Unlock the mysteries of the Vatican on this popular tour. With an expert art historian guide by your side, you’ll easily navigate through the largest and most important collection of art in the world. With more than 70,000 works of art scattered across 1400 galleries, we’ve carved out a tried-and-true route to highlight the most important masterpieces spanning over 2000 years while making our way to the majestic Sistine Chapel. You also gain fast-track access to St. Peter's Basilica and a fully guided tour of the masterpieces inside.

Top-rated tour of Vatican City highlights
Head straight to the most important pieces in the immense Vatican Museum collection
Hear the history and legends of the Sistine Chapel
Enjoy priority access to bypass the queues
Guided visit of St. Peter's Basilica and the papal tombs

What's Included

Priority entrance to the Vatican Museums
Immersive experience inside Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel
Fast-track entry and guided visit of St. Peter's Basilica
The remarkable frescoed Rooms of Raphael

Food and drinks
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Gratuities

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Via Sebastiano Veniero, 19
Via Sebastiano Veniero, 19, 00192 Roma RM, Italy
Via Sebastiano Veniero 19, nearest metro station is called Ottaviano / San Pietro / Musei Vaticani on Linea A which on any Rome metro map is coloured orange.

End point

Vatican Museums
00120, Vatican City

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
A dress code is required to enter places of worship and selected museums. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women.
On days immediately surrounding religious holidays at the Vatican, alterations to tours may become necessary due to partial closings of areas normally included in this tour.
Near public transportation

Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Maximum 15 travelers on this tour
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

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 a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Traveler Tips

With the Vatican being so busy, a tour is mandatory.

It seems to be par for the course, so don't expect time to contemplate much, it's like a drive by, on foot!

For those of you going to Rome - it's worth the skip the line and get your own tour guide; you won't learn or understand nearly as much on your own .

Reviews

4.5

325 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 325 reviews

The tour itself was...

Kathleen_P, Apr 2022

The tour itself was amazing However our guide was difficult to understand and the guides microphone and her transmitter produced irrating static in our earphones

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Dear Kathleen, We're sorry to hear that your tour guide was difficult to understand due to malfunctioning audio devices. Sadly, we cannot control or choose which audio headsets to use on tour, as this is a decision made by the Vatican City. We will of course relay your complaint.

Awesome guide

Alejandro_C, Nov 2021

Our tour was great, the guide was very informative and she answered all our questions. It was very interesting learning about the Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel.

Must see

Bailey_O, Aug 2021

Great tour that went the extra mile to accommodate us. Was running behind (we blame the bus) but a simple message to the tour guide and we still made it. They had to split the tour into two parts because of COVID, but it gave us a chance to get lunch around the Vatican. Very hot during August, many stairs and steps, but all worth it!

No catacombs

Barbara_D, Aug 2021

Our tour guide Massimo was great, he made the Vatican Museum tour very nice and interesting. But we did not get the catacombs tour and also not the Vatican City tour, what was very disappointing. Viators reason for that miss were the corona restrictions, but the catacombs were definitely open to visitors at that day. Even though we received a 10€ refund, we did not get what we booked. This felt like deception and I cannot recommend Viator.

Response from Host, Sep 2021

Hello, and thanks for taking the time to share your feedback. It is however a pity that you would give such a poor rating since you state that your guide was great. In advance of your tour, you received an email from us explaining very clearly that the PASSAGE between the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's is currently closed, and you were offered an alternative in order to be able to see all of the sites as advertised in the description. You declined to accept, and asked for the €10 refund instead. I don't see how you can now complain that you missed some of the sites...but we're glad you enjoyed Massimo's tour nonelethess.

Way too crowded

575lyleb, Nov 2019

The skip the line tour put us in a very long line for the security check. the entire tour was shoulder to shoulder. However our guide was very good.

Hard to hear, so many people (2.5*)

arielleller, Aug 2019

Starting off, I had high standards for this tour having been to the Vatican city 12 years prior on a Trafalgar tour. We took the metro across the river and walked to the starting point. Unfortunately, it took us a couple of trys to find the location (not very easy to find). Our tour guide was a friendly, older woman. She was knowledgeable and funny, however hard to understand through the headsets and she would disappear very often because she did not keep her wand up in the air. At one point, my husband and I got separated from our group because there were so many people. The amount of people was out of the tour company's control, but it did ruin the experience for my husband who had never been before. Finally, I wouldn't recommend this tour because the Vacacombs aren't really worth the extra cost. They are not very large and just seems like a room with tombs. Unless you are extremely interested in certain popes, I think you could skip this part of the tour. The cathedral was by far the best part.

