Rome

Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel Skip-the-Line Guided Group Tour and tickets

Rome, Italy

Guided Skip the Line Group Tour of the Vatican Museum Saint Peters Basilica and Sistine Chapel

From $144.22

Select Date and Travelers

-You will not receive a refund if you cancel.

3 hours (approx.)
Offered in: English

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skip the line ticket: Vatican Museum and Sistine chapel

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Overview

Enter a world of Renaissance art and intrigue on a tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel. Use a skip-the-line ticket to avoid the long general entrance line to discover the art and architecture straight away. See works by Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci; gaze at the Vatican Gardens; admire the artwork of the Sistine Chapel; and visit the papal crypt.

Skip the line with fast-track entrance tickets to Vatican City attractions
Hear the history of the Vatican popes as you explore with a guide
See significant works such as Raphael’s 'Transfiguration'
Visit the Sistine Chapel and the papal crypt

What's Included

Local taxes
Professional art historian guide
Guaranteed to skip the long lines

Food and drinks
Gratuities
Hotel pick-up and drop-off
Transportation to/from attractions
Saint Peter basilica visit

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Via dei Gracchi, 17, 00192 Roma RM, Italy
The meeting point is inside the "Discovery live tours agency"

End point

00120, Vatican City

What To Expect

Choose from one of several start times, then head to Via dei Gracchi near Vatican City. After meeting your guide, bypass the main entrance line with your skip-the-line ticket, and enter via an eye-catching spiral staircase.

Start exploring the collections of the Vatican Museums, hearing the history that dates back to the 16th-century days of Pope Giulio II. Subsequent popes added to the museums’ collection, amassing an impressive portfolio of art that weaves some 4.35 miles (7km) around the complex.

Discover masterpieces of Greek Classical art and Renaissance wonders by the likes of Michelangelo and Raphael. Highlights include the ancient statue of Laocoön and His Sons, and the 'Transfiguration,' Raphael’s last painting.

Wander amid the works of Italian masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Perugino, and Fra Angelico, then pause to admire the Vatican Gardens. Along your way, hear little-known tales about the Catholic Church, and the rivalries between the Renaissance greats.

Afterward, spend free time inside St. Peter’s Basilica to gaze at La Pietà amid ornate baroque and Renaissance architecture. Before you leave, you can also visit the papal crypt, where Pope John Paul II and others were laid to rest.

Vatican Museums

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Sistine Chapel

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Stanze di Raffaello

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Departure time may differ from 20/30 minutes that the indicated starting time
A dress code is required to enter places of worship and the Vatican Museums. No shorts or sleeveless tops allowed. Knees and shoulders must be covered for both men and women. You may risk refused entry if you fail to comply with these dress requirements
Student discount is only applied under 26 years old with International Student Card ISIC, to be shown on site
Children discount is applied with a valid ID card to be shown on site
Children age 0-5 years entre free of charge
Not wheelchair accessible due to some difficulties in Sistine Chapel.

Note: tour will not operate on religious holidays
IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO VISIT THE BASILICA DURING RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS AND CEREMONIES (Audiences, Beatifications, Masses of the POPE). The Basilica is often subject to sudden closures. In these cases it is not possible to guarantee access to the Basilica.
Estimated time entrance in the museum is 45 minutes after tour departure, because you will have to pass the security check.
Not recommended for participants with mobility problems or other serious medical conditions
PETS ARE NOT ALLOWED
There is no refund on reservation fees and tickets of monuments that are closed due to event that is out of our control.
In that instance we’ll try our best to re-accommodate the tour when the information from the office responsible of the sites visited is given in a timely manner for us to rearrange and inform all clients.
If this is not possible, we will operate the tour and will include other sites to compensate for the site/s being closed. No refund is given on unused tickets due to events that are out of our control.
Every refund request MUST be done within and not later than 48 hours from the day of the tour
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

Cancellation Policy

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

3.5

27 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 27 reviews

Waste of money

Elizabeth_C, Jun 2022

The first tour I booked for Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel was canceled. I called Viator, and the rebooked me on the same tour for the same day but different time. I was told tour would be 3 hours. When we got to the tour (skip-the-line) the 4 people in my group we added to another group. The tour was supposed to start at 11 a.m., but we didn't actually start until 12:45 p.m. The tour lasted 1 hour. We lost about half of our group when we were getting ready to enter the Sistine Chapel. The tour guide didn't care, she just moved on. She left us in the Sistine Chapel and ended our tour there. She was not a very good guide. A lot of her descriptions had sexual innuendo, which I found to be unprofessional. I paid MORE for this tour than the one that was canceled. I didn't receive what the booking agent described and was very disappointed. It was a waste of money.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Dear Client, Thank you very much for taking the time to leave us your review. We are really deeply sorry to hear that you felt that the tour didn't live up to expectations. The tour did last 3 hours but just and during and after the tour, we did not receive any complaints from you or any other client. In particular, we are dismayed that you felt our guide wasn't giving the best possible service they could during your tour. We do our best to hire guides who are passionate and really ready to engage clients and bring the Vatican Museum to life. We are actually surprised to hear that the guided tour was unprofessional as we received much positive feedback from other clients. Our Tour Guide has been working with us for a long time now, he has always received 5-star comments and the customers who did the tour with him were extremely satisfied. We would like to thank you again for the feedback and we are sorry if the visit wasn't as you expected. Kind Regards Stefano D.

Dis-organised - lots of hanging...

