guided tour
skip the line
3 hours
This tour route is completely barrier-free!

PRICES

Adult: 60€
Student: 56€
Under the age of 26, in possession of a valid Student ID
Child: 51€
From the age of 6 - 17, with a valid ID that demonstrates their age
Children under the age of 6 are FREE

Tour Description

Small Group Tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peters

This intimate group experience, covering the best of the Vatican’s art collection with a specialist guide and VIP entrance, is designed for those who want to go beyond the surface and prefer a more personalized tour option. 

The Vatican Museums

Join us as we take you on a journey of art through the ages. Your expert guide will relay the colorful history of the Vatican Museums, from its conception over 500 years ago to present day. Learn how the collection came about as well as how and why the popes cultivated the arts and the artists that made the space famous. Walk through galleries adorned with renaissance tapestries, courtyards filled with ancient sculptures and see ceilings that will redefine the way you think. 

Raphael Rooms

This collection of 4 rooms, or “stanze” as they are often referred to, were part of the Pontifical Palace of Julius II and served as his private reception rooms. Built intentionally over the former residence of the infamous Borgia pope, they were intended to impress, and they certainly do. Commissioned to artist Raphael, the project began in 1508 and was finished in 1524, by 3 of his students. The Stanze are divided into the Room of Constantine, the Room of Heliodorus, the Room of the Borgo and the Room of the Signatura, which houses the world renowned “School of Athens” fresco. 

Sistine Chapel 

Just before the exit to the church stands the Vatican’s most famous Chapel, the Sistine. Taking its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who redesigned it, the Sistine Chapel was envisioned as his private sanctuary and modeled after the Temple of Solomon. The space portrays biblical stories from both the old and new testaments, the most famous of which are the ceiling panels that depict nine scenes from the Book of Genesis. Find out where Michelangelo hid Eve’s torso, where he placed his self-portrait and the real meaning behind the “Creation of Adam”. 

St Peters Basilica 

The final leg of the tour takes you deep inside St Peter’s Basilica. Built over the burial place of Simon Peter, the current Basilica is the second construction on the same site, and one of the largest churches in the world. In fact, the first thing you’ll probably notice is its size, which appears deceptively smaller form the square, due to optics. Learn how long St Peter’s took to complete, which artists were responsible for its design, and why Martin Luther refused to enter it. Discover the real identity behind the bronze statue of Peter, why the Pieta is behind glass and where the popes are buried. 

Itinerary

  • Octagonal Courtyard
  • Gallery of the Muses
  • Round Room
  • Gallery of the Candelabra
  • Gallery of Maps
  • Sobieski's Room
  • Borgia Apartments
  • Raphael Rooms
  • Collection of Modern Religious Art
  • Sistine Chapel
  • St. Peter’s Basilica
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What's Included

  • Small group, guided tour of the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica
  • Skip-the-line admission and entrance to the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica
  • Live tour commentary via audio headset

Highlights

  • Tour of the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica without lines
  • World-renowned Renaissance frescoes inside the Sistine Chapel and Raphael Rooms
  • Chance to witness the works of famed artists, including Raphael, Michelangelo and Bernini
  • Expert guide to lead your small group experience
  • Opportunity to experience the Vatican without the masses

Available Languages

  • English
  • German
  • Private tour option available in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian & Russian. For more Information or/and inquiries please contact us at booking@mayatoursroma.com 

REVIEWS

"Fantastic Tour!"

It was our guide Deborah, that made this such an amazing experience.Loved the way she explained the history and art so even the likes of us were intrigued and interested. She really brought the tour to life. Would highly recommend this tour.

Lydia V

"Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel beat the line guided tour."

This was well worth the money for the insight and information from our wonderfully guide. We originally booked an audio guide but decided to get a real guide to help with the queues and navigation. Worth every penny for our wonderful guide, thank you Alma x.

Liam H

"Great Tour & Guide!"

The guide was very knowledgeable and kind, and the tour was memorable and worth the cost in my opinion. Went with a group of 9 people and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Skipping the many-hour lines as a result of this tour also was a nice bonus. Our guide, Ribal AbiGhanem, was super helpful and explained everything wonderfully. He had an accountability to keep the group together and make the experience fun, educational, and memorable for everyone involved. It was a super great experience as a result and I highly recommend this tour to others as well 🙂

BTamash Somerset, New Jersey

"Informative and engaging tour"

Got to skip all the lines for the Vatican and got a good engaging tour with Jab our wonderful tour guide.

