Vatican Night Tour with Dinner in the Pinecone Courtyard

Meet your guide outside the UNESCO-listed Vatican Museums in Vatican City. Head past the lines of people waiting for the evening admission, and step straight inside with your fast-track ticket. First stop: the Pinecone Courtyard, where a lavish dinner buffet with wine awaits.

After eating with your guide and group, your explorations start. Learn about the history of the Pinecone Courtyard, where you have just eaten, and gaze out from an open patio that overlooks the Vatican Gardens. Stand beneath St Peter’s Basilica’s dome, and stroll corridors, lined with priceless works of art, as you make your way through the museum complex.

Wander amid the Renaissance works of Raphael’s Rooms — a series of interconnecting galleries — and see The School of Athens and more. Visit the Gallery of Maps and Gallery of the Tapestries, and pose for photos next to the grand-looking Ancient Roman and Greek statues that seem to guard the rooms.

The star of a visit to the Vatican Museums is, for many, the Sistine Chapel. Learn about the sacred rooms and Michelangelo’s frescoes from your guide before you enter, and then step inside to soak it all up. Gaze to the ceiling to see The Creation of Adam, and cast your eyes to the chapel’s back wall where The Last Judgement takes pride of place.

Your evening Vatican tour then finishes outside the chapel.