See the highlights of Vatican City ON this skip-the-line tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel. Join a knowledgeable guide for a visit to the incomparable Vatican Museums—home to one of the most extensive and impressive art collections in the world. Admire the Raphael Rooms and take in the incomparable frescos of the Sistine Chapel.

Enjoy fast-track access past the lines at the popular Vatican Museums
Learn about the incredible art collections from an expert guide
Finish up a museum visit with time in the gorgeous Sistine Chapel

Why Travellers Choose This Tour

With this tour, a hotel pickup option drops you off straight at the meeting point.

What's Included

Exclusive Skip-the-line
Professional guide
Headsets
Guaranteed to skip the long lines
Hotel pickup in central Rome (if option selected)
Transport by air-conditioned coach (if option selected)

Food and drinks, unless specified
Gratuities
Pickup service (if the option is not selected)

Meeting And Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

Piazza del Risorgimento
Piazza del Risorgimento, Roma RM, Italy
Meet at Piazza del Risorgimento at the 'Bar - Caffetteria L’Ottagono' at the centre of the square,

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

End point

Via delle Fondamenta
Via delle Fondamenta, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Vatican City
The tour ends near Piazza San Pietro square.

Pickup details

Your centrally located hotel in Rome

What To Expect

Stanze di Raffaello

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Vatican Museums

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Sistine Chapel

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Vatican City

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
A dress code is required to enter places of worship. No shorts or sleeveless tops allowed. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women. You may risk refused entry if you fail to comply with these dress requirements

If you choose pick-up option, contact us no later than 24 hours, in order to reconfirm your pick-up schedule be ready in the lobby
Near public transportation
Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Frequently Asked Questions

The answers provided below are based on answers previously given by the tour provider to customers’ questions.

Q:What is the pick up location?

A:We offer pick ups from most hotels. Let us know where you are staying in the 'Special Requirements' box in the Traveler Details section during checkout. Or you can let us know after booking by visiting 'Manage my Booking' and emailing us there.

Jul. 2019

Q:Where is the meeting point?

A:Meeting point for the tour will be at Bar "L'Ottagono" in Piazza del Risorgimento.

Jul. 2019

Traveller Photos

Traveller Tips

Don't get separated from the group because you will have to play catch up and miss the experience.

Skip the line is must unless you want to spend hours queuing.

It is a long tour so be prepared to walk and and stand up a lot.

Reviews

4.0

1,323 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 1,323 reviews

Spectacular experience

Madeline_C, June 2023

While the Vatican is extremely popular and overwhelmed with crowds, we still enjoyed this spectacular tour and are grateful for a knowledgeable guide. We definitely recommend this tour. Plan to hydrate and wear comfortable shoes! We were standing/walking for close to three hours. We also got priority entrance into St. Peter's which was nice.

Way too many people. Too...

Vaso, June 2023

Way too many people. Too crowded to appreciate any of it. Guide was good though. Her name was Rita. Very informative and patient.

organizers driver was not a good experience.

Ryan_B, June 2023

i would not take Viators driver. This was not a good experience. Lita, the group leader, was just fine. The Vatican was packed. Expect to be claustrophobic in some areas.

Skip the Line Vatican Tour/Museums/Sistine Chapel - Excellent experience

Ricky_H, May 2023

Wonderful tour and guide. It's the only way to go. Very happy with the experience and education given by our guide.

Fantastic tour of the Vatican!

LAINA_M, May 2023

Rita with I Love Rome by Carrani Tours was a fantastic tour guide. She shared her knowledge of the Vatican in the most interesting and captivating way. I highly recommend this tour if you are interested in seeing the Vatican, in particular the Sistene Chapel. Book the earliest tour possible since it gets very crowded as the day goes on.

The tour definitely helps...

Kautuk_K, May 2023

The tour definitely helps skip the long queue for the entry to the museums. The guide us took us through the key parts of the museums (few sections are skipped), and the main focus was the Cistine Chappel. Overall, I would say the key value of the tour is to help skip the long lines for entry.

Overcrowding and claustrophobic conditions

KATE_R, May 2023

While the guide was very good, the overcrowding and anxiety inducing conditions made the whole experience terrible.

