Rome: Complete Early Morning Vatican Tour | Small Group

Meeting point

Where

*** MEETING POINT *** at our office at Via Santamaura 14B, What a Life Tours. The closest Metro stop is Ottaviano which is a 6-minute walk away. You must allow extra time to reach the meeting point, CHECK-IN is 15 minutes before the tour departure time. WE CANNOT WAIT FOR LATE ARRIVALS. · Open in Google Maps

Departure

07:30, 07:45, 08:00, daily except Sun; scheduled through November 2027 (operator schedule, seats confirmed at checkout)

Return

THIS IS THE END POINT St. Peter's Basilica (except on Wednesdays and any other occasions when the Basilica is closed - in those cases, the tour ends with the Sistine Chapel).

Pickup

No hotel pickup: everyone meets at the start point

Operator

What a Life Tours; booking and payment are completed on Viator

1. The activity starts directly at our office located conveniently very close to the Museums' entrancePass by, no stop
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   Vatican Museums

   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! From a relatively small collection of statues brought in by Julius II, it grew into a gigantic museum to a point that nobody even knows how many items are kept in the vaults and galleries of the Vatican.

   1h 30m · Admission included
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   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.

   10 min · Admission included
4. 4
   The world-renowned tapestries adorning the walls of this breathtaking gallery used to hang in the Sistine Chapel until they were moved to their present-day location

   The most esteemed pieces of the collection are the carpets based on Raphael’s drawings, depicting crucial scenes from the life of Jesus. Out of these 9 tapestries, we recommend paying some special attention to The Resurrection of Christ, which is woven in many layers, creating a surprising optical illusion as you walk by. It took the weavers 4 years to finalize the masterpiece and they cleverly used materials of different densities in order to obtain the eye-deceiving effect.

   10 min · Admission included
5. 5
   Stanze di Raffaello

   Raphael’s most famous frescoes can be seen in four rooms in Pope Julius II’s and Leo X’s apartments. The first of the Raphael Rooms (1508-1524) to be frescoed – Pope Julius II’s study – reflects the themes of theology, philosophy, poetry and justice. Raphael’s most noted painting, the School of Athens, highlights the degree of knowledge acquired through reason. The largest of the rooms, the Hall of Constantine, represents the victory of Christianity over Paganism, the Room of Fire is dedicated to Pope Leo IV, and the Room of Heliodorus represents the liberation of St. Peter. A real highlight on our Vatican tour!

   20 min · Admission included
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   Sistine Chapel

   Once inside the Vatican Museums, it’s straight to the main event – the Sistine Chapel. Gaze upon Michelangelo’s stupefying ceiling, Creation of Adam and the Last Judgment in awe, sharing the space with your group and a few others. Take your time – and savor each moment – because this is an experience you’ll never want to forget, as you nearly reach out and touch one of humankind’s most astounding creative achievements.

   30 min · Admission included
7. 7
   St. Peter's Basilica

   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.

   45 min · Admission included
8. St. Peter's Square

   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. Besides being an extremely sacred place for the Catholic Church, the square itself features a breathtaking architectural design. During the late 17th century, Gian Lorenzo Bernini erected a series of huge Doric colonnades extending out like arms from the basilica. If you stand in the right spot, the rows that consist of four columns, appear to converge as one. This optical illusion shows the incredible architectural precision of the time! To make the most of your trip to Vatican City, we recommend you join a tour of the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica to learn the grand history behind this marvelous city from an expert guide.

   Pass by, no stop
9. Vatican City

   Vatican City, a city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy, is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. It's home to the Pope and a trove of iconic art and architecture. Its Vatican Museums house ancient Roman sculptures such as the famed “Laocoön and His Sons” as well as Renaissance frescoes in the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel, famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling.

   Pass by, no stop

About this tour, from the operator