The Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica are home to some of the world’s top artistic masterpieces—and this seamless, small-group tour makes it simple to discover the collection highlights. See the Sistine Chapel and then delve deeper into the galleries: works like Raphael’s School of Athens and the ancient Laocoön and His Sons sculpture can be found within its walls. Then, continue to neighboring St. Peter’s Basilica, where you’ll view Michelangelo’s Pieta and other masterworks.

A small-group tour provides an intimate way to see the sights
Discover the Vatican’s best-known artistic masterpieces
Learn the stories behind the artworks from your guide’s commentary
Skip-the-line entry helps you save time and beat the crowds

What's Included

Small Group Size
Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel Skip-The-Line Tickets
Visit to St. Peter's Basilica
Expert English-Speaking Guide
Headsets (for groups of 6 or more)
All Fees and Taxes
Semi-Private Tour

Gratuities (optional)
Transportation to and from the meeting and end points

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Viale Giulio Cesare, 237, 00192 Roma RM, Italy
You will meet your guide at the flower stand on the corner of Via Giulio Cesare and Via Leone IV. They will have a Through Eternity sign or flag.

End point

Saint Peter's Square
Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Vatican City

What To Expect

Vatican Museums

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Cortile della Pigna

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Sphere within a Sphere (Pass By)

Stanze di Raffaello

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Sistine Chapel

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

La Pieta (Pass By)

Baldacchino di San Pietro, di Bernini

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

St. Peter's Basilica

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

St. Peter's Square (Pass By)

Obelisco Vaticano (Pass By)

Fontane di Piazza San Pietro (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Please note that the Vatican Museums provide free entrance for visitors who are (according to the requirements stated by the Vatican City) at least 74% disabled by presenting the appropriate certification and, if one needs assistance by another person, that person also receives a free entrance. Please inform us when you are booking if you fit into these requirements and we will remove the pricing of the entry tickets from the price of the tour.
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation

Most travelers can participate
As this is a walking tour with steps and staircases, comfortable walking shoes and a bottle of water are strongly recommended.
Please advise during the booking process if any clients have mobility concerns so that we can best accommodate you.
At the end of your tour, you are required to return the headset provided to you to your guide. In the event that you do not return the headset, you will be subject to a fine of €100 for lost property.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

178 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 178 reviews

Superb tour guide for a wonderful Vatican experience.

Ann_O, Apr 2024

Great info from our tour guide. Made this a most memorable experience. My only strong suggestion to make this a better experience is to provide very detailed instructions on where we are to meet prior to the start of the tour. NO ROMANS seemed to know the name of the street let alone where the flower stand was located (which is outside of the Vatican walls). Very stressful as we were a couple minutes late (even though we allowed a huge amount of time and got instructions from our very fine hotel staff before departing for the location) and thought we missed the tour. Even a coffee shop a block away did not know the location.

Perfect tour guide

tmarkham, Dec 2023

Guide was excellent. She was very knowledgeable, clear and friendly. Thetour was very relaxed and smooth.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Ciao Mark! Thank you for your feedback. We are happy to hear that you enjoyed your tour and that you found your guide excellent. We look forward to welcoming you again in Italy or anywhere else you'd like to explore!

Very enjoyable and informative tour.

gho12023, Nov 2023

Excellent tour guide and memorable experience. The tour was great with a detailed explanation of all aspects of the Vatican museum exibits!

Excellent

Gregory_S, Nov 2023

The guide told me things that made the tour much more interesting. I already had visited the Vatican museums three times before but our guide added so many new pieces of information that made it all more special.

Wonderful - but be careful of who your guide is

Kathy_V, Oct 2023

The Sistine Chapel, it is beautiful and was the only place our tour guide did not go on and on and on about everything.

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Hello Kathy. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts about the tour with us. Our guides are mostly Master's graduates of Art History and Archeology as we aim to give our clients the best and most authentic experience. We are delighted to hear that you found your tour to be wonderful and we look forward to welcoming you again in Italy or anywhere else you'd like to explore!

Highly recommend

zxjndgzcdb, Oct 2023

The lovely lady we had I would highly recommend she answered all our questions, knew a lot about it all. She was fun had us lauging. She also showed us that her son was baptised by the pope was amazing to see the photo. Was easy to meet them and the process was very smooth. The lady we had we would highly Recommend.

Good tour well organised and excellent guide

Saira_D, Oct 2023

Great door we were lucky didn’t have to wait around Thomas our guide was amazing just the right balance of history story telling and good sense of humour which we enjoyed. There is alot to cover so you need good walking shoes. The meeting point was easy to find and it was very well organised

Good guide. Overcrowded.

