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Best Skip the Line Vatican Tour

with Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica

Skip-the-line Vatican Small Group Tour ★★★★★ 4.9 based on 16 reviews.
5 1
Group size: Max 12 Language: English Duration: 3 hrs Start Time: 10:00 am

2020 travellers' choiceBook the top-rated Vatican Tour and skip all lines! See the best of the Vatican Museums with a local official tour guide.
Get straight inside with skip-the-line access to see a host of treasures including the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica, all with enlightening storytelling from a passionate guide to putting you front and center at Rome’s premier collection of artistic masterpieces.
Groups of 12 people or fewer!

At a Glance: Why You’ll Love It

best skip the line vatican tour
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
This express itinerary takes you straight to what you want to see most with the Sistine Chapel, Gallery of Maps, St. Peter’s Basilica*, and Michelangelo’s Pietà.
In small groups of only 12 people, you can immerse yourself in your guide’s expert storytelling and satisfy every curiosity without feeling lost in the crowd.

Tour Summary Get in the Know

The Best of the Vatican: Skip The Line Tour

Dive into Vatican tours, with must-see attractions with the highlights you absolutely can’t leave Rome without. Luckily, they’re all on a straight shot to the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica, but you’ll still be in awe of the immense treasure trove you’ll find along the way. This tour has been specifically designed to get you inside as quickly as possible with skip-the-line entry and move through the collection without hitting the bottlenecks. You’ll have a passionate Vatican expert with you all the way for a true insider’s perspective, and in groups of only 12 guests or fewer, both you and the priceless works of art will get the attention you deserve. A private Vatican VIP early entry tour is by far the best way to experience this amazing location.

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. Whatever the case may be, you’ll walk away with a deep understanding of the rich history and vibrant masterpieces housed inside the Vatican’s walls.

Shortcut to the Sistine Chapel: Chapel VIP Tours

Return to a time when Michelangelo and Raphael were rivaling Renaissance geniuses, and examine timeless art and the progressive ideas that changed the face of western civilization. You’ll be led on an enlightening discovery of what happened, exactly where the events took place. As you wander the vastness of courtyards and open-air sculpture galleries, you’ll no doubt be struck by the dazzling Gallery of Maps and Pinecone Courtyard, brimming with frescoes, sculptures, tapestries, and more. Your guide will create a rich experience, summoning historic personalities and leaking the backstories on the artworks.

The buildup can only lead to the Sistine Chapel, and you’re sure to sigh upon entering. Michelangelo’s ceiling frescoes are one of the most incredible creative achievements ever, and to think he considered himself a sculptor. You’ll see the crown jewels of this four-walled masterpiece, The Creation of Adam and The Last Judgment, summing up the biblical history of humankind in vivid, living color. Michelangelo dedicated 9 years of his life to the tasks, and when you see his hidden self-portrait you’ll know how he felt afterward. Your guide will have provided context on this and more as you take precious time to explore.

Splendors of St. Peter’s: Private Guided Tours

This tour winds down with a bang inside St. Peter’s Basilica, where you’ll witness the incomparable grandeur of its mosaics, golden ceilings, gigantic statues, and the spectacular dome. Optical illusions will be unveiled and history will unfold as we escort you to Bernini’s bronze Baldachin and the chair of St. Peter himself. Last but not least, we will stop by the Pietà, one of the cornerstone masterpieces of the Renaissance. Learn what led Michelangelo to defile one of his most prized sculptures and the reason he modeled the Virgin Mary to appear the same age as her son.

While some may say that you’d need a lifetime to fully explore the Vatican, we know that our guests don’t have that kind of time on their hands. With our skip-the-line Vatican tours and an insider expert leading the way, you’ll leave your Vatican adventure feeling enlightened and still have time to see the rest of the Eternal City.

More in Rome: The Magnificence of The Colosseum

Skip the line with our fabulous Colosseum tours, and experience the majesty of this beautiful location. Immerse yourself in history and stand where the gladiators of Ancient Rome once stood. When you book a guided personal tour with one of our expert guides, you’ll learn all about the famous venue and its history from someone with top knowledge. 

Intimate tours of 12 people or fewer will give your guide a better atmosphere in which to pass on their expert knowledge of the Colosseum, and make history come to life. Experience one of Rome’s greatest locations and see sites that regular ticket-holders can only view from afar. View the Arena Floor, where gladiators fought for survival, and the top-tiers, where Roman bureaucrats watched the bloodsport. With our skip-the-line tours, you’ll feel like a VIP.

What you’ll See Along the Way

Pinecone Courtyard
Belvedere Apollo
Laocoön and His Sons
Belvedere Torso
Round Room
Greek Cross Hall
Gallery of Candelabra
Gallery of Tapestries
Gallery of Maps
Sistine Chapel
St. Peter’s Square
St. Peter’s Basilica
Michelangelo's Pietà
Bernini's Baldachin
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Tour Highlights

  • Pinecone Courtyard
  • Belvedere Apollo
  • Laocoön and His Sons
  • Belvedere Torso
  • Round Room
  • Greek Cross Hall
  • Gallery of Candelabra
  • Gallery of Tapestries
  • Gallery of Maps
  • Sistine Chapel
  • St. Peter’s Square
  • St. Peter’s Basilica
  • Michelangelo’s Pietà
  • Bernini’s Baldachin

Inclusions

  • Skip-the-line access to Vatican Museums
  • Skip-the-line access to St. Peter’s Basilica
  • Expert English-speaking tour guide
  • A small group of 12 or fewer
  • All tickets and reservations
  • Headsets to hear the guide clearly

Vatican Best-of-the-Best Tour

What Our Customers Say…

Skip-the-line Vatican Small Group Tour ★★★★★ 4.9 based on 16 reviews.
5 1

Amazing tour guide - very informative

★★★★★
Extremely informative and enjoyable tour of the Vatican City with Ana. Went at our pace and had all the answers to our questions!
- Charlie

Best Tour of the Vatican!

★★★★★
Top marks to our guide Elaine! She was very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and informative. Great to hear a guide say how much she loves her job - and it showed, with many interesting points of interest pointed out to us by Elaine. Fully recommend her for this tour!!
- Kylie Smith

Great Vatican Tour

★★★★★
Ana was an excellent tour guide and had 20 years experience with the Vatican. She was very knowledgeable and brought the stories of the past to life. We got to learn a lot of things you may miss by doing a self guided tour. 3 hours was the perfect amount of time and it gave you plenty of time to look around and take pictures.
- AG

Skip the Line Vatican Tour

★★★★★
Great tour with a wonderful guide. Her English was perfect, she was fun & interesting. The Vatican Museum was so much larger than I expected. Everything was amazing! Well worth the extra money to get a lot of inside information about what we were seeing. Incredible!
- Rosie A.

The Best!

★★★★★
We all enjoyed our tour with your group this morning. Elaine is THE BEST guide we have had whilst travelling. Her knowledge and story telling is exceptional, witty and engaging all whilst being very professional. She kept the tour moving at a good pace without leaving us feeling rushed. We wish Elaine all the best with her future! Thanks for a great look at the Vatican.
- Angela, Piper and Shanaye

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