Alex R, Aug 2017

Dis-organised - lots of hanging around before going in to the Vatican and once inside less time to look at things you wanted to see didn't even get to go in to the museum. Oversubscribed - too many people to herd around making it a bun-fight at check in and difficult to hear the guide during the tour even with headphones on once inside you are often out of range due to the size of the group.

we got to see most of what we wanted...

Anand G, Aug 2017

we got to see most of what we wanted - but the guide seemed rushed, and we could not understand what was being said some of the time.

The group was 41 people when it was...

Jodie H, Jul 2017

The group was 41 people when it was advertised as maximum of 20. From the moment I arrived at the tour office it was disorganised and very unprofessional. The guide was very disorganised and hard to hear. She was also disrespectful when we entered the Sistine Chapel by talking when the signs clearly stated that no talking was permitted. She was continually told by security guards to adhere to the non-talking but ignored them and hence was asked to leave. We had group members leave throughout the tour. I'd had a walking tour the day earlier with Walks of Italy and it was fabulous!! The only reason I didn't go with them again was that I had left it too late to book and they were full. I was very disappointed and would not recommend it to anyone. Go with Walks of Italy if you want a tour that is professional and fabulous!

This was horrible. Skip the line is...

Jennifer C, Jul 2017

This was horrible. Skip the line is an outright lie. We were in a very long line, twice. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable but the waiting around was not what was expected, especially when you sign up for a small group tour that reports to skip the line. Would not recommend this at all.

Amazing! The Sistene Chappell was a...

joy l, Jun 2017

Amazing! The Sistene Chappell was a place of total control with the guards posted inside and outside, completely quite and full respect of the Chappell. The lines were very long, get the skip the line tours, worth every penny. The paintings were breath taking.

We didn't skip-the-line we were IN...

Kerri M, Jun 2017

We didn't skip-the-line we were IN the longest line. Tour started at 1:30 with a short walk from the office to outside St Peters - we then walked all the way around St Peters to th4e Vatican Museum entrance where we were too early for our group to enter, so we waited another 45 minutes. Then we stood in lines to get in. Once inside, it was a zoo. I basically shuffled my way through crowds for two hours going from room to room. Our tour guide was horrible. She forgot her stick, and she was about 5'2, so no one could see her. We lost my mother for about 20 minutes and another elderly woman lost her husband - because they couldn't see the Guide. My audio was ok, but my wife and mother's systems kept cutting out. Wouldn't do this again - it was miserable

Our tour guide was nice. However...

Virginia S, Jun 2017

Our tour guide was nice. However, she kept repeating herself frequently, about nonsense. Didn't add to the experience. She had us standing outside looking at a map of the sistine chapel that she laid down on the ground. ugh. The plus is that we didn't have to wait in line.

BOOK a tour! Don't waste valuable...

Shani_S, Apr 2017

BOOK a tour! Don't waste valuable time waiting in lines that can take you up to 3 hours to get in. The tours take you in a separate entrance and you go straight in and start your tour. Totally worth it!

We had Irina as our tour guide. She...

Daniel B, Apr 2017

We had Irina as our tour guide. She was very informative and was even tastefully humorous. There is a fantastic little restaurant just to the left of the entrance with free wifi while you wait. We got there early and they put us on an earlier tour. We really appreciated the flexibility. I would recommend this to anyone.

Found this tour had far too many...

Ann M, Feb 2017

Found this tour had far too many people approx. 50, and with the crowds in the Vatican it was not easy to hear much of the information given. Would prefer to go in a much smaller group.

Great tour, Claudia is well versed...

Michael K, Jan 2017

Great tour, Claudia is well versed in the art historyher degree of the Vatican, explains the details of its origins through architectural pictures and illustrates out the main art piecessculptures, paintings, and tapestries that you wouldn't appreciate if you toured on your own, even with an audio guide. So many it's unfortunate we cannot go through all the galleries w her with the time allocated, Bravissimo! Michael from Montreal, Canada

The tour guide was knowledgeable but...

David P, Jan 2017

The tour guide was knowledgeable but there were several problems with this tour. Viator had outsourced this to another provider between the time that we booked and the time of the tour. They had advised but only by email a few days before the tour - and so we went to the wrong meeting please. This was a problem with another tour booked through them as well - so I think that this happens often in off-season tours. The tour guide was also not very clear sometimes and came across as arrogant.

The group was much, much too big...

Andrea H, Jan 2017

The group was much, much too big. There was no guided tour with of the Sistine chapel or St. Paul's. It was far too expensive for such a substandard tour. We were expecting a lot more information to be shared. There was little or no explanations of art work etc. I felt we had been cheated out of our money by false advertising.

Response from Host, Jan 2017

Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear your tour experience was unsatisfactory. We spend a lot of time ensuring that our tour descriptions are accurate reflections of the tours themselves, but occasionally, a local tour operator may change aspects of a tour without letting us know. We are grateful to have your feedback so we can provide the most up-to-date information on our tour page. You can be sure we’ll contact the local operator to obtain the most accurate tour information for our website. Thank you for bringing this to our attention and we wish you Happy Travels for your future tours.

The guide was good, and the...

Rykie L, Jan 2017

The guide was good, and the experience of the sights wonderful. There was a problem with the meeting point and time, which almost caused us to miss the whole tour. At the last minute, I was sent an e mail to change the meeting time and place. In Rome, there was no such address! We had to call very expensive overseas!and was still not helped. Then we got help from another agency and was finally given the right place, after an hour of wandering around in a strange city. Not cool!