Good Morning Vatican!
Early Morning Vatican Tour
Kids pay half price!
Duration
about 3.5 hours
Special early Skip-the-line tickets
Pick up at your hotel
Private Transportation
Professional Guides
Activity level
moderate
Sights Included
– Round Room, Greek Cross Room
– Gallery of the Maps & others
– Stanza di Eliodoro
– Sala di Costantino
– St. Peter’s Square
– Pietà by Michelangelo
Watch the Video
Tour Description
Join our Professional Tour Guides on an unforgettable early Vatican Tour that includes the Sistine Chapel, the Raphael Rooms, and the Vatican Museum (skip-the-line access)
The Vatican is a gem nestled in the heart of Rome. Its walls hide some of the most precious treasures in the world, and many of the most beautiful artworks ever made.
1. The Vatican Museum
Our Early Vatican tour will allow you to enter the Vatican Museum before the big crowds, and have the chance to really enjoy the masterpieces kept in this shrine of art.
Your Private Tour Guide will lead you through the marvelous corridors, showing you both the highlights and the hidden gems of the Popes’ ancient residence.
Roman and Greek Statues will surround you in the Gallery of the Candelabra.
Shiny tapestries will decorate the walls of the corridors you’ll walk through.
Gigantic, 500 years-old maps of Italy painted on the walls will challenge you to find the names of your favorite Italian places in the Gallery of the Maps
Your Tour Guide will not only provide information about the artworks but turn them into stories that you will never forget.
Then, you’ll walk into the Raphael Rooms.
2. The Raphael Rooms
Raphael was one of the greatest artists of his time. He was in his mid-20s when Pope Julius the 2nd hired him to decorate his apartment, giving him the chance to create some of the most famous masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance.
You will see the Room of Constantine, the Room of Heliodorus, the Room of Signature, and admire the unequaled frescoes that decorate their walls: the School of Athens, the Disputation of the Sacrament, the Liberation of St. Peter’s.
Discover all these unforgettable masterpieces and enjoy full detailed storytelling about how they were made, their symbolism, and their secrets.
You will learn about Raphael’s life and tragic death at only 37 years old, and about his rivalry with the great Michelangelo.
3. The Sistine Chapel
The next highlight of your Early Vatican tour will be the Sistine Chapel, the location where the Pope’s election takes place.
Be ready to be left breathless.
This unique church is almost entirely covered with Renaissance frescoes.
The walls were painted by great masters from the 1400s, such as Perugino (the master of Raphael) Botticelli, Rosselli, Ghirlandaio (the master of Michelangelo), and many others.
The Ceiling and the Altar wall, instead, were decorated by the most famous Italian artist: Michelangelo.
Your expert tour guide will tell you about his temper and ambition and will reveal all the secrets of his brilliant masterpieces. He will not only show you all the details of the Ceiling, but he will help you create an emotional connection with it and get a deeper understanding of its artistic value.
You will learn everything about Michelangelo’s enterprise, and how he overcame many difficulties to finally donate this masterpiece to the world.
But, that’s not it: twenty-four years later, Michelangelo started painting also the altar wall, which is entirely covered by the dramatic Last Judgment, his most intense masterwork.
Your Professional Tour Guide will show you all the details of this revolutionary fresco, and guide you through the interpretation of the scenes of damnation and redemption that move millions of visitors every year.
Usually, the Sistine Chapel is extremely crowded, but our Early Vatican Tour has been designed to show you this location before the general public walks in, so that you can fully enjoy its astonishing beauty and go back home with life-lasting memories.
4. St. Peter's Basilica
The last stop of your Early Vatican Private Tour will be St. Peter’s Basilica, the biggest Catholic church in the world.
St. Peter’s was built by the first Christian Roman Emperor Constantine right on top of the cemetery where St. Peter the Apostle had been buried in 64 AD.
Constantine’s basilica was in use until the early 1500s when a very stubborn and determined man became pope with 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 church started in 1506 and was finished only 120 years later.
Your guide will help you skip the line (which you can do only with a guide) and enter through one of the gigantic doors.
Your guide will tell you the incredible story of the construction of the basilica and describe the breath-taking decoration. Look carefully: the whole church is decorated with marble, mosaics, and shiny gold.
Also, you will see the Pietà by Michelangelo and Canopy by Bernini, two of the most famous masterpieces of Renaissance and Baroque art.
Your Early Vatican Tour will end in St. Peter’s Square, the epitome of Baroque architecture built right where St. Peter was crucified upside down.
Before letting you go, your guide will describe to you the highlights of the square, and show you the Pope’s windows.
Why go on your own? Discover the Vatican with us.
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
This is the price for groups from one to six people. If you have more people in your group, please let us know and we’ll create a customized price.
89 € per additional adult
45 € per additional kid under 18
by car or cab to the Vatican
if in Rome city center
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!
