/
Italy
/
Lazio
/
Metropolitan City of Rome
/
Rome
/
Tours & Activities
/
Skip the Line to Vatican Treasures, Sistine Chapel and Optional Upgrade with Lunch
1 day
Popular
Lunch
Skip The Line
Instant confirmation
About this activity
Morning or Afternoon Tour:
Choose from a morning or afternoon tour, and then board your air-conditioned coach near Rome Termini Station or at your centrally located hotel. Travel the short journey to Vatican City in comfort, passing alongside sites like Piazza del Popolo and the ancient Aurelian Walls.
Hop off your coach and skip past the long entrance lines with your priority-access ticket to enter the Vatican Museums. The complex is home to one of the world’s largest collections of art, featuring an extensive array of treasures amassed by the Vatican popes. Follow your guide down Giuseppe Momo’s bronze spiral staircase – an iconic Vatican attraction – and then visit two of the museum’s star attractions: Gallery of the Tapestries and Gallery of Maps.
Admire the Flemish tapestries that adorn the walls of the first room, and learn how they were based on paintings by students of the Renaissance supremo Raphael. Gaze in wonder at the detailed topographical maps inside the Galley of Maps, and then leave the museum area to walk into the Sistine Chapel. Talking is not permitted inside the sacred site, so walk around at leisure and marvel at its two Michelangelo frescoes – The Creation of Adam and The Last Judgement.
Finish your tour with a walk around St Peter’s Basilica, the home of the Catholic Church. Admire more artistic treasures like Michelangelo’s La Pieta sculpture and Bernini’s Baldachino, and hear little-known stories about the church’s history. Head back to your coach and make use of a drop-off at your hotel or one of several central locations in town.
Full-Day Tour or Full-Day Tour with Lunch:
Upgrade to the Full-Day Tour to combine the Morning Tour with a Christian Rome walking tour in the afternoon. If you opt to include lunch, your guide will drop you off at a traditional restaurant in the center for a delicious 2-course meal with a drink.
Meet your guide at the pre-arranged time, and set off to see the Christian landmarks of Rome. Walk around Esquiline Hill, the largest of the ancient Seven Hills of Rome, and head inside the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore – a lovely 5th-century church on the summit. After exploring inside, stroll to the Holy Stairs (Scala Santa) and stop for photos by Lateran Palace, an old papal residence.
Visit the Basilica of San Giovanni with your guide, and then continue walking along the Ancient Appian Way, a historical road that dates back to around 300 BC. The lane is home to several pretty churches and catacombs (underground cemeteries), and your guide will point out several of the best. See the Chapel of Domine Quo Vadis, and then visit one of the three famous catacombs: San Callisto, Domitilla or San Sebastiano. After exploring underground, visit the old spa ruins at the Baths of Caracalla, and then finish your tour with a hotel drop-off or a drop-off in town.
Read more
Show less
Choose from a morning or afternoon tour, and then board your air-conditioned coach near Rome Termini Station or at your centrally located hotel. Travel the short journey to Vatican City in comfort, passing alongside sites like Piazza del Popolo and the ancient Aurelian Walls.
Hop off your coach and skip past the long entrance lines with your priority-access ticket to enter the Vatican Museums. The complex is home to one of the world’s largest collections of art, featuring an extensive array of treasures amassed by the Vatican popes. Follow your guide down Giuseppe Momo’s bronze spiral staircase – an iconic Vatican attraction – and then visit two of the museum’s star attractions: Gallery of the Tapestries and Gallery of Maps.
Admire the Flemish tapestries that adorn the walls of the first room, and learn how they were based on paintings by students of the Renaissance supremo Raphael. Gaze in wonder at the detailed topographical maps inside the Galley of Maps, and then leave the museum area to walk into the Sistine Chapel. Talking is not permitted inside the sacred site, so walk around at leisure and marvel at its two Michelangelo frescoes – The Creation of Adam and The Last Judgement.
Finish your tour with a walk around St Peter’s Basilica, the home of the Catholic Church. Admire more artistic treasures like Michelangelo’s La Pieta sculpture and Bernini’s Baldachino, and hear little-known stories about the church’s history. Head back to your coach and make use of a drop-off at your hotel or one of several central locations in town.
Full-Day Tour or Full-Day Tour with Lunch:
Upgrade to the Full-Day Tour to combine the Morning Tour with a Christian Rome walking tour in the afternoon. If you opt to include lunch, your guide will drop you off at a traditional restaurant in the center for a delicious 2-course meal with a drink.
