Rome
Top Rome landmarks

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

Rome, Italy
  • 3 hours
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

Overview

Discover the renowned art and architecture of the Vatican on this skip-the-line private tour of the Vatican Museums. As you explore rooms like the Gallery of Maps and the Sistine Chapel, learn about the Renaissance artwork of masters like Michelangelo with in-depth commentary from a knowledgeable private guide. You’ll also visit St Peter’s Basilica and hear insider details about the Vatican, plus skip past all the entrance lines, even the priority ones.
  • Skip past the priority lines, with access through a reserved entranceway
  • Step inside the Sistine Chapel to see Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam fresco
  • Visit St Peter's Basilica, and then see Bernini's colonnades in the square
  • Enjoy commentary tailored to your interests with a private guide

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

This private Vatican tour bypasses even priority lines and can be tailored to your requests.

What's Included

  • Reserved Skip-the-Line Access to the Vatican Museums
  • Reserved Access to the Sistine Chapel
  • English-speaking expert guide exclusively for your group
  • Carefully curated private tour just for your group
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

  • Via Tunisi, 4, 00192 Roma RM, Italy

    At the bottom of the steps across the street from the Entrance of the Vatican Museums. The steps are located right next to Caffè Vaticano on the corner of Viale Vaticano and Via Tunisi. The closest Metro stop is Line A (Ottaviano – Musei Vaticani).

Start time

End point

  • Sistine Chapel
    00120, Vatican City

    The tour ends outside Sistine Chapel.

What To Expect

After meeting your private guide, go straight inside the Vatican Museum with your skip-the line ticket, and let your guide know if there’s anything specific you want to see or any particular interests you have that you’d like to hear more about, such as the history of the Vatican or the sometimes-scandalous stories about its inhabitants over the years.

Follow your guide to some of the complex’s dozens of galleries and rooms, such as Raphael’s Rooms, the Gallery of Maps, the Gallery of Tapestries and the Pinecone Courtyard. Hear about the famed Renaissance masters like Raphael and Michelangelo who created art for the popes, and listen to stories about rivalries between artists. You’ll eventually reach the Sistine Chapel, known for its iconic frescoes by Michelangelo—The Last Judgment and The Creation of Adam, which decorates the chapel’s sacred ceiling. (Talking inside the chapel is prohibited, so any commentary from your guide will be given outside the doors.)

Next, walk over to St Peter’s Basilica, the Italian Renaissance church that’s home to more artistic masterpieces, most famously Michelangelo’s La Pietà sculpture and Bernini’s bronze baldachin altar canopy. Then head outside for a stroll around St Peter’s Square, where your guide points out Bernini’s use of optical illusion at the colonnades. Your tour ends here, where you can continue exploring on your own.

Vatican City

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Vatican Museums

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Sistine Chapel

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

St. Peter's Basilica

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

La Pieta

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

St. Peter's Square (Pass By)

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Visitors must pass through metal detectors at the security check point; expect to wait 20-30 minutes to clear security
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Only small bags are allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • Not recommended for travelers with back problems
  • Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
  • Saint Peter’s Basilica is subject to last-minute closures for religious ceremonies. When this occurs, we're happy to offer customers an extended tour of the Vatican Museums. While we endeavour to tell tour groups ahead of time if there are any planned disruptions to the Basilica's opening hours, this is not always possible and in these cases we are unable to provide refunds or discounts.
  • On Wednesdays, due to the Papal Audiences, access to St Peter's Basilica is not possible until 1pm
  • This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

