Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St Peter’s Basilica Guided Tour
4.5
BEST SELLER
LIKELY TO SELL OUT*
Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St Peter’s Basilica Guided Tour
By City Wonders
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About
Home to some of the world’s most iconic paintings, the Vatican Museums attract huge crowds. Save yourself hours of waiting by booking this skip-the-line tour of the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. Early morning and evening tour options mean you can explore the complex during far less crowded time slots.
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation
Ages 0-99, max of 20 per group
Duration: 3h
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English
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Highlights
- Skip hours-long lines on this Vatican Museums tour in Rome
- Listen to the guide's commentary through a personal headset
- Opt for an early morning or evening time slot for a less crowded experience
- Upgrade to a small-group tour for a more personalized experience
- Reserved Priority Access to the Vatican Museums
- Guided visit of St. Peter’s Basilica (except: Wednesday morning)
- Access to the Sistine Chapel
- Audio headsets so you can always hear your guide
- Group of 20 people or less
- Entry/Admission - Vatican Museums
- Entry/Admission - Cortile della Pigna
- Entry/Admission - Sphere within a Sphere
- Entry/Admission - Galleria Delle Carte Geografiche
- Entry/Admission - Sistine Chapel
- Entry/Admission - St. Peter's Basilica
What's not included- Gratuities
- Depending on the time slot you selected at checkout, your experience begins outside of the Vatican Museums. Access the Vatican through a special entrance with no lines, saving hours of waiting time. Walk first through the Gallery of Maps and the Gallery of Tapestries, hearing your guide's commentary loud and clear through your personal headset. Snap photos in front of the Pigna statue in the Pinecone Courtyard before you continue to Raphael’s Rooms. Spend the next part of the tour gazing upward at the Sistine Chapel, home to Michelangelo’s 'The Creation of Adam' and 'The Last Judgement.' After, say farewell to your guide and continue to St. Peter’s Basilica to enjoy the church independently. Please note that on Wednesdays, due to the weekly Papal Audience, St. Peter’s Basilica may be unavailable. Ensure you select a day other than Wednesday if you’re set on seeing the landmark.
- Start:
- Via Tunisi, 4, 00192 Roma RM, ItalyMeeting point: At the bottom of the steps across the street from the Entrance of the Vatican Museums. The steps are located right next to Caffè Vaticano on the corner of Viale Vaticano and Via Tunisi. The closest Metro stop is Line A (Ottaviano – Musei Vaticani).
End:- St. Peter's Basilica, Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Vatican City
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 3731VATICAN- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- We regret that we are unable to accommodate guests with wheelchairs or any impairments requiring special assistance. We are also unable to accommodate strollers or baby carriages on our group tours.
- It is the responsibility of all visitors to be at the meeting point 15 minutes before departure. Guests arriving after departure cannot be accommodated & missed tours or tickets cannot be refunded.
- At times, despite our priority access tickets, we may experience delays in getting through mandatory security checks when entering these venues
- St Peter’s Basilica is subject to last-minute closures for religious ceremonies. When this occurs, we're happy to offer customers an extended tour of the Vatican Museums. While we endeavour to tell tour groups ahead of time if there are any planned disruptions to the Basilica's opening hours, this is not always possible and in these cases we are unable to provide refunds or discounts.
- On Wednesdays, due to the Papal Audiences, access to St Peter's Basilica is not possible until 1pm
- St Peter's Basilica is not accessible on the evening tours
- Avoid bringing large purses, bags, or backpacks on your tour
- Please note that from Monday 27th of May until the end of November the Michelangelo's Pieta' in Saint Peter Basilica will not be visible due to renewal works of the opera protective glass.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travellers
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
- If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 3731VATICAN
From
AU$102.48
per adult (price varies by group size)
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Itinerary
- Via Tunisi, 4, 00192 Roma RM, ItalyMeeting point: At the bottom of the steps across the street from the Entrance of the Vatican Museums. The steps are located right next to Caffè Vaticano on the corner of Viale Vaticano and Via Tunisi. The closest Metro stop is Line A (Ottaviano – Musei Vaticani).