Meet your guide at the pre-arranged time, and set off to see the Christian landmarks of Rome. Walk around Esquiline Hill, the largest of the ancient Seven Hills of Rome, and head inside the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore – a lovely 5th-century church on the summit. After exploring inside, stroll to the Holy Stairs (Scala Santa) and stop for photos by Lateran Palace, an old papal residence.
Visit the Basilica of San Giovanni with your guide, and then continue walking along the Ancient Appian Way, a historical road that dates back to around 300 BC. The lane is home to several pretty churches and catacombs (underground cemeteries), and your guide will point out several of the best. See the Chapel of Domine Quo Vadis, and then visit one of the three famous catacombs: San Callisto, Domitilla or San Sebastiano. After exploring underground, visit the old spa ruins at the Baths of Caracalla, and then finish your tour with a hotel drop-off or a drop-off in town.
Included
- Professional guide
- Round-trip transport from Rome to Vatican City
- Lunch (if option selected)
- Hearphones
- Entry/Admission - Sistine Chapel
- Entry/Admission - Vatican Museums
- Entry/Admission - Vatican City
Not included
- Gratuities
- Food and drinks (if upgrade option not selected)
Additional
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Please note: This is a Multilingual Tour
- By pre-booking this tour it enables you to skip the long lines (which can take up to two hours) to enter the Vatican Museums.
- Visitors must pass through metal detectors at the security check point. Please expect to wait 20-30 minutes to clear security.
- A dress code is required to enter the Vatican Museums and knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women. This dress code is strictly enforced and you will be refused entry if you fail to comply with requirements
- Do you cater to wheelchair users? Do you or the Vatican provide wheelchairs? This tour is NOT wheelchair accessible. For your information, Vatican Museums provide wheelchairs free of charge in the main lobby. You can easily pick one up after entrance, before starting your own independent visit. If you are looking for a guided tour with wheelchair access, we recommend booking our private tours so a guide can lead you through the alternate routes.
- This tour is not recommended for people with walking difficulties
- Please note: If St Peter's Basilica cannot be visited because it is closed, you will spend more time in the Vatican Museums
Features
Tourism
95%
Cultural
95%
Original
25%
Reviews
Collections
This experience is part of these collections
You may also like
See all 51 Collections
Click to discover other experiences
See all
Collections
Museums
220 Activities
Collections
St. Peter's Basilica
186 Activities
Collections
Walking Tours
280 Activities
Collections
Colosseum
584 Activities
Collections
Ancient Rome
189 Activities
Collections
Pompeii
146 Activities
Collections
Hop-on Hop-off & Bus
76 Activities
Collections
Trips from Rome
202 Activities
Collections
Roman Forum
203 Activities
Collections
Catacombs
81 Activities
Skip the line is the way to go! Fun tour guide who knows lots about the Vatican. Great limo service.
The problem with this tour is the Vatican/St. Peters Basilica attraction itself. The crowds were so heavy and our guide was so pressured to keep everyone moving together that there was no time to stop and appreciate anything, and instead we were constantly herded among throngs of other groups from start to finish. This all culminated when we entered the Sistine Chapel. Essentially there were 500 people in a room meant to comfortably accommodate 50. Aside from that our guide Vanessa was knowledgeable and effectively managed the group of about 20. Green Line Tours was also very helpful when I failed to read the pickup instructions and instead arranged to be met at the entrance of the museum. But the bottom line is this experience is not how I would ever choose to appreciate art and history, and do not recommend this tour.
very bad tour guide.spoilt our experience
Tour was very nice. Skip the line is the only way to go. We walked past almost a 1/2 mile long line and entered the Vatican Museum in under 10 minutes only had to wait for security. The Vatican was crowded due to the holiday May 1st weekend, not the tour's fault, but try to go during the week when it is less crowded if you can. We spent about 3 hours in the Vatican Museums. My disappointments were that we DID NOT visit the Raphael Rooms maybe due to crowds and we only got to spend 10-15 minutes in the Sistine Chapel. This particular tour Greenline arrived and left the Vatican via bus from central Rome. This is good if you don't want to travel to the Vatican yourself, but I feel that it cut the tour short. After leaving the Sistine Chapel which felt rushed, we had 10 minutes to walk through St. Peter's Basilica before the group had to get back on the bus and go back to the Greenline office. I would have rather had the tour end in the Vatican and be left with more time to walk through St, Peter's Basilica and St. Peter's Square on our own.