Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel Guided Tour
Description
See all of the major sites inside the Vatican Museums. Get an up-close look at Michelangelo’s famed artwork in the Sistine Chapel, home to some of history’s greatest masterpieces, including The Creation of Adam and The Last Judgment. Our skip the line tickets will save you time and you'll be guided by one of our top-rated guides. They're ready to answer your questions and share with you their knowledge of art history, Catholic traditions, and Vatican culture.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Enjoy with your tour guide one of the most important museums of the world. Admire some masterpieces like the Lacoonte. Enter into the smallest country in the world.
Discover one of the Vatican's numerous outdoor courtyards, distinguished by a massive bronze pinecone sculpture that lends the courtyard its name.
The Vatican Museums consist of several smaller, distinct museums, each offering a unique experience. Among these, the Museo Pio Clementino stands out as one of the most significant, with unmissable highlights. Be sure to visit the Octagonal Courtyard to see the Laocoonte and the Apollo Belvedere, or the Round Room, where a colossal marble bathtub is guarded by a towering bronze statue of Heracles. In the Room of the Animals, you can find sculptures of various creatures, while the Gallery of the Candelabra will leave you in awe with its intricately painted 3D vaults.
One of the most visited galleries in the Museums, this stop invites you to find the Italian cities you've visited or perhaps your ancestor's hometown. These hand-painted maps, created in the late 1500s, are also worth admiring for their remarkable detail and intricate decorations.
Arrive at the final and most famous room of the Vatican Museums: the Sistine Chapel. Home to Michelangelo's frescoes, see first-hand the artwork that earned Michelangelo his global legacy as one of the best artists of all time.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Please arrive at the meeting point, Via Sebastiano Veniero 21, at least 15 minutes before the scheduled tour time
- Please arrive on time. Latecomers will neither be accommodated nor refunded
- This activity is not suitable for individuals with reduced mobility or wheelchair / electric stroller users
- Don't forget to bring a valid photo ID as proof of age for children 18 years and under
- Be aware that there might be delays in your visit due to capacity regulations and security checks.
- Remember that the Vatican Museums have a year-round dress code requiring visitors to cover their shoulders and have their pants/skirts reach their knees. This rule applies to both men and women
- Even if you have a Skip the Line ticket, expect a minor delay of 20-30 minutes due to mandatory security checks conducted by the museum's security team
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers
- Please be aware that some sections may close without prior notice due to religious celebrations or Vatican events. Should this occur, we will do our utmost to adapt the itinerary and offer alternative areas to ensure the best possible experience.
- This tour is not wheelchair nor mobility scooter accessible
- This tour is not recommended for those with mobility impairments
- The Vatican Museums provide free entry for visitors who are (according to the requirements stated by the Vatican City) at least 74% disabled with the appropriate certification and provides free entry to caretakers: please inform the local partner when booking if you fit into these requirements
Reviews(799)
The guide just gave his point of view, instead of telling the group what should be said . I don’t recommend this Portuguese guide . Rude and unpolite.
Well worth both the time and the ticket price. Not my religion but regardless it’s a must soo/do trip, the artefacts, statuary, general splendor and sheer scale is amazing. I would add we hade a great guide, Julia, or Julya, was knowledgeable, patient and humourous, really added to the occasion so thank you Julia of Check & Go
We really enjoyed this tour! Our guide Julianna was extremely knowledgeable and friendly, providing lots of information on all the art works in the museum as well as the Sistine Chapel. This really made our experience :)
A huge thank you to Lauuricio! On a 40°C day, my mother-in-law was struggling to walk, and he went above and beyond by personally fetching a wheelchair so we wouldn’t miss our tour. His kindness and compassion made all the difference, and we are incredibly grateful. Lauuricio is a real credit to your company!
The Vatican is extremely busy. Early would be best. We were 10:30 and it was very busy at that time.
Meeting location just feet away from entrance. Check in was easy. Guide was great. So knowledgeable. There is sooo much information! You can spend days in there. The heat was unbearable so dress lightly. Great value.
The headsets provided were not high quality and our tour leader was difficult to understand. I've been on other tours with excellent headsets and tour leaders, so suspect we didn't luck out this time. It's expensive, though. Recommend booking early to avoid later price hikes.
It was really, really crowded which is not the fault of the tour. However, at first we didn’t have headsets (didn’t get them until we got into the Vatican) and it was tough to hear our guide during the walk over and before we entered into the building. In the Vatican, because of the crowds, it was also hard to hear our guide.
My wife injured her knee in an accident the day before our scheduled tour and she wasn't sure she would be able to keep up with a group, but she decided to give it a try because the Vatican visit was one of the most anticipated highlights of our trip to Italy. To her credit, she powered through. But she never would have been able to do so without the caring and thoughfulness of our fantastic guide, Alex. It's appropriate that we were in such a holy place, because Alex was a saint that day in the way she looked after my wife, kept her pace slow so we could always keep touch with the group and found places for her to sit down when available. My wife was moved to tears when she thanked Alex at the end of the tour. Alex is also an incredibly knowledgable guide who did a great job of pointing out and explaining the beauty, history and significance of the artwork and architecture in the museum, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. The thing about tours like this one is that you're going to see most of the same things no matter which operator you go with. What sets them apart is the quality of the guide who shows them to you. Thankfully our travel agent booked us with Checkandgo Tours and we had the best guide in Italy!
The guide Juliana was rude !!!! All about herself, I had to run to the restroom on an emergency. I wasn’t even gone 10 minutes, maybe 6 minutes max. I had tried to tell her many times that I had to go and ahead ignored me! The. She proceeded to tell everyone while I was in the restroom that the group would have to wait 50 minutes and she would get fined 100 euros- then said that she doesn’t even make that in a day!!! Once on the tour, she was very negative and opinionated throughout the tour, very biased on her own beliefs. It’s unfortunate , I was trip advisor a lot. But because of this and this Person you have lost a customer
