • Transfers from/to Hotel
Additional Information

Take part in an unprecedented small group tour of the Vatican Museums and experience them in a unique way. You’ll be part of a maximal group of 6, allowing for a more personal and detailed journey through the Vatican’s riches. Early admission gives you entry to the museums one hour prior to their official opening, providing the exclusive chance to…

Location
Giuly's Café
Via Santamaura
You will meet your English Speaking guide at the Giuly's Café, located a few meters away from the Vatican Museums main entrance. The guide will be holding an "Eyes of Rome" sign.
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.9
(64 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Susan_h
Jul 22, 2025
Highly Recommend This Amazing Experience - Our tour guide was Dorian’s and she was amazing. She guided us through the very busy Vatican City with ease and was so knowledgeable and friendly. It was an amazing trip and we learnt so much. Highly recommend. Whatever your religious everything is stunning and the depth of treasures and history is amazing.
Review provided by Viator
Narita_b
Jun 29, 2025
Excellent Tour - Our tour was excellent. The guide Ala was very knowledgeable and was able to answer any questions we had. She was very attentive to my 11yr old son, she was so patient with him and answered all his questions as well. We did the skip the line option to see the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St.Peter Basilica. Plus everything in between. Ala was able to move us right along the lines and everything went pretty quickly. The only downside I’d say was that it was very hot. However it is June and no one can help that. Going early is definitely the way to go, by the time we left it was sooooo busy I couldn’t have imagined waiting in all the lines in the heat. Something I did notice that had nothing to do with the actual tour was they didn’t strictly in force the dress code and in the Sistine Chapel it was noisy and people where taking photos even though they weren’t supposed too.
Review provided by Viator
Jonathan_t
Jun 13, 2025
Our tour guide was very... - Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and kind. She explained all the beautiful art with skill and finesse.
Review provided by Viator
Roving455120
Jan 20, 2025
An unforgettable experience at the Vatican Museums - We were greeted by the lovely Francesca, our tour guide for our morning Vatican tour, with a big smile on her face. It is unbelievable just how enthousiastic, knowledgable, friendly and passionate she is. She definitely made the tour memorable for us, as it was not just a recital of dry information - she poured her heart and soul into it. The crowd was absolutely manageable at this earlier hour, and having only a small group of people for the tour worked also very well - personal enough, but nevertheless still affordable in price. I would highly recommend booking with Eyes of Rome in case you´d like to visit the Vatican Museums, it was one of the highlights of our stay in Rome thanks to Francesca.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jessica_j
Jan 4, 2025
A little pricy but worth it - Worth it - Exactly as described in advertisement - Definitely only bother doing an early morning session as it was still busy even then - Our guide (Michaela) was very knowledgable, friendly and kept our small group of 5 moving at a comfortable pace. She also allowed us free time (10 minutes) to soak in and wander inside Sistine Chapel - Tour was a little on the expensive side (but wouldnt recommend doing without a guide)
Review provided by Viator
Stephanie_w
Dec 25, 2024
Small Group - Loved the small group experience so we could ask questions and take our time! Our guide Alessia took great care of us and personalized the trip to us. She was the best!!!
Review provided by Viator
John_m
Dec 15, 2024
Fantastic Tour - Alessia was absolutely fantastic. She knew all of the best places to go first once we got in so as to avoid the crowds and she had a vast wealth of knowledge of the Vatican and many of its artifacts. I highly recommend booking this tour if you’re interested in learning more about the Vatican and its history!
Review provided by Viator
Stephanee_e
Oct 15, 2024
Wonderful day at the Vatican - Dorian a was an EXCELLENT guide! I appreciated that she is an archeologist and knows so much about everything we could ask. This was a great tour to take being a first timer to Rome. The early bird tour was wonderful as we missed a lot of the crowds and bypassed the long lines. We got in as soon as the Vatican opened. I loved all the galleries we got to walk through! I personally thought the Sistine chapel was an unholy experience because it was so crowded and noisy. It was hard to really appreciate it. I was glad our guide explained it before we got there so we would know what to expect. The steps leaving the chapel and going down to St. Peter's were really visually pleasing and my favorite part. The whole tour was really just incredible and I can hardly believe I got to see so much in just half a day.
Review provided by Viator
Julieann_s
Jul 4, 2025
Good tour, canceled st peters unexpectedly - The tour overall was good, but they canceled the St Peters basilica portion and refused to provide any sort of credit. That was the part I was looking forward to most. Luckily we were still able to go on our own, and it was the best of the 3. Overall the tour guide was friendly and knowledgeable. It was nice to be in a small group and get in with the early crowd.
Review provided by Viator
Sims1234
Jun 18, 2025
Great guide but even on... - Great guide but even on the 7:30 am tour it was incredibly crowded . An experience not to to be missed but way too many people allowed in at one time
Review provided by Viator
From $174
up to 6 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).