Vatican Highlights Tour with Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica

This Vatican highlights guided tour meets at 7:30 am for access to the Vatican Museums just after doors open for "privileged entrance" groups at 8:00 a.m. Why is this so special? Well, the general public has to wait until 9 a.m. to enter! Skip the long general admission line with your passionate and fun tour guide and visit the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica in just 2.5 hours, leaving you plenty of time to explore the rest of Rome. This 2.5 hour Vatican Highlights tour includes:

• A Memorable Experience

• Skip the line Vatican tickets

• Meet at 7:30 am for entrance just after 8:00 am

• Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Tour

• A Fun, English-speaking guide with expertise in Art History

• Skip the Line guided tour of St. Peter's Basilica (except on Wednesdays)

* As of June 23rd, 2021, the Vatican has closed the "licensed guide entrance" to St Peter’s Basilica for all tour companies and tour guides. Don't worry, we still visit the amazing Basilica! However, until this message is removed, we cannot enter St. Peter's Basilica without lines for security. Hopefully, this changes very soon!

The Best Vatican Galleries

Explore the Gallery of the Candelabra, Gallery of the Tapestries, and one of our favorite collections, the Gallery of the Maps. Based on painted topographical maps of Italy by Dominican Italian friar Ignazio Danti, the Gallery of Maps is both beautiful and informative. Predating a unified Italy by nearly 300 years, the Gallery of Maps shows the length and breadth of the peninsula in the late 1500s. 

The Sistine Chapel’s Ceiling

While you stand beneath the frescoes of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, it’s impossible not to appreciate how difficult it must have been for Michelangelo to toil away year after year at this masterpiece. Visiting the Vatican is simply not complete without a Sistine Chapel tour. The chapel is inside the museums, so entrance is included in your Vatican tour. 

Please note: The Sistine Chapel is a sacred place, so both men and women must cover their knees and shoulders. Otherwise, you may be refused entry to a portion of your Vatican tour. We understand the summers in Rome are hot - a great alternative is to bring a shawl/scarf/sweater with you. That way, you can cover your knees and shoulders when necessary. 

St. Peter's Basilica and the Papal Tombs

Except on Wednesdays

Skip the long lines to enter St. Peter’s, and access the jaw-dropping St. Peter's Basilica directly through the Sistine Chapel. Once inside, admire masterpieces that include the Baldacchino, La Pietà, the statue of St. Peter, and more. Your guide will also take you underneath the basilica to visit the tombs of some special popes, as well as a Swedish Queen with a peculiar story.

Important: It isn’t possible to return to the Vatican Museums from St. Peter’s Basilica. If you want more time inside the museums, you must forgo the guided tour of the basilica. Also, if you’d like to stay in St. Peter's Basilica longer, don't leave with the guide to take photos in the piazza. Because the security line is long and re-entry on your own is not recommended, we suggest you stay inside St. Peter’s and explore on your own after the tour concludes.

Emperor Nero’s Bathtub

Wednesday's Only

Since Papal Mass takes place on Wednesday mornings - St. Peter’s Basilica is closed until the afternoon. If your Vatican Express Tour lands on a Wednesday, St. Peter’s Basilica is substituted for a visit to a collection of the most important Roman and Greek artwork, the Pio-Clementino Museum. Visit three of the world’s most iconic statues: the Apollo Belvedere, Laocoön and His Sons, and the Belvedere Torso. Learn the stories behind the statues, before visiting Nero’s massive red marble bathtub