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- Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Vatican City
About the operator
Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
- 347levis0 contributionsIncredible Tour with the Best GuideMy wife and I came to Rome on our 7 year wedding anniversary and this tour was one of our favorite parts of our trip. Paula H was an incredible guid: So kind, so knowledgeable, and you could tell she really cared about what she was showing you. Honestly, the tour itself was amazing, but Paula made it truly spectacular. 10/10 experience.Written 8 November 2024
- gabrielmP9917EU0 contributionsDisorganized and Poor Customer ServiceNever even got to go! We arrived at the meeting point at Piazza de Popolo shortly before our departure time of 7:30. We stood in line at the group that had the city wonder flag. After standing there for about 10 minutes we are told our group left already. There was no announcement our clarification as to where we needed to stand. The worst part is the staff’s apathetic approach to our situation. We called customer support and spoke to Vlad and his condescending demeanor showed just how apathetic this company is. The staff in person just brushed us off with no care. No refund was issued because it was our fault their staff were unclear and unorganized.Written 8 November 2024
- brandid4850 contributionsFun Day TripTrip was great. Jon was knowledgeable tour guide. Stopped at Limoncello factory. Jon offered recommendations and fun facts throughout the ride. You will not see all of Pompeii, recommend staying in Naples for more exploration.Written 8 November 2024
- brandid4850 contributionsEnjoyable GuideAllan was awesome! This was a fun tour, very intriguing. No pics in the catacombs and you will be dropped off in different location (just as a heads up).Written 8 November 2024
- brandid4850 contributionsJust get ticket directly from ColosseumThey had me download app to do audiotour. The app did not work so I got no tour. Nowhere did the ticket imply I needed my own headset/device or to download an app. Other tours they provide headset, seemed logical they would do that here, otherwise, I have no need for them whatsoever and could download my own app and buy ticket to Colosseum and save money. Even more annoying is even with the app not working it excessively drained my phone and I know I got charged a good deal for roaming to boot. Then when I reached out I got attitude from the office. Very disappointed, this was the tour I was most excited about and wasted more than half a day dealing with trying to resolve. Absolutely do not get this tour. Skip the line is a scam and you can do better just buying ticket directly and doing your own tour. Their other tours were ok, but this was terrible.Written 8 November 2024
- F7896PZdaniellas0 contributionsBest Vatican TourAmazing tour guide Paula H. Explained everything so well, navigated the group perfectly and has an amazing personalityWritten 8 November 2024
- gabrielagM8540OQ0 contributionsGreat experience and knowledgeable guide !Our guide was knowledgeable and caring for the group to make sure everyone had opportunity to get interesting facts and idea about Roman's and coliseum. From 4 different tours with different company this one was the best - worth every penny!Written 8 November 2024
- I1643LXjoshuam0 contributionsGreat tour!It was a great tour! Maria Luisa was extremely knowledgeable and informative. I highly recommend this tour to anyone interested in the history in addition to the sites.Written 7 November 2024
- 391katyay0 contributionsA lot of sighseeing in a day's spanThis a great way to explore southern Italy if you don't have much time. The tour guide, Kler, was very entertaining and amusing. She also provided a lot of local color and information along the way. Keep in mind that the trip is over 12 hours long. You will start in the early morning and arrive back to Rome after 8 PM. We were exhausted at the end of the day, but regardless, it was worth it. We wished we had more time in Positano, a charming town on the Amalfi Coast; an hour is simply not enough to walk around and enjoy the restaurants, food, and shopping.Written 7 November 2024
- BobA8590 contributionsFull Day TripGreat guide, John was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Long tour but worth it. Pompeii tour guide was good but too soft spoken to hear and understand. Most people removed their earpieces.Written 7 November 2024
- S1680OMmiken0 contributionsHighly RecommendJohn from City Wonders was an excellent tour guide. We would of liked more time in Pompeii, but a lot to fit in. John was very knowledgeable and informative. Highly recommend !Written 7 November 2024
