Most visitors miss the Vatican’s best shortcut. With our expert guide, you’ll explore the Vatican Museums, including the Raphael Rooms and Sistine Chapel, then descend the Scala Regia (Bernini’s regal staircase) into St. Peter’s Basilica through an entrance reserved only for guided groups. This is the Vatican experience you didn’t know you needed.
Expert, English-speaking guide
Skip-the-line entry to Vatican Museums
Entry to the Sistine Chapel
Privileged access to Scala Regia (except Wednesday mornings)
Entry to St. Peter’s Basilica (except Wednesday mornings)
Guide tips
Your tour begins near the Vatican Museums entrance
Meet your guide near the Vatican Museums entrance. Look for the exact location on your booking voucher.
Enter the Vatican Museums
With your privileged entry, you'll glide past the main crowds and head directly inside to begin exploring the Vatican's magnificent art collection. Please note that all guests to the Vatican need to pass through security, so expect some standing in line.
Pinecone Courtyard
Pause briefly in the serene Pinecone Courtyard, a beloved open-air space within the Vatican Museums. Here, art and nature blend seamlessly around the massive bronze pinecone that gives the courtyard its name, offering a moment of tranquility before the main artistic explorations.
Pio-Clementino Museum
Next, explore the halls filled with some of the world’s most important classical sculptures. You’ll stop to admire masterpieces like the dramatic Laocoön and His Sons and the serene Apollo Belvedere, learning about the myths and legends associated with these iconic works.
Gallery of Maps
Follow your guide into the astonishing 120-meter (400 ft) long Gallery of Maps. This iconic hall reveals Italy’s intricate terrain through the meticulous cartography of the 16th century, commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII. You’ll hear the stories behind these detailed, topographical depictions of the Italian peninsula.
For Reference Only. Itineraries are subject to change
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Start times are in the product’s local time
Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance!
Mon, 02 Mar 2026
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4.93
3011 Ratings
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Jessica C.
Verified Review
February 28, 2026
Great experience
Uche O.
Verified Review
February 28, 2026
Overall experience with our tour guide was excellent.
Patrizia was great
Octavian C.
Verified Review
February 26, 2026
Thanks to our guide Patrizia, who helped us navigate in the very busy Vatican.
Marilyn P.
Verified Review
February 26, 2026
Ethan H.
Verified Review
February 26, 2026
Amazing Tour at the Vatican Museum
Kimberly C.
Verified Review
February 25, 2026
Francesca from Tours and the City is vivacious, passionate and knowledgeable guide. We learned so much from her! She made the experience a very smooth and enjoyable one.
Great tour of the vatican
patrick C.
Verified Review
February 24, 2026
Our guide Bogdon was great.
Patrizia was informative and agile
Octavian C.
Verified Review
February 23, 2026
Our guide Patrizia was informative and agile. Covered a lot of area in 3 hours
Tour review
Karen S.
Verified Review
February 23, 2026
Bogdan was a fantastic tour guide with in depth knowledge, amazing stories and kept the group together in a hectic setting. He explained so much of the history, context and meaning of each room, painting and sculpture bringing the vast collection into focus and making the overall experience wonderful. Very well executed. Th al you for an amazing experience.
Karen
Very knowledgeable guide
Suzette D.
Verified Review
February 23, 2026
Our guide was very knowledgeable and We learned a lot on our tour. Are tour guide was very professional and always made sure that the entire group was together. Some parts were a little long-winded and over explained which made it a little bit boring and it should have moved the long a little quicker but overall it was a very interesting tour and well done!
A Wonderful Tour!
Tiziana K.
Verified Review
February 23, 2026
What a great way to see all the highlights and skip the lines. We learned so much from our guide Sara (Her years of experience are very evident). Soooo worth it!! Highly recommend
Vatican Tour
Brian T.
Verified Review
February 22, 2026
Excellent Tour of the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. It was great to skip the line and get some behind the scenes insights into the history of the Vatican.
Daniel O.
Verified Review
February 21, 2026
Bailey P.
Verified Review
February 20, 2026
Eric W.
Verified Review
February 20, 2026
Raffa was excellent!
Susan S.
Verified Review
February 20, 2026
We had a great time with Raffa at the Vatican. She’s knowledgeable, patient and has a great sense of humor.
Our tour guide was AMAZING!
Jonathan R.
Verified Review
February 19, 2026
So knowledge and always made your we where included.
Best tour ever!
Sandra M.
Verified Review
February 19, 2026
I can't even begin to praise our tour guide, Sara, enough! Obviously, the tour itself was a tour of one of the most amazing places on this earth. But Sara was incredible. She was easy to follow (through the crowds in the Vatican), and explained so many extra details about what we were seeing. I was ever so glad I booked this tour through your company. It was worth every penny and more!
Antoinette B.
Verified Review
February 19, 2026
Tour was wonderful. Guide was great.
Didn’t expect to wait over an hour to get inside-guess skip the line tickets where not what I thought they would be!
Very cool
Nicholas A.
Verified Review
February 18, 2026
The tour was great! The museums are so large and it was challenging with how busy it was, which was out of the ordinary for February, but Elanora did a great job with our ~15 person group. Because of the crowds we had to skip the Raphael rooms (museum’s call on that). I really wanted to see one of those paintings and she gave me great directions and was incredibly accommodating in helping me go back through and see that painting. She definitely didn’t have to do that and it allowed me to see my favorite painting so I really appreciated that
Colby L.
Verified Review
February 18, 2026
Yelena R.
Verified Review
February 18, 2026
Nicholas A.
Verified Review
February 18, 2026
Fabulous tour - well worth it!
Rebekah H.
Verified Review
February 17, 2026
We had an absolutely fantastic tour with Stefano today. He was incredibly knowledgeable, engaging, and a true pleasure to spend time with. We appreciated all of the interesting information he shared, his lively and fun personality, and how he navigated us so well through the crowds. Very enjoyable, interesting, and stress-free experience for my whole family (teens and adults)! Highly recommend!!