Response from Host, May 2023

Dear Kate, thank you for sharing your feedback about your recent experience visiting the Vatican Museums with us. We appreciate your positive comment regarding the guide and acknowledge the importance of having a knowledgeable and capable guide to enhance the tour experience. However, we deeply regret to learn that overcrowding and anxiety-inducing conditions negatively impacted your overall experience. We apologize for any inconvenience and discomfort you faced due to these circumstances. Maintaining a comfortable and enjoyable environment for our travelers is of utmost importance to us, and we understand that overcrowding can detract from the quality of the tour. We take feedback seriously and your input will help us make the necessary adjustments to avoid similar situations in the future and provide a more enjoyable experience for all. Again, we value your patronage and hope that you will consider giving us another opportunity to provide you with a more positive experience in the future. Best regards, Gray Line Rome

Overall experience was excellent

William_C, May 2023

The tour was great and the guide was expectional-Rita she deserves a 3 star 🌟 Michelin award.. The only deappointment was for the price paid there was no return drive service back to the hotel

The Vatican is overwhelming but we had a great experience

Char_M, May 2023

The Vatican museum is overwhelming - you really need several tours to understand the complexity of this place - our guide did a wonderful job of introducing us to an overview and initial introduction to beautiful artistic artifacts

Very well organised despite the crazy crowds at the Vatican

Luis_M, May 2023

Very memorable tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and the Basilica. Our guide was very knowledgable and we started and finished on time. There were crazy long lines everywhere and we were lucky to skip most of the lines

Disappointment

Jonathan_M, May 2023

Missed the tour due to an Papal event in Saint Peters Square...was running 15 minutes late and had no process to support or help out...

Vatican City tour

Charlee_B, May 2023

Fantastic tour guide, great knowledge and very friendly had a fantastic day! Would definitely recommend the skip the queue - it’s a lot more expensive but the queue for normal tickets is huge you will be waiting hours

Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel

Richard_F, May 2023

Greatly appreciated our tour guide through the Vatican Museum and Stistine Chapel. Very knowledgeable with the subject matter and guiding our group through masses of other tourists.

Amazing art and pieces of antiquity!

Tessie_S, May 2023

Our guide, Paula, was fantastic! Very knowledgeable and patient. 19 people in our group so keeping us all together was no easy task. And she was just a tiny little thing! Thank goodness that this tour had radios with earbuds! Be prepared for LONG lineups (even with skip the line) because that’s just how it is. Many tours wanting to see this fascinating site! You unfortunately don’t have very long in the museums, but you get to see everything at a glance. They are very strict there on where and how long you can stand looking at something. Many magnificent pieces of art to see! Please listen to your guide regarding rules in the Sistine chapel and St Peters Basilica: be respectful and remove hats, and don’t talk! So many tourists don’t seem to understand this!! If you don’t want to follow the rules, don’t go to a Catholic Church! They do herd you like cows in the Chapel! But again, too many people! We also went up the Cupola (not included in the tour, and you have to pay extra, but only €10 with elevator). 320 steps. Was not hard (and we’re old!) but vertigo definitely can be an issue! I had to keep my eyes on only the floor going up. The view at the top is so worth the climb!! A must see! Would highly recommend this tour!

Definitely do the skirt the line tours - otherwise queues are horrendous.

JeffG_H, May 2023

Meeting point should have been opposite the entrance - where it always used to be. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable - the best of the tours I’ve done there, yet halfway thru the tour she really looked like she didn’t want to be there

We had a great guide....

Sue_W, May 2023

We had a great guide. Very knowledgeable. It was super crowded but she was able to take us everywhere.

Beautiful

Lorraine_B, May 2023

All went well, from pickup through the tour. The tour operator was excellent. We were amazed by the beauty of the museum. We would have liked if transportation back to our hotel thad been provided.

Left without us

Max_M, May 2023

We were unfortunately running a few minutes behind and were called and told that the tour would be leaving without us. I’m sure it would have been great!

Poorly organized

Lisa_R, Apr 2023

Very disorganized. Guides English was poor. She did not communicate to us for nearly the first 50 minutes, we all had no idea what was going on. The entry to the Vatican is extremely disorganized and chaotic. Left feeling dissatisfied.

Response from Host, May 2023

Dear Lisa, we are sorry to read your lines and we appreciate your sharing! As you see, a dedicated team analyzes the reviews we receive so we can take measures to improve. Your feedback has been noted! Best regards, Gray Line Rome

Vatican Tour

Kathleen_P, Apr 2023

Amazed at all the artwork in the Vatican Museum! Vivian also was a great leader. She moved our group through the crowds easily and was very informative about what we were seeing.

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