Vatican Small Group Afternoon Tour | Skip-the-Line Entry

Meeting point

Where

The meeting point is at our office at Via Santamaura 14-b, you will be looking for What a Life Tours. The closest Metro stop is Ottaviano which is about a 6-minute walk away. Please allow extra time to reach the meeting point and notice that the meeting time is 15 minutes before the start time. · Open in Google Maps

Departure

14:00, daily except Sun; scheduled through March 2027 (operator schedule, seats confirmed at checkout)

Return

The tour ends inside St. Peter's Basilica.

Pickup

No hotel pickup: everyone meets at the start point

Operator

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

1. 1
   The meeting point is our office at Via Santamaura 14-B, conveniently located very close to the Museum's entrance10 min
2. 2
   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! 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!

   1h · Admission included
3. 3
   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
   Sistine Chapel

   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.

   25 min · Admission included
5. 5
   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 bronze Baldachin, which sits directly atop the site of St. Peter’s tomb.

   30 min
6. 6
   St. Peter's Square

   St. Peter’s Square in is one of the most famous (and certainly one of the most holy!) sights in the world. It was designed in the 17th century by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who was known as the most accomplished architect in Rome at the time. Pope Alexander VIII, who commissioned the piazza, asked Bernini to emphasize St. Peter’s importance as “the gateway to Heaven” and the architect implemented the request beautifully. He divided the square into a smaller trapezoidal area adjoining the Basilica and an oval main part, which together create a ground plan in the shape of a giant keyhole.

   10 min

About this tour, from the operator