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Exclusive Private Tour:expert guiding on the art and history of All the Vatican
Rome, Italy
- 3 hours
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Explore our promoted experiences
Overview
Skip the lengthy lines and enjoy VIP access to the Vatican Museum’s many works of art on this private, guided tour. Hear the stories that bring the art to life. Visit the Vatican Pinacoteca art gallery; the Chiaramonti Museum, and a collection of Roman busts and statues. Also, see Raphael’s Rooms, four interconnected rooms with frescoes painted by Renaissance artist Raphael and the Gallery of Tapestries. Visit the Sistine Chapel to see Michelangelo’s famous “Creation of Adam” painting, plus St. Peter’s Basilica and more.
- Prioritized Skip the Line entry to the Vatican Museums (price includes entry fees)
- English-speaking guide specializing in art history
- Enjoy privileged, personalized attention from your guide on this special private art tour
- Customize the tour to suit your own interests
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
Access the Vatican through a reserved entrance that bypasses the priority lines.
What's Included
- Professional art historian guide
- All tickets
- Private tour
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Food and drinks, unless specified
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- V.Le Vaticano/Musei Vaticani00192 Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Italy
Departure Point: Tour departs from Vatican Museums main entrance. Address: Directions: Tour departs from Vatican Museums main entrance located on Viale Vaticano. Your guide will be waiting for you with a VIATOR/ARTSTUR sign.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
Meet and greet the tour guide outside the main entrance of the Vatican Museums, a collection of galleries of classical and Renaissance art masterpieces, including the Sistine Chapel frescoes. Walk inside through a special reserved door without any waiting. This access is even faster than the priority lines.
Once inside, there are more than nine miles of art, so follow along with the guide who will point out the highlights and explain the story behind each work of art.
Stop at the Vatican Pinacoteca art gallery, featuring some of the most influential paintings in the world like Caravaggio’s Deposition from the Cross, Da Vinci’s unfinished St. Jermone and Raphael’s Transfiguration.
See the hundreds of Roman busts and statues inside the Chiaramonti Museum, then roam the Octagonal Courtyard to see Apollo Belvedere, a celebrated marble sculpture and the Laocoon, one of the most famous ancient sculptures in the world. Then exit directly into the Gregorian Etruscan Museum to see the many bronze figurines and Etruscan tombs.
Finally, visit Raphael’s Rooms, four interconnected rooms with frescoes painted by Renaissance artist Raphael; the six-sectioned Gallery of Candelabra, with Roman copies of Hellenistic originals and some great second century candelabra, from Otricoli; the Gallery of Tapestries, featuring the drawings from many of Raphael’s pupils; and Gallery of Maps, on the west side of the Belvedere Courtyard featuring a series of painted topographical maps of Italy.
Go to the Sistine Chapel to see Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam and the Last Judgement and St. Peter’s Basilica to see Pietà, one of Michelangelo’s earlier sculptures depicting the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion.
The tour ends just outside St. Peter’s Basilica.
Once inside, there are more than nine miles of art, so follow along with the guide who will point out the highlights and explain the story behind each work of art.
Stop at the Vatican Pinacoteca art gallery, featuring some of the most influential paintings in the world like Caravaggio’s Deposition from the Cross, Da Vinci’s unfinished St. Jermone and Raphael’s Transfiguration.
See the hundreds of Roman busts and statues inside the Chiaramonti Museum, then roam the Octagonal Courtyard to see Apollo Belvedere, a celebrated marble sculpture and the Laocoon, one of the most famous ancient sculptures in the world. Then exit directly into the Gregorian Etruscan Museum to see the many bronze figurines and Etruscan tombs.
Finally, visit Raphael’s Rooms, four interconnected rooms with frescoes painted by Renaissance artist Raphael; the six-sectioned Gallery of Candelabra, with Roman copies of Hellenistic originals and some great second century candelabra, from Otricoli; the Gallery of Tapestries, featuring the drawings from many of Raphael’s pupils; and Gallery of Maps, on the west side of the Belvedere Courtyard featuring a series of painted topographical maps of Italy.
Go to the Sistine Chapel to see Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam and the Last Judgement and St. Peter’s Basilica to see Pietà, one of Michelangelo’s earlier sculptures depicting the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion.
The tour ends just outside St. Peter’s Basilica.
Vatican Museums
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
St. Peter's Basilica
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Evening Tours: St Peter's Basilica is closed during the evenings. As an alternative you will be offered an extended itinerary within the Vatican Museums, which still includes the Sistine Chapel and Raphael's Rooms. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. If you would prefer that St Peter's Basilica and Square are included, please select the Morning or Afternoon Tours as your travel date
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Operated by ARTSTUR Ltd
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.
Reviews
4.5
68 reviews
Matthew_B, Jul 2022
Tour guide never showed up.
Even Viator wasn't able to get a hold of them. Met another group through Viator that had the same thing happen. I'm getting a refund for my $700+.