- 326yutingh0 contributionsEngaging and Knowledgeable Tour GuideJonathan was an amazing tour guide! He was incredibly engaging and made the experience so enjoyable with his knowledge and storytelling. He kept everyone captivated and added so much to our understanding and enjoyment of the sights. Highly recommend him for anyone looking to have a memorable tour!Written 7 November 2024
- Paul M0 contributionsPerfect sunny dayPatrick our tour guide form 11-3 was outstanding and very friendly with a wealth of knowledge and will forever recommendWritten 7 November 2024
- 0 contributionsColusieumVisit was excellent, tour guide from city wonders excellent. Was easy to understand and engaged with all in the tourWritten 7 November 2024
- velezf20240 contributionsAmy is fantastic and funny!!!Everything on this tour was excellent. From architectures to the history that Amy told were fascinating! Amy is a great tour guide! Book her if you can as she was funny, knowledgeable and a great story teller!Written 7 November 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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4.5
4,359 reviews
Excellent
3,247
Very good
543
Average
216
Poor
133
Terrible
220
Iain M
98 contributions
Having read of horrendous queues- quite possibly the case in the summer- we paid almost £70 for two tickets. We arrived half an hour before our timed visit was scheduled to begin, went straight up to the turnstiles only to discover we could have gone right in for the princely sum of £17. Instead we had to go out again and wait in the rain for the company official to give us our tickets and walk us back to where we had just been. A total waste of time and money at this time of year. Maybe worth it to dodge the queue in high season , but still a huge mark up.
Written 1 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Iainm169,
Thanks for the time spent in leaving this review.
We are sorry to hear the product purchased did not live up to your expectations.
Unfortunately we do not have control over the queues during the year and therefore we have a standard price valid for all the year.
As you can read on the confirmation voucher sent by one of our partner, where you booked the activity, the entrance is valid for the specific time selected.
Also, clearly instructions about where is the meeting point and how to reach it, apart of the information to arrive 15 minutes before, are provided at the moment of the booking. If it was not written on your confirmation voucher we kindly invite you to send us a copy of it and we can follow up with the partner you booked trough to make sure similar situation will not happen in the future.
We thank you again for your comment and we wish you a great day.
Kindest regards,
Luca
City Wonders Team
Written 2 February 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
winnieex0
New York City, NY46 contributions
Jan 2020
We took the 8:10AM tour on January 18, 2020 and we were not satisfied with the guide. I'm not sure what her name is as she did not introduce herself to us. As this is an English tour, the guide was not proficient in English. In addition to that, she did not provide an insightful tour of the Vatican Museum. It was raining that day, and she brought us out to the courtyard to look at pictures of the Sistine’s ceiling to explain the different scenes. I don't understand why that was necessary as no other guides did that. If the weather changed, her route should've changed as well. Moving on to the Ancient Roman Sculpture room, we spent a long time there but did not learn anything interesting. As we moved through the museum, we went to rooms that were under renovation. She would explain at lengths about the process of cleaning the frescos. While it was interesting, it did not warrant 15 minutes of our time. She also did not provide any insight as we moved to the different rooms and chambers of the Vatican. While we were in a room, we learned interesting facts from ANOTHER tour guide that was present about what the room was used for and how they used it. We also did not see any Da Vinci. I don't know if this company has specific tour route to follow, but it would be helpful to see some of Da Vinci's work while we were there, since we were moving onto different part of the place and not coming back. We feel that the extra money we paid for this Skip the Line tour was only skipping the line to the Basilica. I don't think that alone was worth the money. I will definitely not recommend this tour to anyone I know.
Written 28 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear winnieex0,
Thanks for taking the time to leave a review about City Wonders tour.
We are sorry to hear the activity didn't meet your expectations.
The itinerary for our guided tour are mostly decided by the Guide Management Team, trying to include the most significant and interesting piece of arts commentary.
