Rome: Vatican Museum Evening Small Group Tour

Name: Rome: Vatican Museum Evening Small Group Tour
Brand: What a Life Tours
SKU: 7559P12
Price: 107.51 USD
Rating: 4.5 (126 reviews)

Badge of ExcellenceRome, Italy

VIP After hours Vatican Museums by Night Tour with Sistine Chapel

Likely to Sell Out

From $107.51

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

2 hours 40 minutes
Offered in: English

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Overview

Enjoy a rare, intimate visit to the Vatican Museums on this special small-group, after-hours guided tour. Visit the world-famous galleries by night in a group capped at only 12 people, after the museum has closed to the general public. Skip the packed daytime crowds as you roam through Renaissance-era masterworks, from the Raphael Rooms to the Sistine Chapel.

An exclusive evening tour of the Vatican Museums
Come face-to-face with iconic artworks, without the usual rush
Listen to detailed commentary, with headsets available for more than six people
Enjoy a personalized, small-group experience, minus the crowds

What's Included

Skip-the-Line tickets to the Vatican Museums
Headsets to hear the tour guide clearly
All Fees and Taxes
Small group of 12 or fewer
Easy to find meeting point at our office close the Museums' entrance
English Speaking Tour Guide

Pick-up/Drop-off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

What a Life Tours
Via Santamaura, 14B, 00192 Roma RM, Italy
Our Office close the Vatican Museums' entrance

End point

Sistine Chapel
00120, Vatican City
The tour ends inside the Sistine Chapel where you can stay longer if you wish.

Ticket Redemption Point

What a Life Tours, Via Santamaura, 14B, 00192 Roma RM, Italy

What To Expect

Your evening starts with meeting your guide at a tourist office steps from the entrance to the Vatican.

Celebrate the beginning of your exclusive tour with a glass of prosecco. Walk to the Vatican and prepare to enter after the massive daytime crowds have departed.

Skip the lines at the Vatican Museums. If your group has more than six people, don your headset to hear your guide better. Then, spend about one hour and forty minutes walking through the vast halls while listening to detailed commentary from your guide.

Take your time as you stop in the Gallery of Maps to check out the customized maps of Italy from different historical eras and the ceiling wall frescoes. Next, visit the Raphael Rooms, a suite of papal apartments decorated with frescoes by Raphael himself.

Your evening ends inside a nearly empty Sistine Chapel, where you spend about half an hour viewing some of the world’s greatest religious art and artifacts, including the Renaissance-era frescoes by Michelangelo.

You can stay in the Chapel longer than 30 minutes if you wish.

What a Life Tours

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Vatican Museums

1 hour 40 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Gallery of Maps

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Stanze di Raffaello

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Sistine Chapel

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible

Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers

Operated by What a Life Tours

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

126 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 126 reviews

Fantastico!

Dina_R, Apr 2024

The guide was very animated and engaging! She gave us the salient points in an area that is overloaded with information. The only part that was a negative was her speed walking in the beginning, without warning. My husband is disabled and struggled to keep up with her pace. A “heads up” about how quickly we needed to walk would have been helpful.

Such a great tour!

Eda_S, Oct 2023

We had a great time and learned so much! Our guide was friendly, positive, humorous and very knowledgeable. We learned so much from her.

Excellent tour by Mario

Sarah_R, Oct 2023

Amazing tour. Mario is excellent. Full of knowledge and really fun and lovely as a guide. Would definitely recommend as a way to make the most of the Vatican.

Disappointed

Ines_D, Oct 2023

The tour guide just skipped through part with apollo belvedere and I didn't even get to see it. Also we wasted half an hour on listening to him talk about timeline of sistine chapel outside without moving

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Dear Ines, Thank you for your feedback. Apollo Belvedere was indeed skipped but only because it is under renovation so it was simply not possible to see it. Regarding your tour guide explaining everything about the Sistine Chapel outside - this is something that all guides must do because nobody is allowed to speak inside the Sistine Chapel. Without any explanation, most people would not know what they are going to be looking at, which details to pay attention to, and so on. Perhaps your guide forgot to tell you why you had to stop outside to learn about the story of the Sistine Chapel so thank you for letting us know. Kind regards and safe travels!

Amazing to see the Vatican at night!

Maria_B, Oct 2023

I’ve been to the Vatican museums twice before but in the day. This was a whole other experience. The sculptures and paintings being lit up differently and more dramatically was fantastic. It was still crowded but nowhere near the levels during the day in the heat! Also nice to be with whole groups moving at a quick speed. Loved it.

Excellent tour guide and a wonderful evening tour!

