Exclusive First Access Vatican Tour with Skip the Line Basilica

Meeting point

Where

Plan on arriving to our meeting point at least 15 minutes in advance of your selected departure time. Meet our representative on the steps at Via Tunisi, located at the corner with Via Sebastiano Veniero. Be on the lookout for the color bright green of our logo. · Open in Google Maps

Departure

08:00, 08:30 daily; scheduled year-round (operator schedule, seats confirmed at checkout)

Return

When access is not available to the Basilica, this tour will conclude at the Sistine Chapel., When access is available, this tour will conclude at the steps of St. Peter's Basilica.

Pickup

No hotel pickup: everyone meets at the start point

Operator

EcoArt Travel; booking and payment are completed on Viator

1. 1
   Visit the Vatican Museums with fast entry, in the first available access of the day10 min
2. 2
   Cortile della Pigna

   This courtyard gets its name from the enormous bronze Pinecone sculpture that dominates it. Don't miss Alfredo Pomodoro's famous Sphere within Sphere while you are here. Ask your guide to give it a spin for you!

   15 min · Admission included
3. Sphere within a Sphere

   Don't miss Arnaldo Pomodoro's Sphere within a Sphere. Variations of this sculpture can be found in many settings around the world. Ask your guide to give it a spin for you!

   Pass by, no stop
4. 4
   Museo Pio Clementino

   The most famous wing of the Vatican Museums, the Pio Clementino museum contains much of the Museum's most important highlights. Your guide will take you through the Room of the Animals, where you can spot the life-like statues of fauna from around the world. Head to the Octagonal Courtyard where a small fountain trickles in the background of famous statues like the Laocoonte and Apollo Belvedere. Don't forget to look at the Candelabra Gallery - master painters decorated these ceilings to create the illusion of a 3D effect centuries ago!

   45 min · Admission included
5. 5
   Galleria Delle Carte Geografiche

   Head with your guide to the Gallery of the Maps and get a perspective of the world how it was five centuries ago. These exquisitely detailed, hand-painted giant maps are a favorite of the Vatican Museums. See if you can find the Italian cities you have visited, or spot the nod to Christopher Columbus' journey to the Americas.

   20 min · Admission included
6. 6
   Stanze di Raffaello

   Raphael painted these rooms with incredible frescoes, originally meant for the private rooms of Pope Julius II.

   15 min · Admission included
7. 7
   Sistine Chapel

   No guides are able to speak inside the Sistine Chapel. However, your guide will prepare you in advance for your free time inside so you'll know what to look for.

   30 min · Admission included
8. Vatican Museums

   Your visit ends close to where it began, after the spiral staircase at the entrance to the Vatican Museums.

   Pass by, no stop
9. 9
   St. Peter's Square

   When option is selected, access is provided to St Peter's Basilica, skipping the lines. A tour is not provided inside the Basilica, only access. Your visit will end at the steps of St. Peter's Square with an introduction made by your guide after which you will be on your own to continue exploring.

   5 min
10. 10
    St. Peter's Basilica

    Only for options that explicitly include St. Peter's Basilica: Your tour will include access to St. Peter's Basilica through a special exit from the Sistine Chapel, allowing you to bypass the usual long entry lines. Please note that this access does not include a guided tour inside the Basilica.

    10 min · Admission included
11. Vatican City

    Visit to Vatican Museums - Vatican City

    Pass by, no stop

About this tour, from the operator