Why choose this Rome tour ?
Why book this tour? You visit the Vatican once in a lifetime! Skip-the-line access means you’ll have more time to explore millennia of art and history within these hallowed walls without waiting in the long general admission lines.
Explore the highlights of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica in a small group.
Get straight inside with skip-the-line access to see a host of treasures of the Vatican City, all with enlightening storytelling from a passionate guide.
Dive into the Vatican’s must-see attractions with the highlights you absolutely can’t leave Rome without. This tour has been specifically designed to get you inside as quickly as possible with skip-the-line entry.
This is hands down the perfect tour for families traveling with small children or teens, people who “don’t do” museum tours, or those who have limited time and want to see the Eternal City in less than an eternity.
Make the most of your Rome adventure
What makes Skip-the-Line Vatican, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter’s | Small Group a unique experience ?
Meeting Point:
The meeting point is our office, very close to the Museums’ entrance, the exact address is Via Santamaura 14B. The closest Metro stop is Ottaviano. Please allow extra time due to traffic during the summer months!
AFTERNOON TOUR – Meeting Point:
Our office is located 2-min away from the Vatican Museums’ entrance, the exact address is Via Santamaura 14B.
If you do need assistance with how to reach the meeting point, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
We continue our visit entering Vatican City, the smallest country in the world.
Encircled by a 2-mile border with Italy, Vatican City is an independent city-state that covers just over 100 acres, making it one-eighth the size of New York’s Central Park. Vatican City is governed as an absolute monarchy with the pope at its head.
The Vatican mints its own euros, prints its own stamps, issues passports, licenses plates operates media outlets and has its own flag and anthem. One government function it lacks: taxation. Museum admission fees, stamp and souvenir sales, and contributions generate the Vatican’s revenue.
The Vatican Museums feature many works of art that belonged to the different Popes and are full of artistic beauty. Here is a glimpse of some of the most beautiful things to see in the Vatican Museums. Rooms and Galleries of the Vatican Museums, as the Greek Cross Room, the Gallery of Maps, the Gallery of Tapestries, Raphael Rooms and much more!
These collections have been piled up over the course of centuries through acquisitions, donations, commissions, confiscations, and quite often lucky discoveries from underground Rome and not only.
The Gallery of Maps is a stupendous hallway where geography and history are perfectly intertwined. Created at the end of the 16th century, the entire room is dedicated to customized maps, which display the whole of Italy. On one side of the 393-foot long gallery are two representations of the country: one from the Imperial Roman Era and the other from the 1500s. Each map shows political happenings, religious roles, and major battles. The ceiling is no less remarkable, with frescoed scenes displaying episodes and miraculous events of apostles, saints, and martyrs, which are linked to the geographical maps below.
Admire the breathtaking Sistine Chapel of Michelangelo! The most famous section of the Sistine Chapel ceiling is Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam. This scene is located next to the Creation of Eve, which is the panel at the center of the room, and the Congregation of the Waters, which is closer to the altar.
Not everything was done by Michelangelo and your expert guide will be able to point that out. This proves just how great artists, even little known, left their marks in these magic locations. This is the right time to discover that!
If you thought the size of the Vatican Museums was overwhelmingly spectacular, St. Peter’s Basilica takes the “wow factor” to another level. The sheer capacity of the interiors is enough to leave any visitor searching for words to describe its vastness. At 613 feet long, 85 feet wide and 147 feet high, it took an incredible 120 years to build, starting from 1506. Admire Michelangelo’s unparalleled Pietà masterpiece and stroll towards the center-right nave to observe Bernini’s 30-foot high bronze Baldachin, which sits directly atop the site of St. Peter’s tomb.
A visit to Vatican City would not be complete without standing in awe of the beauty in St. Peter’s Square, also known as Piazza San Pietro.
This massive square framing St. Peter’s Basilica is the location where the pope holds Wednesday General Audiences and special masses on religious holidays.
Tour Description & Additional Info:
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- A dress code is required to enter places of worship and selected museums. No shorts or sleeveless tops allowed. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women. You may risk refused entry if you fail to comply with these dress requirements.
- While the Vatican Museums are equipped with elevators for wheelchair/walkers access, they are not conveniently located on the group tour route and only give access to specific sections of the Museums. As a result, we cannot accommodate wheelchairs/walkers on this tour.
- The ticket is valid only for the day and time reserved.
- Please remember to bring with you a valid ID document for all participants (or even a picture of it) because the Vatican Museums tickets are nominal and your ID will be checked when you enter.
- Unable to accomodate service animals.
Options To Choose for Your Trip:
- High Season 2024/2025
Add
• Wednesday’s Tour : • Please note that the tour of all Wednesdays at 9:30 am will not include St. Peter’s Basilica, due to the Papal Audience.
• Important info: •Small Group
•Meeting Point: Office – Via Santamaura 14b - Last Minute Offer
Add - Low Season 2024/2025
Add - Spanish Tour
Add
•Group Tour – max 18 per guide: •Official Tour Guide in Spanish
• Skip-the-Line Entry
Skip-the-Line Vatican, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter’s | Small Group Inclusions:
Included with Your Ticket
- Entry to the Sistine Chapel
- Skip-the-line entry to the Vatican Museums & St. Peter’s Basilica
- Tickets included
- Headsets to hear the guide clearly
- Small Group
- Easy meet up point to our office (5 min walk from the Museums)
- English-speaking licensed tour guide
Not Included
- Gratuites
- St. Peter’s Dome
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Special Instructions:
- This Tour is Provided by What a Life Tours.
- Tour Timezone & Starts at Europe/Rome.
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted.
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
- This Tour is Rated 5 Stars based on 4967 valid reviews on VIATOR.
- Minimum 1 Travelers is required to book.
- Maximum 2 Travelers is accepted for booking.
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
• St. Peter’s Basilica is an active parish and therefore subject to last-minute closures due to mass or other religious events. In these cases, we will offer an extended tour of the Vatican Museums (with Raphael Rooms). Please note that 2025 is the Jubilee year, closures of St. Peter’s Basilica can happen anytime without further notice. No refunds are recognized for unexpected closures.
• Please remember to bring with you a valid ID document for all participants (or even a picture of it) because the Vatican Museums tickets are nominal and your ID will be checked when you enter.
• While the Vatican Museums are equipped with elevators for wheelchair/walker access, they are not conveniently located on the group tour route and only give access to specific sections of the Museums. As a result, we cannot accommodate wheelchairs or walkers on this tour. Please note that a group tour is rather fast-paced so in case of any mobility issues we recommend booking a private tour so you can go at your own pace.
• We are unable to accommodate late arrivals due to a time entrance of the Vatican Museums tour voucher. Missed tours or tickets due to late arrivals are non-refundable. Please allow extra time to reach the meeting point, our office is very close to the museum’s entrance. The closest Metro stop is Ottaviano, and the exact address to give to the driver in case you take a taxi is Via Santamaura 14-b. Please allow extra time to reach the meeting point due to traffic in the summer months. The meeting time is 15 minutes in advance of the start time.
• If you have any difficulty finding the meeting point for your tour or if you have any other issue requiring urgent attention, please call us at +39 06 89111009.
• All participants need to cover their knees and shoulders when entering the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica.
• Big-size umbrellas are not allowed.
Thank you and we are looking forward to meeting you!