We are sorry you felt this could have been done differently.
In your case I would have suggested to join a Private tour in order to decide yourself which room to visit rather than following a standard tour, Our private tours are aimed to provide an intimate and personalised visit in the venue, to fully satisfy client's curiosity.
You feedback has been escalated to the relevant department that decided to proceed with 20% refund of the total amount paid originally.
The refunded amount will be returned in your account between 7/8 working days, depending on your Bank Circuit.
Once Again we would like to apologise, we hope to see you in the future on our guided tour in Europe.
Kindest Regards
Barbara
City Wonders Team
Written 29 January 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Triple Gs
Glasgow, UK11 contributions
This tour does not give you any skip the line access. You are queued the same as everyone else. Further more the 3hours off guided tour are purely on the Vatican museum and nothing else. Our tour guide was great at doing her job but the title of this tour is very misleading. To visit yourself it is only €17 and you are basically doing over half of this tour alone anyways. Also I would say book directly with City Wonders as trio advisor did not send any confirmation and after trying to connect with them via the telephone they put me on hold for 45mins then answered the phone and promptly hung up on me. Extremely poor customer service.
Written 7 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear 403emmab,
Thank you very much for taking the time to review your Vatican tour.
We are very sorry to hear that the title of this tour provided on Trip Advisor website when you booked was not very clear. Kindly note that due to the current sanitary restrictions imposed by the Covid 19, our Vatican tour only includes the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel; this is why the tour only lasts 2 hours and 30 minutes as opposed to 3 hours in the past.
Also, we are very sorry that you were unable to reach Trip Advisor on the phone as they did not send you a confirmation of your booking. However, please note that you can call or email City Wonders instead and we can send you the confirmation if the tour is with us.
Regarding the queue, please note that we usually have a separate one as a tour operator, however since the crowd has reduced tremendously due to the Pandemic, the Vatican Museums have removed the various queues as there is very little wait to enter the Museums now.
Nevertheless we are glad that you were satisfied with our guide and we are sorry again for the inconveniences you have experienced.
We hope you enjoyed your stay in Rome overall and wish you all the best in your future travels.
Kindest Regards
Chadia
City Wonders Team.
Written 11 September 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Myfanwy
Lincoln, UK57 contributions
I researched a lot before booking a Vatican tour and I’m so glad I did as City Wonders were amazing, our tour guide was very knowledgeable and we got to see so much during the 2 and a half hour tour. I would definitely recommend using City Wonders as a great way to learn about the history and wonders of Rome. Very pleased.
Written 14 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sarah F
7 contributions
Dec 2019
We had tour guide Eddy and he was beyond FANTASTIC! He was so knowledgeable and made the tour fascinating! Being able to skip the lines is worth the price itself, but with Eddy it was even more worth it! He made sure to give us time to enjoy the important places throughout the museum and still point out interesting facts through the parts we didn’t get to spend much time in. He gave us the best tour we have ever had, anywhere! After the tour was through he even gave us tips on places we could go throughout St. Peter’s that we didn’t have time to visit during our tour, and gave us directions to the gifts shops and how to exit the building. He was always making sure our group of 20 was there and checked in with us throughout the tour to make sure everyone was still enjoying it. Thank you Eddy for making our experience truly one of a kind!
Written 12 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Karen C
Puerto Rico18 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
It was so worth it, pretty hard to beat our experience. We went on a Wednesday, it wasn’t crowded and we got extreme lucky as the church was celebrating 500th anniversary of Rafael’s tapestries so of course we got to see them due to City Wonders partnership with the church! If you’re wondering which tour operating company to book - don’t think twice and book City Wonders (I would recommend this in Florence as well). They get top access to documents/events and skip the obnoxiously long lines to help you get to it quickly and smoothly. Igor is an absolutely lovely guide who was so knowledgeable, passionate about the matters, considerate, and great professional. The way he conducted our tour made it that much better and truly a highlight of our trip.
