Vatican Skip the Line Private Tour including St Peter's Basilica and Dome

You will have a skip-the-line ticket; so, when you meet your private guide outside the Vatican Museum you gain immediate entry. You then proceed along the numerous ornate galleries and rooms; the Gallery of Maps; the Gallery of Tapestries and into the Pinecone Courtyard. Great masters like Raphael and Michelangelo created much of the stunning artwork for the popes during the Renaissance period; your guide will recount stories of the rivalry between the artists. As you leave the galleries you enter the magnificent Sistine Chapel with Michelangelo’s iconic ceiling frescoes The Last Judgement and The Creation of Adam on one of the chapel’s walls. (There is no speaking inside the chapel so your guide will explain everything before entry).

Next, the trip to the dome! Not long to wait as you will be there before the usual daily hoards arrive. Included in the tour is the elevator ride to the first level where you get an up close view of the inside of the dome with its stunning mosaics and embellishments. From ground level they are impressive; from up close you can really appreciate the mastery that went into creating such elaborate work.

Then prepare yourself for the climb up the 281 steps that will take you to the top of the dome. The guide will tell you what to look for once you reach the top: spectacular views of St. Peter’s Square; the wonderful view along the long, straight avenue that Mussolini bulldozed and that leads to St. Peter’s and the long distance views across the Tiber to the very centre of ancient Rome. Definitely the best viewing point in the whole of Rome!

It is then back again to ground level for a tour of St. Peter’s Basilica where you will explore the numerous side chapels with their hidden crypts. You will see Michelangelo’s Pietà and your guide will explain why this is the only work that he signed. You will gain an appreciation of the mastery that went into the creation of Bernini’s altarpiece and learn how Michelangelo triumphed over his contemporaries for the honour to paint St. Peter’s magnificent dome.

There is still more to see though below ground level. You guide will lead you below ground to the papal crypt where, over the centuries, many of the Popes have been interred. This special place is a site of pilgrimage for many Catholics. Although talking is allowed, before you enter the crypt you guide will tell you where the most important popes are laid to rest.