Vatican at Closing Time with Sistine Chapel

Free CancellationSkip the Line

Book a unique experience that visits the Vatican in the early evening with fewer crowds

Free CancellationSkip the Line

4.89

( 331 reviews )


2 h


Max 20 Guests

Exploring the Vatican Museums in the evening alone means missing expert insights, hidden details, and the most immersive way to experience its masterpieces. Skip the lines and let an engaging, passionate guide bring the art to life as you admire Raphael’s School of Athens, the ancient sculpture of Laocoön and His Sons, and Michelangelo’s breathtaking Sistine Chapel frescoes. With fewer crowds and a captivating storyteller leading the way, see the Vatican’s treasures in their most magical setting

Don't miss out on this unusual opportunity to explore the Vatican in the early evening when other tourists have gone back into Rome. Your local guide will lead you from the top of the steps at Caffe Vaticano into the Vatican Museums. Their passionate knowledge will bring the art and architecture to life as you explore the Sistine Chapel, the Raphael Rooms, and other areas. This small group tour is ideal for anyone who enjoys adventuring in the evening hours when attractions are less busy.

Select participants and date

Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance!

Skip-the-line Vatican Tickets

Expert English-speaking guide

Pio-Clementino Museum

Gallery of the Maps

Sistine Chapel

Max 20 people

Tour guide gratuities

Meal

Hotel pick-up

Wheelchair accessible

Meet your guide outside Caffé Vaticano

Your early evening tour begins with a warm welcome from your guide outside Caffé Vaticano, conveniently located near the Vatican.

Vatican Museums

With skip-the-line tickets in hand, bypass the queue and head straight inside the Vatican Museums to uncover its magnificent art collection.

Pinecone Courtyard

Pause in the Pinecone Courtyard to take in timeless statues and beautifully manicured gardens looking spectacular in the early evening glow.

Pio-Clementino Museum

Explore halls filled with some of the world’s most important classical sculptures, including Laocoön and His Sons and Apollo Belvedere.

Gallery of Candelabra

Follow your guide’s lead through a corridor lined with intricately carved marble candelabra and statues, each a clue to Roman history.

For Reference Only. Itineraries are subject to change

Meet in front of Caffe Vaticano, directly across the street from the Vatican Museums Entrance on Viale Vaticano. A representative will be there holding a sign with our company name on it. Your tour will end inside the Vatican Museums.

Comfortable shoes are always recommended for walking tours.

4.89

331 Ratings

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Meg Hobbeheydar

Verified Review

June 11, 2025

Great tour and tour guide!

Fantastic

Judith Pearse

Verified Review

June 10, 2025

Fabrizio did great job with this tour. Highly recommend!

Melody Westerdal

Verified Review

June 09, 2025

Amy Haley

Verified Review

June 07, 2025

Excellent Tour

John Taillon

Verified Review

June 06, 2025

I would book with these tour guys again. Good job.

William Becker

Verified Review

June 06, 2025

Angela Iannotti

Verified Review

June 05, 2025

Jordan Bekenstein

Verified Review

June 03, 2025

Tamara Manero

Verified Review

June 03, 2025

Fabricio was a fabulous tour guy! He was extremely knowledgeable and spoke English very well so we were able to understand everything. Highly recommend!

Very interesting!

Anne-Josée Beaudoin

Verified Review

June 02, 2025

The Guide was super: funny, energetic and passionate! I would have like to pass less time in all the rooms and more in the Sistin Chapel. Moreover, she told us that we couldn't talk in the Chapel so she explained the important things outside and let us go alone at the end of the tour. In the Chapel, a lot of people were talking so I think that she would be able to stay with us and explain inside de Chapel since she is an expert of it.

Misty Hughes

Verified Review

June 02, 2025

Amazing Experience

Joseph Sansone

Verified Review

June 01, 2025

Your guide is an actual Vatican employee and they are invested in what they do, as they are very knowledgeable with the history of these ancient pieces of history. You will learn something as well as maybe get a chuckle. You will not be disappointed! Joe S.

Suzette Snyder

Verified Review

June 01, 2025

Molly Irwin

Verified Review

June 01, 2025

Great experience!

Andrew Armstrong

Verified Review

May 31, 2025

We bought the tour ahead of time for our trip to Rome. We were very pleased with Jonathan our tour guide. He made the whole experience stress-free and enjoyable. Highly recommend.

Great Tour

Jonathan Rubinow

Verified Review

May 30, 2025

If we hadn’t been so exhausted from our flight from the west coast of US, we’d have given him 6 stars. Super knowledgeable and very friendly!

Definitely less people

Roxanne Russell

Verified Review

May 30, 2025

This tour was wonderful for less people. Our guide was super knowledgeable . The only bummer was we spent a solid 30 min looking at signs of the sistene chapel and taking about it instead of seeing anything in the museum or being in the chapel. Other than that it was a great tour

Good quest for Cappella Sistina

Andrew Glover

Verified Review

May 29, 2025

I think this tour is great if you’re mostly interested in seeing the Sistine chapel. It’s worth it just to avoid the massive lines and have a less packed/chaotic time to be inside the Museum. I had a misunderstanding that I’d be able to spend time looking around the museum outside of the tour, or the tour would include time to wander. It’s mostly a quest for the Sistine chapel with good commentary about the more famous works you pass on the way there. If you have specific Museum rooms or works of art you want to see, this probably isn’t the right format for you. If you want the highlights with a friendly guide, this is a great option!

This is the ideal way to do it!

Maria Chalko

Verified Review

May 29, 2025

Seeing the Vatican after closing is the ideal way to see it. No rush, no crowds, no pressure. Our tour guide was a history buff and knew things that we would of never known even if we read every single sign. I would only see the Vatican this way in the future.

Susan Wieczorek

Verified Review

May 29, 2025

Lots to see

Bron Burke

Verified Review

May 29, 2025

Would have liked more time in the chapel, which was the last stop on the tour. We were being rushed out for closing.

Mira Iskandar

Verified Review

May 27, 2025

Fabiola was fabulous aa a guide. Because of her the tour was fun and enjoyable.

What an amazing tour!

Jon Easley

Verified Review

May 25, 2025

Valeria was an amazing guide. She was knowledgeable organized and so fun. She lead us through the Vatican museum as well as the Sistine chapel. Her knowledge of every room in the museum was staggering. And yet she was able to break it down and make it easy to understand it and to comprehend the point of how the museum was laid out. She did a great job through the Etruscan area to point out some of the real fabulous pieces in the collection that were unusual due to how intact they were. Her deep knowledge of both the history and the art history of the works brought Italian History to life. Her descriptions in the map room really help me understand Italian history in a different way. She was delightful. + Wonderful to speak with. She answered every question put to her in a thoughtful and and respectful manner. I was able to understand everything that she said about the various histories of the Vatican and of Italy as a whole. I highly recommend this tour but even more so with Valeria at the lead.

Vatican Museum at Closing Time & Sisteen Chapel

John Holland

Verified Review

May 24, 2025

Stefano was a wonderful guide for this tour.

Wonderful tour!

Katherine Lawn

Verified Review

May 24, 2025

My family had the most wonderful time! The tour guides are so knowledgeable and super friendly.