Victoria_T, Oct 2023

We arrived at the ticket pick up location and 3 people were there to greet us! Mario was our tour guide and he was fun and very knowledgeable about the Vatican. He was clear on all aspects of the tour. He made it so easy to enter the museum and added many fascinating facts about many art works and their history. He was top notch and so was the tour!

Decent experience

Kathryn_G, Oct 2023

Your was very long but Sistine chapel made it worth it. Didn’t feel “VIP” as it was still very packed but probably much less so than during the day.

Enjoyed the tour, English...

Julia_K, Oct 2023

Enjoyed the tour, English tour guide very informative! Visiting the Vatican City at night time was a different experience that everyone should experience once.

Vatican snd Sistine with Mario!

Elizabeth_B, Oct 2023

The tour itself was marvelous, but exponentially enhanced by the incredible tour guide experience with Mario. Not only was he knowledgeable, but he shared the knowledge in a very personal and engaging manner. Charming and funny, Mario made the experience for me! Elizabeth

A do not miss experience.

Laura_G, Oct 2023

Th subject of the tour itself was amazing, but our tour guide Mario really made it spectacular. His knowledge and passion for the subject kept the group engaged and entertained. I learned so many new things about the Vatican, the papacy, and the beautiful paintings. I can’t recommend the tour and Mario specifically enough.

informative and fun tour with a lovely guide (Mario)... worth the time and money!

lori_h, Oct 2023

We had a great tour with Mario to a couple of the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel. Mario was incredibly knowledgeable about everything we saw (which was A LOT!!), and he was quite gregarious and fun to listen to. it was very cool to visit in the evening as the outdoors were beautifully lit and it was much cooler than during the day. that said (and this is NOT a criticism of the tour or Mario)... there are still lots and lots of people doing tours during the after hours tour. from what Mario told us, it's way less crowded than just going during the day... but it is still quite crowded. again... this is not a bad thing. but it's different from what i envisioned, so worth mentioning. the tour was absolutely worth it, and we are very happy with our experience, especially because we enjoyed spending time with Mario. just wanted to add some context to help people know what to expect.

Crowds galore

Barbara_L, Oct 2023

The crowds were atrocious. The advertising indicates “without the crowds” in several places We were shoved, cut in front of and stepped on. Our group was limited to 12 but multiply by 500. The tour was not after closing as there were hundreds of people buying entry tickets

Interesting but too crowded

Karen_M, Oct 2023

Marcello was a great guide, and his knowledge was amazing, but he was pitching to an audience who were looking for an over view. He needs to apply to be a teacher in a university. The tour overall was very enjoyable but please don’t think there will be fewer people because it’s in the evening, it was packed

Great experience!

Carol_A, Sep 2023

Excellent experience, easy and a great overview of the Vatican. Our guide was knowledgeable and we saw all the highlights!

Mario was the best!

Samantha_T, Sep 2023

Mario was a great tour guide! He was enthusiastic, interactive and made it fun. The museum was crowded even though it was an evening tour but Mario navigated the crowds nicely.

2023 Anniversary trip

Corey_B, Sep 2023

Our tour guide was awesome!!! Great tour!!! We really enjoyed all of the beauty here!! Book this tour!!

Great tour!

Sibyl_M, Sep 2023

Our guide was very knowledgeable and provided clear instructions as we navigated through the museums and chapel. He provided good insights on the different approaches to restoration. He answered all questions from the group, and provided tips on where to get a taxi upon exit. Heads up (although to no fault of our guide or the tour company), we waited 45 minutes for a taxi due to the large number of people exiting at the same time.

Loved this tour!

Susan_M, Sep 2023

Daniella was a superb guide. I’d never been to The Vatican and really didn’t know much about the history. She was so engaging and I left with a much broader story of the politics, religion, art and culture.

MUST DO!!

Carmen_N, Sep 2023

Our tour guy Michael(sp?) was amazing. So funny & had a great way of storytelling. This is the only way to see anything Vatican related as there are NO lines that you wait in, you can see everything comfortably without rushing. I have to admit it was so nice to comfortably & casually just walk right in VIP style without the elbow to elbow crowds. Why on earth would you visit something like this any other other way!! The lines on your own are hours long!! Highly recommend this tour. 20 out of 10!

Worth every penny!

Kirsten_D, Sep 2023

We were told to take this type of tour. We’re so thankful we did! Our guide, Michaele (Michael) gave interesting facts and insights. He set up our expectations well for what we could see in the time we had. Plus we loved his sense of humor. We highly recommend this tour, company, and especially Michael.

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