Response from Host, Aug 2019

Dear arielleller, Thank you for your review. You are correct in stating that large crowds inside the Vatican Museums are absolutely not our fault, so in reality your husband's experience was ruined by other people, not our guide nor our tour. That you lost your guide from time to time is unfortunate. We do feel that it is your responsibility to follow your guide rather than look for a wand in the air, simply because every guide inside the Vatican Museums holds up a wand, a clipboard, or an umbrella. Facial recognition is always advisable. Absolutely clear directions to our office are included in all Vatican tour confirmation vouchers with map co-ordinates. This is a straightforward note for potential clients who are reading this review. We are glad that you appreciated St. Peter's Basilica. Thank you for joining our tour. When In Rome Tours

Vatican Tour

Michalee_M, Apr 2019

Our tour guide was excellent! She was very knowledgable and friendly. It was well organized when the Vatican was very busy.

Detailed and knowledgeable

Anita_F, Apr 2019

Wonderful tour giving great detail and depth of knowledge on all that we saw. Our guide Luigi was very obviously experienced and his depth of knowledge greatly enhanced this tour. He was open to questions, easy to follow (in every sense, given the huge crowds there) and a very pleasant guide. I would highly recommend this tour.

very imformative

Stephen_C, Oct 2018

Our tour was very informative and it was lovely to learn about the history of the art and buildings we were looking at.

100% recommend for Catholics and non-Catholics alike

Brenda_L, Oct 2018

Its amazing how much I learned on this tour - as the only non-Catholic of a group of 4, I was astounded on what Chiara, our tour guide, educated me on but also pleasantly surprised that my friends and husband learned a lot as well. Chiara was so entertaining and wonderful that I almost didn't want to the tour to end. For those of you going to Rome - it's worth the skip the line and get your own tour guide; you won't learn or understand nearly as much on your own .

A lesson in patience and surrender

Donna M, Oct 2018

This tour was packed with a ton of things to see and learn. However, the crowds were immense and the negotiating through them was a challenge. It seems to be par for the course, so don't expect time to contemplate much...it's like a drive by...on foot! The Vatican and Vatacombs were awesome. I would offer that there is probably little that can be done about viewing them without the wall to wall crowds. That said it is important to note that our guide did not speak English well or clearly...this added to frustration in getting information that we were sure he had a lot of but could not effectively pass on. We were all English speaking in this particular tour and expected a more clear speaking guide for sure. He was gracious and attentive but the job is monumental with all the crowds...kinda have mixed thoughts about whether it was worth it or not in retrospect. You want to see these sites, you want to learn from guides but you sure don't want to be herded through the massive venue either. Jury is out on my final verdict . You finally surrender to it all and make the best of it and try to be in the moment. Hard to imagine visiting Rome without seeing these sites. Don't think other guides were having an easier time than ours...it's just what is. Just be patient and prepared.

Mis-leading description - the tour does...

