Get skip-the-line access to explore the Vatican's highlights with a small group. During the experience, explore the best of the Vatican museums including the Raphael Rooms, the Belvedere Courtyard with 'Apollo Belvedere', and Michelangelo's masterpiece in the Sistine Chapel. This small-group tour is limited to 15 people or fewer for a more intimate experience.

Vatican highlights small-group tour
Avoid long queues with skip-the-line access
Small group of 15 people or fewer
Visit the museums after the crowds have dispersed

What's Included

Skip the Line Access tickets to the Vatican Museums
Local English-speaking guide
Headsets
Small groups of 15 people or fewer

Gratuities
Hotel Pick-Up/Drop-Off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Antico Caffè Candia
Via Candia, 153, 00192 Roma RM, Italy
Please meet your guide in the plaza outside of Antico Café Candia, Via Candia, 153, 00192 Roma RM, at the bottom of the stairs. The closest Metro station is Cipro. Your guide will be in the center of the plaza holding a green Walks sign.

End point

Vatican Museums
00120, Vatican City
Vatican Museums

What To Expect

Meet your guide and small group in Antico Caffè Candia, then proceed directly into the Vatican museums with skip-the-line access. The tour group is limited to 15 people to ensure personalized attention from your guide, the chance to ask questions, and an intimate experience.

See Apollo Belvedere and Laocoön and Sons in the Belvedere Courtyard and stroll through the Raphael Rooms. Explore the Gallery of Tapestries, the Gallery of the Maps, the Gallery of the Candelabra, and the Pinecone Courtyard.

Pause outside the Sistine Chapel so your guide can explain the history behind the iconic ceiling frescoes, then proceed inside to view one of the world's most famous artworks.

Upon exiting the Sistine Chapel, choose to double back through the Vatican Museums to see more of the collection or end your tour here.

Vatican Museums

2 hours 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Sphere within a Sphere (Pass By)

Sistine Chapel

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
Unfortunately due to the nature of this tour it is not suitable for guests with mobility impairments, or for wheelchairs or strollers. Please contact our Guest Experience team to make alternative arrangements.

This is a walking tour. Guests should be able to walk at a moderate pace without difficulty.
The Vatican policy insists that guests cover their shoulders and knees inside the Museums and Basilica at all times
Walks / Devour complies with all local government regulations. Please refer to local government guidelines for the most up-to-date information.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 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

4.5

133 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 133 reviews

Great tour with wonderful tour guide

Bridget_Y, Apr 2024

Francesco was the perfect tour guide for this in depth tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. He was informative and has a wealth of knowledge, but was also entertaining and had a great sense of humor. The tour involved a lot of walking and the Vatican Museum is vast, but Francesco kept the pace comfortably moving forward and ensured we saw a mix of the most iconic exhibits and things that were new to all of us. We would love to do another tour with Francesco!

Afternoon Tour of Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel

Joe_S, Apr 2024

While the tour covered the highlights of the Vatican Museums, it was obvious that it would take days and days to do them justice. Even so, the tour didn’t leave sufficient time to see the Sistine Chapel. The guide took more time explaining the paintings in the courtyard that we were able to spend viewing the paintings before being ushered out at closing. While I realized the tour would not be entering St Peter’s Cathedral, I was surprised not to even have spent any time in the plaza between the museums and the cathedral.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Dear Joe_S, Thank you for sharing your insights on your recent experience with our Afternoon Vatican Museums Tour with Sistine Chapel. We understand your perspective regarding the vastness of the Vatican Museums and the challenge of fully appreciating their depth within the confines of a single tour. Indeed, the sheer magnitude of the Vatican's artistic and historical treasures is awe-inspiring, and it would indeed take an extensive amount of time to explore every aspect thoroughly. Regarding the pacing of the tour and the allocation of time, we apologize if you felt rushed during your visit to the Sistine Chapel. We strive to strike a balance between providing insightful commentary and allowing guests sufficient time to appreciate the masterpieces within the museums. Your feedback regarding the need for more time in the Sistine Chapel is duly noted, and we will review our tour itinerary to ensure a more balanced experience for future guests. If you have any further feedback or questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at feedback@walks.org. Best regards, Jhonas. Walks and Devour Tours.

Fantastic Tour!

Luke_M, Sep 2023

This was an amazing experience. The Vatican is already a special place with a ton of history spanning back thousands of years. Our Tour Guide, Ambra, was super knowledgeable and had a lot of insight. She was also really lively and kept the tour engaging and interesting. I would recommend this tour to friends and family.

so disappointed

kellect1298, Aug 2023

the location, organization, tour itself were great. our guide was kind of awful. he was knowledgeable, which was nice, but he was very very negative. he gave a sour taste mocking the guards, the pope and the vatican. I wish i had never taken my teens on this tour as it left a horrible taste in their mouths for the church, I am really disappointed. the ear piece was awful and had a lot of static making it hard to understand him many times. although, given his pessimistic views and negativity, i wish we hadnt heard him at all. however, the climb to the top, the views, the sistine chapel were all beautiful. this company really needs to find guides that can relay history without so much negative commentary. most people wanting to see the vatican probably dont want to hear how much the guide hates and resents it. so so disappointed.

