Skip the Line: Small Group Stories of the Vatican Tour including St. Peter's Basilica

This 3-hour walking experience begins outside the entrance of the Vatican Museums at 2:15pm. You will check in with your guide and small group. The tour includes No Wait, Skip-the-Line Access. There is simply no faster way to enter the Vatican Museums.

After entering via No Wait access -- logistics will be kept to minimum, and before you know it you will embark on an exploration of the highlights and tales of the Vatican Museums.

The tour's smaller group size means you'll have genuine, face-to-face interaction with your English-speaking guide. What's more, your tour guide is a Vatican Insider with a special connection to the Museums - meaning you will enjoy stories you are unlikely to hear otherwise.

A typical itinerary includes the Pavilion of the Carriages, home to everything from centuries old horse-drawn carriages to vintage and modern cars really used by Popes past and present. You'll visit the Pinecone Courtyard, the Hall of the Maps (the "Oval Office" of the Pope centuries ago), the Gallery of the Tapestries, the Pinacoteca, Belvedere Courtyard, Room of the Muses, the Round Room and Candelabra Gallery.

The last stop inside the Vatican Museums is the Sistine Chapel. Your guide will prepare you in advance for this experience as no one is allowed to speak once inside the chapel. With the help of your insider Vatican guide, you will be able to grasp the scale and majesty of Michelangelo's most important work. The afternoon timing of this tour means you will visit the Sistine Chapel at the very end of the day when the crowds have moved on. If you are lucky, you may even be among the last out.

From the Sistine Chapel, you'll take advantage of direct access to St. Peter's Basilica. No need to wait on the long security line here. After a guided tour of the Basilica, you'll be free to explore the Basilica on your own for as long as you like before closing time.

Special Note about St. Peter's Basilica: It is possible that due to Papal events, some planned in advance and some at the last minute, that access to St. Peter's Basilica and/or the Sistine Chapel from the Vatican Museums will be closed or that the Basilica will be completely closed off to the public. In these cases, we will do our best to inform guests ahead of time and provide alternatives. This is not always possible, however, and in the case of a last minute interruption, extra time will be spent exploring the Vatican Museums. In such cases, no partial refunds will be provided.