Classic Vatican Private Tour
Kids pay half price!
Private Tranasportation
Skip-the-line tickets
Pick up at your hotel
Professional Guides
Duration
3 hours
Activity level
moderate
Sights Included
– Gallery of the Maps
– Gallery of the Tapestries
– Round Room
– Greek Cross Room
– St. Peter’s Square
– Pietà by Michelangelo
Tour Description
Our Classic Vatican Private Tour is a discovery of one of the most beautiful museums in the world.
Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bramante…Enjoy their masterpieces in the most comfortable way: a private tour with skip-the-line tickets.
1. The Vatican Museum
There are many incredible museums in the world, but there’s nowhere quite like the Vatican.
Nowhere else combines art, archaeology, history and religion in such an extraordinary way.
This museum is not only home to a breathtaking collection of artworks, but it is also a masterpiece of architecture in itself.
It was designed by Bramante and other great architects, and decorated by the most talented and celebrated artists of the day.
During your Classic Vatican Private Tour, your expert guide will lead you through the frescoed rooms and galleries, making sure you enjoy every moment of the experience. As you explore the galleries together, they’ll help you to discover some hidden gems as well as the highlights.
- The Pio Clementino Museum
Your tour begins in the Museo Pio Clementino, which has one of the most important Greek and Roman art collections in the world.
You’ll see Laocoon, the Belvedere Torso, the famous gilded bronze statue of Hercules, and many other iconic ancient statues.
Classical and Renaissance art are two pages of the same book. Your guide will help you read it, sharing the story of the discovery of the ancient artworks, and the impact they had on Renaissance artists like Raphael and Michelangelo.
- The Galleries
Then, you’ll walk through the ornately decorated galleries that lead to the Sistine Chapel – the Gallery of the Candelabra, the Gallery of the Tapestries, and the Gallery of the Maps. We bet it’ll be the most impressive indoor half-mile you’ll ever walk!
On the way, you’ll admire the frescoes that cover every surface, as well as the stuccoes and gilded decorations. You’ll also literally have an overview of the whole of Italy in the Gallery of the Maps. The walls are beautifully painted with the oldest maps of Italy.
2. The Sistine Chapel
After visiting the Galleries, your Classic Vatican Private Tour will continue in the Sistine Chapel.
As soon as you enter, you’ll understand why this church is so famous worldwide, and why its decoration is considered one of the greatest accomplishments in human history.
You’ll see two of the greatest masterpieces by Michelangelo: the Sistine Chapel ceiling and the Last Judgment.
Your guide will tell you not just about Michelangelo’s genius, but also his tormented personality and his secrets. Is it true that he was homosexual? And how was that perceived in the society of the 1500s?
As you admire the artworks, your guide will also provide a full explanation of the frescoes, showing you Michelangelo’s evolution in style over the years. How long did it take him to complete the paintings? Did he really do everything by himself? You’ll soon find out!
The Sistine Chapel is also the place where the popes have been elected for centuries, and are still chosen today. It’s a key building in the history of Catholicism.
3. St. Peter’s Basilica
The last stop of your Classic Vatican Private Tour will be St. Peter’s Basilica, the biggest and the most important Catholic church in the world.
St. Peter’s was built by the first Christian Roman Emperor Constantine. He chose a very special location: the place where St. Peter the Apostle had been buried almost 250 years before.
Constantine’s basilica was in use until the early 1500s, when a very stubborn and determined man became pope with the name of Julius the 2nd.
Julius wanted to leave a permanent mark on the Vatican area. He wanted to build something that would have made his name resonate through the centuries, and become eternal.
Therefore, he decided to build a new St. Peter’s Basilica after demolishing the old one.
His basilica would have been even bigger, richer, and more impressive than the original.
The construction of the new Basilica started in 1506 and was finished only 120 years later.
This gargantuan church will be the perfect place to finish your Vatican tour.
Your guide will help you skip the line (which you can do only with a guide) and enter through one of the massive doors.
You will admire the shiny gold of the ceilings, the tons of marbles, and the square miles of mosaics used to decorate this unique building.
Also, you will see the Pietà by Michelangelo and Canopy by Bernini, two of the most famous masterpieces of Renaissance and Baroque art.
Your Vatican Private Tour will end in St. Peter’s Square. This masterpiece of Baroque architecture is the exact location where St. Peter was crucified upside down.
Before saying goodbye, your guide will describe to you the highlights of the square, such as the Pope’s windows and the dozens of statues that decorate the square.
Ready to discover the Vatican?
Why join a big group tour, where you struggle to hear what the guide is saying?
Forget about standard talks and itineraries. Instead, book our Classic Vatican Private tour – explore at your own pace, and take advantage of our fully-customized service!
The Vatican management might decide to close the Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, or any other part of the museum without giving notice to anyone. It happens rarely, but it could happen. We’ll do our best to integrate what you will eventually not see with something else equally interesting.
You MUST bring an ID, a passport or a driver’s license to enter the sights.
Your knees and shoulders must be covered to enter the Vatican.
Kids pay half price if accompanied by an adult.
89 € per additional adult
49 € per additional kid under 18
by cab or car to the Vatican
if in Rome city center
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or call us at +39 376 165 1457 Tour Location
Italian ArtVentures' Feedbacks
Your guides are so friendly and knowledgeable. They made the history accessible and enriching.
You covered every detail, down to lunch reservations, business class train tickets and wonderful air-conditioned transportation with friendly drivers!
Thank you again for all the e-mails to develop a personalized itinerary for a special trip! We give you 5 1/2 stars on a 5 star scale!