Written 21 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
pramod1031
Ashburn, VA21 contributions
Feb 2020 • Solo
The Vatican, St. Peter’s and Sistine Chapel are no question the best of Rome and this tour makes it easy for you to know what to look for and how to navigate the lines. It gets pretty crazy in there with the crowd and wait .. taking this tour makes better use of your time and at the same time get information from a knowledgeable guide.
Written 24 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
T.J.
1 contribution
Jan 2020 • Couples
We had the good fortune of having Alexandra (Alex) as our tour guide for this trip. She was not only adept at getting through the lines and crowds quickly, but also very knowledgeable about the buildings, paintings and statues. You could tell she was passionate about what she spoke of. She was open to questions and took time to show us extra views and inside jokes along the way. I wish we had time to take more tours with her as I’m sure they would all be this good.
Written 3 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
NuvoNovo
Sydney, Australia8 contributions
Our tour guide Marco was fantastic. Great story teller, pitching at various levels throughout the tour so everyone was engaged. Well organised tour and the skip the line shortcuts allow you to see the galleries, Sistine Chapel and Basilica within 3ish hours - a vastly different experience to my previous visits in the queues. Have dropped one star due to the low quality earphones being v uncomfortable (due to crowd noise you need to wear for most of the 3hrs). My son was able to use his own earphones, so bring some along if you have them.
Written 3 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jacob E
2 contributions
Complete Scam beware!
Do not give them a penny!!!
We bought their tickets through "get your guide"
40 euro per ticket plus "guide"
we arrived at their guide time to find out there is no guide at the place.
Looking for their guide for 15 minutes we called their number and they said "no refund" not even giving us actual tickets to the place.
We had to pay another 17×2 for 2 tickets without guide for the place.
Shame on you City Wonders Ltd.
No really guide not really company.
Just a scam.
Do not give them a penny!!!
We bought their tickets through "get your guide"
40 euro per ticket plus "guide"
we arrived at their guide time to find out there is no guide at the place.
Looking for their guide for 15 minutes we called their number and they said "no refund" not even giving us actual tickets to the place.
We had to pay another 17×2 for 2 tickets without guide for the place.
Shame on you City Wonders Ltd.
No really guide not really company.
Just a scam.
Written 17 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Jacob E,
Thank you for sharing your feedback on Trip Advisor.
We are sorry you missed your tour. We provide clear details and instructions on the confirmations so that the clients can reach the meeting point easily. We also ask our clients to arrive 15 minutes in advance to check in as we must depart from the meeting point on time.
If you could not see your guide at the meeting point then I'm afraid that you arrived late and unfortunately we are unable to wait for late arrivals due to strict entrance times on the tickets for the venue. If we miss the time on the ticket , then the entire group who showed up on time is penalized and we cannot enter the museums.
Kindly note also that what you have booked is a guided tour of 2 hours and 30 minutes, not just tickets.
We wish you safe travels.
Kindest Regards
Chadia
City Wonders.
Written 18 September 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Chiara led us on a 3-hour tour. If an art enthusiast, may consider just getting a regular ticket and self-guiding through as the tour will touch on a small percentage (albeit the most popular) items. We were in the Sistine Chapel for about 10 minutes, which I felt was sufficient. Tour concluded in St Peter's Basilica - and you can remain inside afterward to avoid going through the queue to again gain access.
Written 5 June 2023
The small group tour we booked was a private tour with just my wife and me. I am sure you can book a small group tour for just your family.
Written 22 January 2023
cecylle
Fremont, California
Does it include the access to the dome or need to pay extra?
Written 14 November 2022
Can my American service dog come with me on my Vatican and coliseum tours.
Written 26 July 2022
Hi Leah,
I don’t believe American service dogs are allowed in churches or museums. But it’s worth an email to the tour service you choose.
Written 27 July 2022
I don’t think so. The tour guide has the tickets & gives these to you when you enter the Vatican. If you’re not at the departure point on time the tour I guess the tour guide would go without you.
Written 3 June 2022
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*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.