Rome: The Original Entire Vatican Tour & St. Peter's Dome Climb
Description
Less than 1% of Vatican visitors ascend St. Peter's Dome, this is a remarkable statistic so for this reason we have decided to take it from the top! Meet your expert Vatican guide by St. Peter's Square. Sacred stairs (and an elevator) will carry you up to St. Peter's Terrace from where you will see all of Rome and even the Tyrrhenian Sea! Back on terra firma you will tour the entirety of St. Peter's Basilica too. Take a break before making the short walk to our Vatican meeting point for your second tour of the Vatican City and Sistine Chapel! Get fast track access to the masterpieces which make the Vatican Museums absolutely must-see when in Rome.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Meet your expert Vatican tour guide on the threshold of St. Peter's Square and make your way across marble paving to the steps which wind up and around the dome. There are 551 in total so of course this is too much exertion for most. We take the elevator part of the way which cuts the step count by a sizable 171, leaving 380.
From St. Peter's Square, enter the passageways which lead up to the top of Michelangelo's magnificent dome for superb views of the Vatican City and Rome.
A fully guided tour of St. Peter's Basilica follows your dome climb. It's one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and it will leave a profound impression upon your soul.
Vast museums inside the Vatican City which house many thousands of ancient works of art and sculpture. The most important museum complex in the world!
Take in Michelangelo's masterpieces including the Creation of Adam and the Last Judgement.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Dress comfortably, shoulders and knees must be covered for both men and women.
- On days immediately surrounding religious holidays at the Vatican, alterations to tours may become necessary due to partial closings of areas normally included in this tour. In the event that the Papal tombs beneath St. Peter's Basilica are closed, the tour of the Basilica itself will be extended and no refunds made
- Due to the route covered and/or transportation used, it is not possible to participate in this tour using a wheelchair, scooter, or other aid.
- The final ascent by foot requires climbing 320 somewhat steep steps in a confined area. People suffering from claustrophobia or any other health conditions are advised to remain on the terrace level.
- Please note: This description is provided as a general example. Actual experiences may vary slightly depending on the season, local conditions, and other factors beyond our control.
- Please note that essential travel documents and final itinerary details might be delivered electronically closer to the activity date.
Reviews(1,810)
This tour is a fantastic tour of the basilica, the Papal catacombs to see St. Peter's Tomb, and of the dome closeup. The climb up to the top of the dome's copula offers one-of-a-kind views of Rome, St. Peter's Square, and the Vatican grounds. The meeting points are easy to find and our guide, Marina, was fantastic. Highly recommend this tour. It's a must!
Excellent communication of meeting spot, very informative guide. It was a VERY hot day in Rome, but our 5 hour tour included a break in local lounge with AC, water, coffee and clean bathrooms. Highly recommend!
We literally ran after the guide in the Vatican museum! Did not have a chance to see even 5% of the art. Absolutely not worth it, we will redo this museum in our own.
Dear Ioana, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We are very sorry to hear that you felt the tour was too rushed and that you didn’t have enough time to appreciate the artworks. This is actually our longest tour, lasting approximately 5–6 hours, and it is designed to cover the highlights of the Vatican Museums. Unfortunately, as you can imagine, it is impossible to see the entire Vatican Museums in a single visit—exploring the collections in their entirety would take months. We truly understand your disappointment and appreciate your feedback, as it helps us improve the experience for our guests. We hope you will have the opportunity to return and explore the museums at your own pace.
This tour was "divided" into two tours. The first part of the tour was fantastic, our guide Anatasia was great, very engaging and informative as she took us through St. Peter's. The second part of the tour through the Vatican museums was conducted by guide Enzo was a large disappointment. He focused on things he liked and left most of bored and almost all of his group abandoning him before the official end. Not sure why this tour had to be split, it wasted an hour in the middle of the alloted time, and I truly wish we would have had Anastasia for the whole time.
The tour guide was a wealth of knowledge and we learned a lot more than expected. The walking pace was comfortable and our guide j ew exactly what to do to avoid the long lines. So glad we did this experience with a tour guide.
Well thought tour, our guide was excellent, able to answer questions and chat with us.
Nadia, our tour guide, was exceptional! She was incredibly knowledgeable, genuinely enthusiastic about her role, and made sure everyone stayed safe and together throughout the tour. She made the entire experience an absolute delight. There’s a lot to cover in the time allotted, but Nadia made every minute count. Her passion for art and history was infectious, and it truly shone through in every explanation. I highly recommend this tour. Just be aware that a good level of fitness is helpful, as there is a significant amount of walking involved between the Basilica and the museums. It’s well worth it!
For the review I will break this into 2 parts the St. Peters dome climb and the Vatican. St. Peters/Dome: This was fantastic and our tour guide was Anastasia. She was funny and spoke good very good english/Italian. She gave us tidbits about St. Peters and had a good pace that allowed us to really enjoyed ourselves. Would 100% do this again with her and felt like I got to see everything. Vatican: For the Vatican we had a different tour guide and I don't remember her name. In my opinion I didn't get much out of the things she talked about her and honestly would have rather left her as soon as we got into the muesum so we could explore all the things I found interesting. After about 20-30 minutes I just took the ear piece out and read the placards. I would 100% recommend this to someone else and just tell them once they got into the Vatican to go at their own pace and enjoy what they found interesting.
The tour is good. You learn a lot about everything involved. Although, just for reference, look at the meeting place in additional comments for clarification. They had two different areas in which to meet. When we arrived we had trouble finding the correct meeting area, and missed the first part of our tour. However, the operating company was very responsive in their chat responses to help us catch them for part two of the tour. The only bummer was being out the $$$ for part one of the tour.
This was an absolutely wonderful experience! I'm so glad we got to see so much of St Peter's Cathedral, and I'm very happy that I chose to do the Dome climb even though it was VERY challenging. Our tour guide was great and very knowledgeable. Meeting with the group was easy and the guide took care of our group very well. The Vatican itself, the museums, St Peter's, the Sistine Chapel - WOW! Just incredible. I had never imagined it would be so big. Our guide really made sure we had time to use the restrooms, get extra water (on a very hot & sunny day) and take photos and did a wonderful job keeping the group together and organized.