Jinhyung Kevin L

"Experiencing the Wonders of Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel Tour with a Pro"

We (A&J) just returned from a short (return) outing to Rome and concluded that the best way to visit the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel were through a “skip the line” tour with the benefit of a guide who had some working knowledge of the material. We were quite amazed to discover that our particular tour guide (Deborah!) not only had a magnificent grasp of the material but a lovely and most effective way of imparting that knowledge with a spectacular facility for colloquial English, a true and obvious joy of the subject matter and a wonderful way of getting those on the tour involved in that subject matter (by quizzing us without in any manner putting anyone on the spot and with a well placed “Brava” or “Bravissimo” when she got a conforming or otherwise helpful response). She connected Greek and Roman art and artistic tradition in a most interesting and informative manner. Her joy was palpable and made the experience literally the best we have had. When taking a tour through Maya, insist on getting Deborah. Bravissima!!

jpenglander1950 New York City, New York

"Very engaging tour"

We were in Rome for the Six Nations rugby match so we had very tight schedules and we opted for a tour at 8.30 in the morning. Glad we did!! Crowds in the museums lobby were insane but we got our tickets right away. Our guide Alessandra was very good at guiding us through the crowds and showing us in a professional and involving way all the most relevant artifacts.
We spent 3 hours inside the museum ending up in the breathtaking Basilica. Worth every penny!! Highly recommended.

hellythom Glasgow, United Kingdom

"Fantastic day"

We booked a day tour at the Vatican with Maya tours and our tour guide is Eugene Hertoghe.

Eugene has made our day at the vatican so beautiful and very exciting. He is very knowledgeable and knows every details of all parts of the Vatican. Great personality and beautiful scene of humour. We loved his company and he made us enjoy our tour. He is very organised and tolerant.

Mohamed L, May 2017

"Truly a great and memorable experience with JAD"

We decided to take a private tour of the Vatican today and no one could have made this experience better than Jad. He truly made a great and memorable experience for all of us and thought us a lot of what we didn’t know about, we will be back in Rome soon and will be defiantly doing more tours with…

Neema N, March 2017

"Excellent tour with Alessandra"

We booked a private tour of the Vatican Museums and Saint Peter’s Basilica. Our guide was Alessandra Dardes. What a fantastic, knowledgeable woman! She gave us all the information we needed and clearly knew a lot about all sorts of related subjects. There were no questions she couldn’t answer. we really enjoyed it. Well worth the money, we would definitely…

Sujonesmiller, April 2017

"Fantastic Vatican City Tour!"

My Wife and I were just about to go into the Roman Forum when we were asked by a Maya Tours guide if we would like a tour of the Colosseum. We had already been and so we declined the offer. The guide then asked whether we are planning to go to the Vatican City and in fact we were. He gave us a leaflet and simply explained what the tour would entail and where we could find the office. There was no hassle or pressure at all and I felt completely at ease. We decided to take Maya Tours up on their offer and headed to their office just a 2 minute walk from the Roman Forum. I paid a deposit and was given a time for the next day to be at their office near the Vatican City on via Germanico as it was too late in the afternoon for us to visit the Vatican City. Now, one thing to bear in mind is that right now the political situation in Rome is severely hampering the tour guide business and companies like Maya Tours will work with other trusted companies in order to get you the tour you want. That’s nothing to be wary about, it happens so that customers get a tour! What’s more is that after the Paris attacks, many people are just not travelling to places like Rome and other big cities and this also affects the tour guides who would normally be busy. This was lucky for us because in the end we had a tour of just 4 people – a private tour almost at no extra cost! After we arrived at the office near the Vatican City we paid the final cost and met our tour guide Debora who was absolutely brilliant! She is so knowledgeable and enthusiastic it was a real pleasure to be in her company. Not for one minute did we feel rushed or bored so much so that at the end I didn’t want the tour to be over. Some people are wary about being approached by tour guides on the street and I understand that as there may be some untrustworthy guides and companies out there but for the price we paid and the tour we received we were amazed! For every negative review on here there is a reason that is easily explained and some people immediately feel they’ve been cheated and conned when things don’t go quite as they planned but never once did I get that vibe from Maya Tours and if they themselves cannot get you the tour you want at the time you want they will find someone they trust who can do it and that is good service! I would recommend Maya Tours to anyone visiting Rome and looking for a reliable tour company.

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