Skip the lines and crowds at the Vatican Museums on this full Rome itinerary. After your privileged entrance Vatican tour, visit more of Rome's most popular sites: Piazza Navona, Castel Sant'Angelo, Spanish Steps and Pantheon.
What's Included
Skip the Line Vatican Tickets
Gratuities
Departure & Return
Departure Point
Viale Vaticano, Roma RM, Italy
Departure Time
7:30 AM
Return Details
Spanish Steps, Piazza di Spagna, 00187 Roma RM, Italy
What To Expect
Itinerary
Pass By:
Vatican Museums
As an accredited tour operator, we’re able to enter the Vatican Museums 60 minutes before the general public. On this Vatican tour, you’ll experience the best of the Museums in less than 3 hours.
The first stops are Vatican’s main galleries: the Gallery of Maps, Gallery of Tapestries and Candelabra Gallery. These galleries include some of the Vatican's most impressive art including revels of cartography, incredible tapestries from Belgium and beyond, and an impressive collection commissioned by Pope Leo XIII.
Beat the crowds and visit the Sistine Chapel before the huge crowds enter at 9:00 am, this allows you to fully embrace Michelangelo's greatest masterpiece. Our goal is to visit the Sistine Chapel with as few people as possible to give the optimal experience.
Before you enter the museums, your guide will discuss the painted frescoes you’ll see when you reach the Sistine Chapel, including The Creation of Adam and The Last Judgment. As the Sistine Chapel is a holy place, one cannot speak inside. You will be given plenty of time to reflect and pray in the sanctity of the Chapel.
Visiting St. Peter's Basilica on your own can involve waiting in line for hours. Thankfully, by visiting with us we take you through a special exit in the Sistine Chapel which takes us directly to the Basilica without any lines. With your guide, you’ll visit the Basilica's great works, including Michelangelo’s Pieta and Bernini’s Baldacchino.
After the Vatican, the walking tour of Rome begins. About 10 minutes from St. Peter's, the first stop is Emperor Hadrian's mausoleum built in 135 A.D. Now a national museum, housing artwork, prison cells, papal apartments and even a torture chamber, it is also the Pope's former fortress. Your guide will explain this landmark on the Tiber, that many go past without understanding its great history.
Considered by many to be the heart of the city with surrounding restaurants and beautiful fountains, you’ll notice that the piazza takes on the shape of a race track. Standing on the site of the ancient Stadium of Domitian, it hosted gladiatorial events and races similar to those at the Colosseum and Circus Maximus. Your guide will also describe the Egyptian Obelisk at the center of this great square.
Often referred to as Hadrian’s Temple, the Pantheon is one of Rome's great monuments. The basis of many modern buildings such as the US Capitol. For centuries, the dome of this temple dedicated to all gods was considered the largest in the world, made unique by its oculus in the center. You’ll learn all about the Pantheon’s significance to Rome's history and how much of an architectural marvel it is.
Continue through the historical center of Rome and find where three roads intersect. Trevi actually translates to “three roads,” giving name to the world-famous fountain. You'll learn about the symbolization of the ocean changing times, then you'll be able to throw a coin in and wish for your return to the Eternal City.
The final stop on the tour is surrounded by Rome's luxurious shops and hotels. The massive Spanish Steps lead up to the Trinita dei Monti church up the hill. Piazza di Spagna is named for its proximity to the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See. After exploring the Fountain of the Longboat and feeling like Audrey Hepburn, we will say arrivaderci!