Angela_H, Nov 2021
We toured the Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel with our 18-year-old son; my husband and I had been there before, but my son had not. So our guide, Giovanni, had the challenge of choosing which items to present (a real risk there is to exhaust one's attention on the first few halls of the enormous collection, and become too overwhelmed to take in the rest of it), at the same time keeping the tour interesting for two who had already visited, and one- a teenager- who had not. He did a wonderful job highlighting items, explaining why they were important, and doing it in a fun and engaging way (how can you immediately tell if a sculpture is Greek, or Roman?). His English is excellent and he interacted comfortably with our son.
I'm sure he would also have been an excellent guide for a longer and more detailed tour, or one which focused on a particular part of the museums collection, as he seemed very knowledgeable whenever we had a question about anything.
Unfortunately the line to get into St. Peter's basilica was extremely long, so we didn't get to see that, but that wasn't Giovanni's fault (and he did suggest scheduling a tour in the morning and visiting the basilica first, when the line was likely to be shorter).
Linda M, Aug 2019
We had a private tour with our family of 6 which included a professor in a wheel chair and two teenage boys. The tour with Amy was excellent!! She was highly informed, friendly, patient and kind. We are not catholic but truly felt it was a balanced historical tour and worth every penny and minute we spent.
We highly recommend a private tour with Amy
Response from Host, Sep 2019
Dear Friend,
Sadly I am not allowed to mention your name but our friendship is totally awe of it. I related to Amy your beautiful description of the VaticanTour you enjoyed with all your family and she was delighted about it and thanks you very much. I hope to see yo one day in London where I will personally accompany you to one of out tours here or through emails for our tours to Paris or Rome again.
Lots of very best wishes, Rosa Maria
Seaside07362587960, Jun 2019
Very disappointing experience. The Vatican is herding people through like cattle. How do we get a refund???
Response from Host, Jun 2019
In the height of the Season the Vatican becomes very crowded. The only way to avoid this is to do either an early morning breakfast Tour or a Friday evening late Tour .
The afternoon tours are much less crowded than the morning.
While you can and you should complain to the Vatican for this situation and the way they herd people through their Museums, you cnnot give fault to Trip Advisor or its providers for not giving a good visit.Your Guide, Anna Bruno, gave excellent explanations of the Vatican and you and your friends were pleased about it, there is nothing else we can do but choose our guides with care. The very poor rating refers to the guide and the service rendered. That perhaps could not be faltered.
Lowell_J, Nov 2018
We (80 and 75) were withe our grandchildren (25-27) and had a private because I needed a wheel chair. Our guide was VERY knowleabe and with an outstanding personality. She couldn't of been nicer......It is a long tour and if you have problems with your legs or back- get a wheel chair you are standing for about 4+ hours.
Steve_M, Oct 2018
We had the good fortune to have Maria Ludovica as our tour guide at the Vatican. When we originally planned this trip my daughter was not pregnant. But lo and behold, a 2 month old infant came with us. If you have been to Disney you know what Fast Pass is...well, the combination of a newborn and a trained professional like Mary Ludo made the crowded Vatican a wonderful experience.Maria Ludo had such great knowledge and her preview chat inside the walls set the tone for a terrific immersion in fine art and inspiration. Her visual aids were also an asset as we progressed from one site to the other. Her genuine enthusiasm and care are so appreciated by this family.I strongly urge anyone to have a tour like this one. It was a true highlight of our trip.Once again, many thanks to Maria Ludo for making our experience so positive.
Stephen R, Nov 2017
Rosanna our tour guide was passionate, informative and amazingly gifted at bringing all the Vatican treasures and art works to life, we spent over 3 hours in her company and enjoyed her knowledge and wisdom of this awe inspiring place, it truly is a jaw dropping moment when you enter the sistine chapel and onwards to St Peters Basilica, if you want a truly 5 star, personal experience then this is for you, we were fortunate in that the Vatican and St Peters were not that crowded so were lucky enough to have the chance to truly absorb the beauty of this place and through Rosanna's talks really get a feel for the artworks and treasures on display.
JoniMarie_J, Oct 2016
Our tour guide, Isabella,Botti was wonderful. She spent 3 hours with us, skillfully negotiating through the crowds, discussing the history and art of the Vatican. We were able to stop and ask questions whenever we needed more information and she made the large, imposing collections accessible. After comparing notes with friends who have taken Vactican tours, I am convinced that this is the only way to see and appreciate the museum, the Sistine Chapel, and St, Peter's. Brava Isabella!
Donald S, Aug 2016
This was a highlight of our trip. Our guide, Anna, was very knowledgeable having studied at the Vaticcan and received a doctorate in art history. Having our own personal guide was outstanding. My wife is an artist and could ask many questions. We tell everyone how great it was.
allison_z, Jun 2016
We had an amazing tour!!!
Were lucky to have one of the best tour guides!!!
Thank You.
...
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