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

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Reviews

4.5
500 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Showing 1-10 of 500 reviews
Private tour was totally worth it
Kamran_M, Dec 2023
Great experience on private tour. Our guide was a local Roman who was extremely knowledgeable and spoke great English. We learned a lot and were able to avoid long lines and crowds as she whisked through the museums and Sistine chapel and St Peters. Great way to see the Vatican.
Poor
Sheldon_S, May 2023
Private tour guide cancelled the day before and no replacement. Had to do this on our own. No communication from aviator regarding g a refund. Local operator said that we had to deal with aviator..passing the buck
Response from Host, May 2023
Hello Sheldon_S, We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you experienced with us on your Vatican Tour with us. Could you please reach out to us via email at edgar.chavero@citywonders.com with your booking reference number? We'd be more than happy to take a closer look at your comments and see where we fell short. Rest assured we will accomodate you, and if your tour was indeed downgraded from a private tour, a partial refund has already been processed. We look forward to hearing from you as we take the experience of our customers very seriously at City Wonders. Sincerely, Edgar J. Communications Manager City Wonders
Best guide ever!!!
Sylvie_P, Feb 2023
Alex was an incredible tour guide - so knowledgeable and friendly. You could really tell that she loves showing people her country’s treasures. We learned so much about the Vatican and it’s precious art collection. Really an amazing experience!!!
Amil will turn your visit to Vatican City into a highlight of your trip
Gabrielle_D, Feb 2023
Me, my husband, and both of his parents had a FANTASTIC time in Vatican City thanks to our hilarious, lovely, and knowledgeable guide Amil! We booked a private tour as my MIL has mobility issues that render her a slow walker and we couldn’t be more pleased with this decision since Amil took extra special care of us. ❤️ She peppered the tour with the funniest of historical backstories, made sure we noticed and understood the most important pieces from the potentially overwhelming array of sights, and was honestly just a complete delight to spend time with. Don’t hesitate to book her, you won’t regret it!!
Awe inspiring Vatican tour
Joseph_M, Dec 2022
We had a private tour w/Laura and it was fantastic!! She did an outstanding job of describing the history of the various objects we looked at. Sitting in the Sistine Chapel was humbling and the first look at St. Peters Basilica literally took my breath away....a once in a lifetime experience (and I am not religious)!!
Amazing Tour experience
Lyra_P, Nov 2022
We could not have done the Vatican without a tour guide! She shared some amazing information with us and was very helpful
An exceptional Guide but no St. Peter’s
Lisa_C, Oct 2022
Our tour guide was Georgia and we had a private tour of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. Georgia was an outstanding guide - incredibly well informed and passionate about the art and history of the Vatican museums. But there was no tour of St. Peter’s Basilica as advertised in the title of the tour by City Wonders.
Great skip the line tour!!
JoannG, Oct 2022
Very organized private tour. Georgia provided an awesome tour and provided great detail! Our tour group was able to skip the long lines and walked through all entries with no issues.
Response from Host, Oct 2022
Hello JoannG, We really appreciate you taking the time to leave us an amazing review! Everyone at City Wonders is delighted to hear that you loved your private tour -- and your tour guide Georgia. From our entire team, thank you for choosing City Wonders. We hope to see you again on some of our other unique experiences in the future. All the best, Edgar J. City Wonders
Amazing and informative! She was kind and hilarious. Absolutely captivating
Kristen_D, Sep 2022
Simone was knowledgeable, and was great at skipping the crowds! Would definitely recommend the private tour. She had so much knowledge of the art- from the ceilings to the floors. Her love of art was apparent and she truly took interest to the in the areas we wanted to see.
Most informative tour for the Vatican
Dave_K, Sep 2022
Marco was fantastic. This private tour was informative and collaborative. Marco is is so knowledgeable that no detail is missed.
Great tour to see a lot with some depth if you have limited time
Pacifico_T, Sep 2022
It was a great experience for all of us. We were friends who decided to rendezvous in Rome for a few days. The check in was seamless, our guide Stefania was there waiting even if we arrived a bit early. She was very knowledgeable and gave us suggestions and options on how we can get the most of our tour. I highly recommend this tour and Stefania ! Thanks for making our short stay memorable.
Use a recommended guide from someone.
Brenda_L, Aug 2022
We loved this venue, but the guide, Anastasia, although very knowledgeable, would stand and speak forever, and literally we could not see or enjoy anything. She literally placed herself in front of me each time I tried to move to view something and couldn’t rubies to talk. She wanted us to see and listen to her, more than the site, without pause for hours. It was incredibly frustrating. She would so well in a classroom of people designed to watch her speak, but not at all in a tour of the most magnificent site in Rome…. We could not enjoy any of it until we finally parted ways.
A Don't Miss Tour in Rome
bobatkinson47, Jul 2022
Assunta, our tour guide, was excellent. She was extremely knowledgeable and was very enthusiastic about her work.
No show tour guide
Craig_R, Jul 2022
Upon arrival to the meeting spot, we were told that the private tour we paid for was canceled. We were asked if we received a notification about the cancelation. We did not.
Our tour guide, Georgia...
jbmerkin94, Jun 2022
Our tour guide, Georgia was amazing. She was so knowledgeable about the history of Rome, the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. Would highly recommend doing a private tour to really get a feel for Vatican City.
Tour canceled last minute - guide had covid & no replacement
Robert_K, May 2022
Our Tour Guide had covid and we were notified by email at the same time as we showed up at the meeting place. The tour was replaced with a lower level tour and a partial refund was given. The replacement tour guide was great but did not cover the Basilica and included another 17 people (our tour was private). I don't think the very partial refund covered the reduction in service.
Response from Host, May 2022
Thank you for your review. We are very sorry to hear about your recent experience. Like many companies in the travel industry, City Wonders faced an unprecedented post-pandemic surge in demand during the past few weeks. This combined with Covid-related impacts caused operational issues, which we are working around the clock to resolve as quickly as possible. What you experienced is not the typical excellent service that City Wonders is known for, and we truly apologize. Please contact us directly if you have any extra queries with your full name & Viator booking reference at customer.service@citywonders.com.
Great experience!
Marisa_L, May 2022
Great tour with a very knowledgeable guide, Nadia. Loved her energy and how she guided us with ease thru the maze of people!
Terrific Private Vatican Tour
Matt_M, May 2022
Our tour guide Guiseppi was so well versed and knowledgeable about Vatican City the artwork throughout the Vatican Museum. We’re very impressed and enjoyed our private tour!
Great tour
Roberta_S, Apr 2022
Our tour guide was very knowledgable and had a great sense of humor. Would certainly book Viator in the future. Thank you!
We missed the tour,...
Bernard_R, Mar 2022
We missed the tour, Because we were very late. But we did buy a ticket and walked through the museum. While I’m in Rome I’m going to try again. Thank you for your concerns. Bernie Redmond
...

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