Small Group Tour of Vatican Museums, St. Peter’s Basilica and Sistine Chapel
This exceptional tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica lets you bypass the hours long waiting lines to these attractions so that you can save time on your Roman holiday admiring the incredible art and architecture that is a hallmark of the Vatican experience. See the world famous artistic treasures housed in these buildings as well as lesser known but just as fascinating gems of the art world housed here.
You professional English guide will be providing you informative commentary as he helps you navigate your way through the key parts of Vatican City, from the Pinecone Courtyard to the Hall of Maps, past the Gallery of Tapestries, and the Gallery of Candelabra until the incredible Raphael Rooms, the public part of the papal apartments. Listen to some fascinating stories about the provenance of the artwork that is held in these places as well as the history from the era in which they were commissioned, giving you insight and knowledge that is hard to gain on your own.
Unsurprisingly, one of the major highlights of this tour is when you arrive at the Sistine Chapel and, though tours are not allowed through the chapel, your guide would have already prepared you through the use of detailed photos as to what to expect once you enter the room. Allow yourself a while to pick out the details your guide would have told you about, like the portrait of Michelangelo’s boneless frame to in express that he would rather be skinned alive than paint the Sistine Chapel again, the fresco that is synonymous with his life's work but also the most arduous labor of love that he had encountered throughout his lifetime.
Having explored the Sistine Chapel in detail, you'll be able to exit the chapel through a special doorway and go straight through to St. Peter's Basilica, having once again bypassed the snaking lines. Admire the awe inspiring altar framed by Michelangelo's Last Judgement behind it and gaze at La Pietà, the incredible sculpture which remains the only work that Michelangelo ever signed with his name, an act of vanity that the master is said to have regretted his entire life.
After having had your fill of the Basilica, your group will make it's way outside to see St. Peter’s Square, designed by the Italian master Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Groups will have a guided tours inside St. Peter’s Basilica every morning except on Wednesdays, when it’s highly likely that the Basilica will be closed to the public for the Papal audience. On afternoon tours the guide delivers a commentary about St. Peter’s Basilica from St. Peter’s Square before groups enter the basilica on their own to admire it further. Your tour concludes in the Square, where there's plenty to see on your own, like the Balcony from which the Pope addresses the crowds that gather here or Bernini's exceptional use of architecture and artwork itself to adorn the Square.