Alma_B, Oct 2023

Enrica, our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly.The guide company did a good job, the meeting place was easy to find. The overflow of tourists in such small rooms and following a guide, though, did not give us enough time and space to appreciate the Vatican Museum collection. The same with the Sistine Chapel. It’s a shame that the Vatican allows so many visitors, you feel you are at the Metro at peak times. You can’t enjoy at all. You are pressured and pushed through the halls.

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Thank you for taking the time to write a review and for acknowledging what a wonderful guide Enrica is. We are fortunate to work with such an amazing guide. We are sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy the tour fully because of the crowds. The Vatican Museums is a spectacular place that is very popular, especially during high season. Thank you again for your feedback and we hope to have the chance to welcome you back for a more fulfilling experience in the future!

Amazing and breathtaking

Elvira_M, Oct 2023

Amanda was amazing. Her knowledge was invaluable. The headset worked well. Highly recommend it. The skip the line was perfect.

History and Excitement

Amy_N, Oct 2023

This was a great tour! This was my first time to the Vatican City, so much of this place was astonishing to behold. The guide, Tatiana, painted a vivid picture of the history and added just the right amount of humor. La Basilica San Pietro brought tears to my eyes, a must see when you’re in Rome.

The guide is so nice and...

JINYAN_F, Oct 2023

The guide is so nice and professional. Definitely recommend if you go to Vatican for the first time!

Amazing

Charles_S, Oct 2023

He made it fun and entertaining. He was so knowledgeable and seemed to enjoy it all as much as we did. I wish I could of recorded the guide to go with my photos.

Excellent - must do tour

DenisAlan_M, Oct 2023

Very good guide, lots of information but it was so busy, but he kept us all together and seemed to know how to pass through most of the congestion.

Vatican tour

Kathryn_E, Sep 2023

Our tour guide did an excellent job of navigating the crowds. He had a great sense of humor given the overwhelming amount of people.

Excellent

Lily_S, Sep 2023

Had a great extensive tour of the Vatican and St Peters Basilica. Donatella was fantastic in temperament and knowledge .Thanks for a great tour.

Didn't meet the Pope but oh well!

John_D, Sep 2023

It's a shame the Vatican was as overbooked as it was but our tour guide didn't relent. Even with the heat and crowds he worked very hard to bring the Vatican experience into view. He was well educated, experienced, and enjoyed presenting the tour. It was great.

Unfortunate that our guide could not be understood and had an attitude when asked to speak more clearly.

LINDA_L, Sep 2023

Michael Angelo’s Sistine chapel and the Pieta. Breath taking experience to see everything in real. The downfall was our guide Guiseppi who did not speak clearly and had a rude attitude when asked to speak more slowly and clear. He asked others who were in the group if they had an issue understanding him and three people said yes so he looked at me and said “ eight people understand and 5 don’t” and he continued with same nasal muffled voice. Not worth the price I paid. I expected to be able to have an English speaking guide without an attitude that could be understood. He also had no regard for the few in the group who were not able to walk as fast as he went. I went with this tour company because of their reputation with Rick Steve’s. Disappointed!!!

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Ciao Linda. Thank you for taking the time to write a review. We apologize if the guide's way of speaking posed challenges in comprehension and about the guide's reaction. We strive to provide an inclusive and enjoyable experience for all our guests. Your insights are highly valued and will be discussed internally to improve our services. We hope to have the opportunity to give you a more fulfilling experience in the future!

Great tour!

Karen_T, Sep 2023

Our tour guide Grace was amazing! She was so knowledgeable and was so passionate about sharing the highlights of the Vatican. She made sure we all stayed together and helped us have a great experience.

Our guide was excellent! ...

Amy_C, Sep 2023

Our guide was excellent! We used headsets and that worked well. At end of tour she stayed longer to answer everyone’s questions and suggested other things to see and restaurants nearby. She recommended a place to get the best gelato, Quinta, which we found later. The only negative comment I have is not a fault of the guide. It is crowded and everyone walks through too quickly. Not able to stop and take time to look at all of the beautiful art work and if you try to take pictures you have to catch up with the group as it keeps moving. The guide did stop occasionally and explain the art with interesting facts. During this time had more time to enjoy the museums. This tour includes more time in the Sistine Chapel and also the Raphael rooms in the museum. We toured St Peters Basilica at the end of the tour. Afterwards we were able to stay longer inside to look around on our own. I looked through the descriptions of many tours and I am glad that I chose this one and highly recommend!

Vatican Tour

Lori_C, Sep 2023

The tour was good. If you have difficulty walking fast, you may want to find another tour as you will get left behind.

...