Brilliant works, brilliant guide!

Caryn_C, Jul 2023

One of the highlights of our trip to Italy! Our guide was excellent and very knowledgeable about art history and the Vatican. She was able to get our group into otherwise crowded spaces while always managing to somehow find a quieter place for us where she could explain the highlights of the works we were viewing. She was very passionate and enthusiastic in talking about the art and it’s master artists, and even our 13-yr-old thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Highly recommend!

Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s

Patti_T, Jul 2023

Our tour guide Sev was outstanding! He was full of information, insights, and had a great sense of humor. The tour itself: St. Peter’s was incredible, the museums while interesting seemed a bit rushed - of course due to the crowds. Overall, it was a wonderful tour and I would highly recommend it!

Great guide. Amazing place

Carolyn_S, Jul 2023

St Peter’s basilica was amazing. Entire Vatican incredible. Our guide was absolutely wonderful and was expert at avoiding crowds and lines, thank god. Crowds were incredible.

Excellent tour

Susanne_Z, Jul 2023

The entire experience was great. I loved the dome climb, the museum tour, Sistine chapel and the basilica.

Awesome but expect a lot of stairs

Ken_B, Jun 2023

I'm sorry for not getting the spelling, but I believe her name was Mira/Myra. She was great! Even though the Vatican Museum was extremely crowded, she managed to guide us through the highlights. One word of advice though is to know that the Dome climb isn't easy - especially on a hot day like it was in late June. There are lot of steps in a very enclosed space, all of which we were warned about; however, it was a bit more than we expected. It is a BIG dome though. Mira/Myra provided many, many details about history and the artwork that made it very entertaining. We definitely recommend.

Fantastic tour!

Jennifer_M, Jun 2023

Our guide, Anna, was fantastic! She gave us a lot of useful information and was very pleasant. The tour was great but definitely requires one to be physically fit!

Excellent Tour with knowledgeable Guide

Sheila_A, Jun 2023

Made it to the top of the dome. Our guide Marco was excellent and caring and took interest in each member of our group. It was a little confusing to find our check in

Severely Disorganized!!!

Jeannette_M, Jun 2023

My family and I arrived in the piazza 15 min early as recommended. We were told by a tour leader to go on the other side of the wall to meet our group. When we went on the other side of the wall to meet our group and asked the leader there where to go, we were told to go back. When we went back, our group left and we completely missed our tour :(

Nice guide, we saw everything there was to see

MaudeGenevieve_L, Jun 2023

Sabrina was a nice guide. The early morning tour is a plus as there are less people, and still it is extremely crowded. We enjoyed being able to see everything

Amazing

Lisa_K, Jun 2023

Guide gave info the entire tour. Big Mama is very friendly and made sure we were comfortable and knew what to expect from each part.

Absolutely amazing would...

Melissa_R, Jun 2023

Absolutely amazing would recommend anyone on the fence to do the tour, its money well spent. Unless you're a subject matter expert or done tons of research you'll never completely understand and therefore appreciate all the amazing things you'll see

This was a great tour of...

Mrudula_M, Jun 2023

This was a great tour of Vatican basilica and museum. Our tour guide, John, was great. Tour is long though and the crowds in Vatican museum are brutal.

Incredible Tour

Katherine_M, Jun 2023

Our tour guide was Sev and he is truly wonderful. We were lucky enough to have him as a tour guide twice. He is very knowledgeable and helpful with answering all of our questions. He told stories and gave the history for almost all 5 hours of the tour. The dome climb leads to the most breathtaking views of the Vatican and Rome. I highly recommend this tour. Even my 14 year old loved it. Be prepared for lots of walking and standing.

St Peter's Basilica Dome Climb

Neil_G, May 2023

Claudia our tour guide ✨️ St Peter's Basilica 🕍 Controversial Sistine Chapel underwhelming 🤔 stunning history though

A+++ Guide

Grady_W, May 2023

Jeb was the best guide I've ever had. He was very knowledgeable about everything and I learned so much.

Overall Great. Slightly Rushed.

Hunter_M, Dec 2022

This was a really great tour. We booked the earliest tour and we were happy we did as the lines were pretty long as we exited. Started with the Dome Climb, to the Basilica, then the museums, and ended in the Sistine Chapel. I appreciated how knowledgeable and humorous our guide was, he did an excellent job keeping the group moving and together in the busy sections. I did feel like our time in the Basilica was a little short (only 10 minutes). I realize this is a long tour, and there are time reservations for the museum, but an extra 10 to walk around inside would've been nice. Other than that I would definitely recommend booking this tour!

Response from Host, Jan 2023

Dear Hunter_M, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback regarding your tour with us. We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed the tour and found our guide to be knowledgeable and humorous. We apologize for the limited time spent in the Basilica, as we strive to provide our guests with a comprehensive and enjoyable experience. We take all feedback into consideration and will use it to make improvements to our tours. Thank you again for choosing our tour and we hope to have the opportunity to welcome you on one of our future tours. If there is anything else you would like to address with us, feel free to contact us at feedback@walks.org. Kind regards, Jhonas.