Enjoy a rare bird’s-eye view over Rome with this tour of St. Peter’s Basilica that includes a climb to the top of its dome. Visit St. Peter’s Square and church with an art historian guide to marvel at its Renaissance art and architecture. Then head underground to see the grottoes and St. Peter's tomb before climbing the dome to admire the church interiors and the surrounding city from above.

A complete St. Peter’s Basilica tour from underground grottoes to dome top
A guide for insights into the art and architecture of the square and church
Tickets to the top of the dome included
Headsets to follow the guide’s commentary inside and outside the basilica

What's Included

Professional art-historian guide
Entry fees to the top of the Dome
Guided tour of St. Peter Dome
Thorough guided tour of St. Peter's Basilica
Sterilized headsets to hear clearly your guide
Full on-site assistance

The Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel are not part of this tour
This tour does not skip the line (neither the security checks one nor the dome's elevator one)

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Largo del Colonnato, 5
Largo del Colonnato, 5, 00193 Roma RM, Italy
Meet your guide at Largo del Colonnato, 5, by the first columns of the Colonnade. Look for a yellow label with TOURIKS written on it. Please be at the meeting point 20 minutes before the starting time. The meeting point is outside the Basilica before entering St. Peter's square.

End point

Saint Peter's Square
Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Vatican City

What To Expect

St. Peter's Square

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

St. Peter's Basilica

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Vatican Grottoes

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Cupola di San Pietro

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Not recommended for travellers with back problems
The dome's terrace might not be accessible during bad weather conditions. In that case, you can either ask for a partial refund and visit the Basilica and the grottoes or decide to cancel the tour for a full refund
An appropriate dress-code is required in order to enter the churches: knees and shoulders should be covered
Please take into consideration that the lines to clear security checks at the entrance of the square might take 15-120 minutes
We recommend to wear comfortable walking shoes
Please note that you will be required to pass through metal detectors at the entrance of the square
The meeting point is outside the Basilica before entering St. Peter's square and the security checks

The Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel are not part of this tour
The Vatican Necropoli is not part of this tour
We might not be able to accommodate, refund or reschedule late arrivals
Strollers are not allowed in the Basilica. There is a luggage deposit at the entrance of the basilica where you can leave the stroller
Please note that this is not a skip-the-line tour
Not recommended for travellers with claustrophobia
Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Not recommended for travellers with vertigo
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 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.

Traveller Photos

Reviews

4.5

1,118 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 1,118 reviews

History lesson to life

Monica_S, June 2023

It was like being in history class for hours expect the pictures in the book were bought to life in front of you.

A must do trip in Rome

anguscampbell20, June 2023

Excellent tour and the guide was amazing. East to list to. Kept things moving and also kept us all in check. Long queues but worth it. Amazing views from the dome. Well worth the effort.

St Peter’s Basilica

Melissa_H, June 2023

Elena was a wonderful, knowledgeable guide. We had a terrific time and learned so much! The views from the top section of the dome were fantastic!

Worth it

Janice_P, June 2023

The guide was extremely knowlegeable and perdonable. He was also very patient. We learnes a lot! Specially fascinating were the grottos.

Awesome

Jordan_S, June 2023

Was a great trip really enjoyed it. Loved the veiw at the top of the dome. We could see all of Rome and the gardens in Vatican city. Would recommend going!

Great experience with a great guide

Cherry_C, June 2023

Valentin is a terrific guide. He is knowledgeable and entertaining throughout the tour. We would love to be back to join his tour agsin.

Disappointed experience of a guided tour while the site seeing was great

Peter_B, June 2023

We really liked the actual Basilica and what we were able to see. The tour guide was in a rush, she did not explain a lot in detail, and seemed to be skipping pieces. We did not feel we got value from taking a guided tour.

Great!

Amber_W, June 2023

Tour guide was knowledgeable and easy to understand. It was nice to have general info while we stood in line for the security check. The climb was worth the view at the top.

Our guide, Sara was...

Madison_B, June 2023

Our guide, Sara was amazing and really knowledgeable! The line for security with our group was about half an hour, but Sara kept us busy with facts about Vatican City the whole time! Would definitely recommend.

With the time

Dana_B, June 2023

Very informative. Glad we took the tour. Our guide Sara was excellent. Lines are long but worth the time

Very very pretty

rosavictoria_m, June 2023

The guide was the best ever Claudia explained everything very good!! She was very nice and had a lot of knowledge

Average

Maria_A, June 2023

It was not good organized. You need to do a long line to start the tour. It is not described in the details of the tour.

Ok but rushed

Tabitha_S, June 2023

Book the early morning tour because you don’t skip the security queue and it can take up to 2 hours in the afternoon. We did the first tour in the morning and it took around 40 minutes to get through security. You’re very rushed around the inside to be taken to the top so didn’t feel like we got all the information we could have had on this tour.

Mostly on your own

ncdevlin, May 2023

The guided tour part is very brief with only a few sights described. For the grotto, dome climb and much of the basilica, you're on your own. No skip-the-line access.

Excellent guide

Jeff_M, May 2023

Guide was excellent. Give her a raise. Tutto bene. Narration excellent. Services good. Very knowledgeable

Such an amazing place

Kellina_G, May 2023

The stairs to the dome and the view from the top. So much to see, and the detail is amazing. Take the trip to the top you won’t be disappointed.

Bascillica dome tour

Elaine_S, May 2023

Tour guide was great. Bascillica was stunning. Loved the sights from.the dome. It was a hard climb though. Not for the faint hearted.

Excellent

akhenshaw, May 2023

Sonja our guide is very knowledgeable. She is an archaeologist. She is awesome! Very enjoyable trip!