Paul H, Sep 2018

Mis-leading description - the tour does not include the Vatacombs!! We were left very disappointed with this tour. After searching through all the different Vatican tours on Viator and other websites, we chose this one as it stated that Your guide will also lead you through the underground level referred to as the Vatacombs, a rarely seen area of the Vatican where tombs of the former popes are located, before your tour ends. However, this was not actually included! Our tour abruptly ended whilst still inside St Peter's Basilica. When another guest asked about the Vatacombs part of the tour, our guide simply pointed at the entrance and said we're free to go down there if we want to, as they are open to anyone to visit, and we don't need a guide for it!! She then left! This is despite us PAYING for a guided tour of the Vatacombs!! Furthermore, the tour advert makes it sound like the tour is providing special access to this area, stating it to be a rarely seen area. This is simply not true. It is open to the general public!! Anyone can simply wander down there from within St Peter's Basilica! It is not rarely seen - thousands of visitors will go down there every day! In addition to this very misleading tour advertisement, the general logistics were poor. You are told to be at the tour operators offices for 10:30am, where you then sit around for half an hour, twiddling your thumbs, waiting for the tour to start at 11am. At 11am, you then walk as a group to the entrance to the Vatican. After queuing to go through the security checks, there was some confusion, with the guide taking us to various desks before we finally got access into the Vatican - by which time it was now about 11:30am. The guide was very knowledgeable, but because of the vast quantity of people also touring the Vatican, especially within the museums section, it was difficult to concentrate on what she was saying, as we were constantly being bumped into, trying to push past other groups, fighting to keep up with our own guide, and struggling to see the museum artifacts because of so many other people being in the way. I have to say, the best part of the experience was once the tour had ended, the guide had left, and we were able to go and explore St Peter's Basilica, the Vatacombs and St Peter's Square by ourselves. It's well worth paying to go up to the top of St Peter's Basilica 10 euros by lift, 8 euros by stairs, which you pay at a little booth in the courtyard. Up there, you get incredible views across Vatican City and Rome, and there's even a gift shop and cafe up there, which were both fairly quiet. You can even send a postcard from the shop up there! But, as I said, this was NOT part of the paid tour. Beware though, that the lift only goes half-way. You still need to climb a lot of spiral steps to the top, which get very steep and narrow. Also, beware that once your guide leaves you in St Peter's Basilica, if you leave the church and go out into St Peter's Square, you cannot get back into the Vatican! You'd have to start again and queue, go through security, etc, as a regular visitor. So as you are fighting to keep up with your guide on the tour, don't think maybe we can come back here later, because you can't! Overall, a very misleading and disappointing tour. The best part of the day being once the tour had finished says it all! We wish we'd booked one of the other tours instead now, and not wasted our money on a tour that completely misrepresents what it includes. AVOID!!

Great Tour of Vatican

Anthony_C, Sep 2018

With the Vatican being so busy, a tour is mandatory. The guide did a great job highlighting the key aspects of the Vatican and museum. We had friends book the last tour of the day, which gave them a more private experience and were able to take pictures in Sistine chapel. DEFINITELY go to the Rotunda! Incredible views of Rome!

Well worth it!

Raquel A, Sep 2018

Our guide, Mauro, was excellent and had a great combination of humor and knowledge. The pace of the tour is perfect. The vatacombs are just a quick walk-through that anyone can do so no need to pay extra for this experience. Would definitely recommend this tour. Bring a bottle of water.

Christina was awesome!!!! Knowledgeable...

Andrea, Sep 2018

Christina was awesome!!!! Knowledgeable and made the tour interesting. We learned a lot and would recommend this tour and her to anyone! Thank you

Vatican tour

Michael_M, Aug 2018

We had the most amazing tour guide who was so full of energy and information. This is a must do tour. We did this tour with our 2 teenage boys and they learned a lot with a positive, fun atmosphere.

Touring the Vatican

Jennifer_A, Aug 2018

This was a nice tour to take into the Vatican. We had the fast past to enter into the Vatican. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable. We had access to parts of the Vatican that were private. Our tour guide did a nice job of keeping us out of the crowds while still seeing the Vatican.

Well worth seeing. Well organized tour...

Chris T, Jul 2018

Well worth seeing. Well organized tour and good guide.

Truly stunning. Given the huge...

Frank G, Jun 2018

Truly stunning. Given the huge numbers of visitors pouring in to the Vatican every hour, our tour guide, Christina, managed to keep us all together whilst explaining, in detail, the history of each area, including humour where appropriate ensuring everyone enjoyed themselves. It is quite a spectacular place to visit and see first-hand, the amazing architecture, sculptures, paintings and so much more. Many thanks Christina.

I will forever remember the cap and...

Donna M, May 2018

I will forever remember the cap and the keys! Our guide Luigi was so passionate about sharing his knowledge with us and made sure everyone could see, hear and experience the detail of what he was sharing with us. The Vatican was so busy but Luigi always took the time to make sure we observed what he was pointing out, he had such a lovely way with the group and it was a pleasure to experience the Vatican with him. This was my second tour and there seemed to be more details I held onto and did not remember from before. After the tour Luigi also took the time to show us the memorial to the Stuart family as we were Scottish which we would have missed otherwise. A brilliant tour even more enjoyable thanks to Luigi.

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