Pope Francis Tomb and Papal Basilicas Tour
Recommended by 93% of travelers
Rome, Italy
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Go beyond the Vatican and visit three other papal basilicas on this guided tour. Discover these sacred sites, which are scattered across the city, without the public transit stress on this small-group tour. Visit the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, and the Basilica of St. John Lateran, home to the pope’s throne and the Holy Stairs.
- Tour all of Rome’s major basilicas apart from St. Peter’s with a guide
- Enjoy time to pray, meditate, or have quiet time at each stop
- An intimate group enhances the spirituality of the experience
- Guide introduces the relics, the papal throne, the Holy Stairs, and more
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
This tour is capped at just 8 people for a more intimate, contemplative experience.
What's Included
- Experienced guide and a small group of like-minded travelers make this tour unique.
- Visit the resting place of Pope Francis.
- To make communication easier, you will receive the name and number of your guide, the night before.
- Gratuities are not mandatory, however are very much appreciated.
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Papal Basilica of Saint Mary MajorP.za di Santa Maria Maggiore, 00100 Roma RM, Italy
Meet your guide outside the basilica! In the center of the Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore, near the fountain.
End point
- Basilica of San Giovanni in LateranoP.za. San Giovanni In Laterano, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
The tour ends at the third venue – Saint John in Lateran.
Itinerary
1
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Abbazia di San Paolo Fuori Le Mura
50 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
Arcibasilica di San Giovanni in Laterano
50 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- Attention! The Holy Doors will be open until December 27, 2025.
- On rare occasions, we may have to change the order in which we visit the basilicas.
- Please wait for your guide in the center of the square and NOT INSIDE THE BASILICA.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 8 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.7
based on 169 reviews
KEVIN_S, May 2026
It was a great experience, we really learned a lot. My only complaint is that the guide did not provide us with an earbud to hear him, so we missed out on some of what he said.
Edmund_S, Jan 2026
Excellent tour of three Basilicas: St John Lateran, St Mary Major, and St Paul Outside the Walls. Highly knowledgeable guide.
MariaLuz_v, Jan 2026
Very disappointing experience. The tour lasted only about 30 minutes, which felt rushed and not worth it. St. Peter’s Basilica was one of the main places I wanted to spend time in—especially to pray and reflect—but we were not given the opportunity to stay longer. This felt more like a quick walk-through than a meaningful tour. I would not recommend this tour to anyone looking for a spiritual or in-depth visit.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
I am sorry, but I think you got the wrong business. The duration of this tour is 3 to 4 hours, and we do not do St Peter's Basilica.
David_B, Jan 2026
Our tour guide provided a wonderful tour of St Peter’s Basilica. My wife and I were there before but this tour provided a different perspective than before.
Scott_P, Jan 2026
Wonderful experience. Communication by our guide was excellent in ensuring we knew where to meet her for the tour. Our guide was Emma who I would highly recommend. The overall experience was above expectations
Joseph_G, Dec 2025
We came here for the Jubilee 2025. We toured and walked through the holy doors of three out of the four basicilas. We saved St Peter's Basicila for a separate tour and walked through this door twice. Our tour guide was excellent and knowledgeable. A great tour and must see!
AMBAR_D, Dec 2025
Well organized. An excellent way to learn about the Catholic faith. Highly recommended. Since the trader between the Basílicas is by a van, you don’t tire out walking. Plenty of time to roam the Basilicas on your own too.
Kevin_M, Dec 2025
It makes a tremendous difference having a guide to share interesting facts, history along with pointing out things we would not have noticed other wise. Our guide Rebecca who is actually from England did an excellent job. We are grateful for this Holy experience.
Carla_K, Dec 2025
It was supposed to be 4 holy doors but 2 were closed earlier than guide new about. The guide had other options. Also we had to pay our own way back to our destination
Response from Host, Dec 2025
We only did three holy doors on this tour, never four. Everything was described very clearly in the description of the tour.
mariaadelma_p, Dec 2025
Guide could have been more interactive and appeared interested in what she’s doing. She was pleasant though and gave enough information. I say this because our other guide from another tour was excellent.
Marek_J, Dec 2025
We had a very knowledgeable guide who pointed out really interesting points about the basilicas. And it was well organised.
Grace, Dec 2025
It was great to see the smaller Vatican basilicas and even better with Rebekka as the guide as she is so passionate and knowledgeable. Her information made a huge difference in appreciating these churches. The passage through the Holy Doors is an exceptional experience.
Andy_S, Dec 2025
It was very interesting experience….our guide was very informative and knowledgeable about basilicas
Hunter_Y, Dec 2025
The entire experience was wonderful. The guide was super friendly and informative. The small size of the group let us all get to know each other and made transportation easy. I would highly recommend to anyone coming to Rome for the jubilee.
LINDA_N, Dec 2025
Leo was so wonderful and knowledgeable. The tour was such a beautiful and relaxing experience! Thank you Leo!
Anonymous, Dec 2025
Leo was very informative. He told us about the history of the basilicas and also made sure we saw the relics and/or key items to see inside. The vans to move us between the locations were clean and comfortable. We enjoyed the tour. A warning though is that you do not end at the same point you start at and they do not provide transportation back. However, there is a taxi stand across the street and the metro is close by. We had no problems getting back.
Heather_G, Dec 2025
Joan led our small group through all three basilicas with ease and filled a very efficient three hour tour into a fun and memorable experience. E&D Tours’ pre tour communications were helpful and made transportation easy to/from the meeting poiint.
Thank you Joan!
Karen_B, Dec 2025
Very informative. We spent about an hour at each Basilica but it could be longer. I plan to go back to spend more time in at least one of the Basilicas.
Gina_R, Dec 2025
Rebecca was fantastic! The info was interesting and pertinent. She even gave my nephew an umbrella since we didn't have one and it was pouring. She answered all questions we had. Highly recommend this tour!
Lucio_V, Dec 2025
I liked the well curated tour and the small group made the experience more intimate...it was very helpful that the guide was also pro active as I got lost and he helped me catch up with the group.
MaryAnne_W, Nov 2025
Our guide Fabio was quite knowledgeable about the history of churches and art work. Head set would be helpful as once inside church as difficult to hear with acoustic challenge and crowds.
Needed longer time at each stop.
Another suggestion would be to use the travel time between stops to point out what significant places and areas that we were traveling through.
Ade, Nov 2025
Joann was a very good tour guide. Highly recommended. We learned many things about the history of the 3 churches that we have covered during the tour.
Franciscus_S, Nov 2025
We did the 3 Holy Doors tour with Emma and she was very informative. She explained the meaning and history behind each Holy Door beautifully. We truly enjoyed the experience.
Corazon_M, Nov 2025
There is a van that takes you to the other Basilicas. The guide will talk about the
church then you are free to explore on your own.
Richard_S, Nov 2025
Small group was perfect for visiting the Holy Doors outside of the Vatican. I was able to do all three of the doors and see the churches in the morning and then visited the Vatican that afternoon. Emma was wonderful and patient, which is my kind of guide.
Allison_C, Nov 2025
Great tour! Guide was knowledgable. We went through the Holy Doors at the three basilicas which is what we wanted. Lots of interesting information.
RoseLeah_L, Nov 2025
Emma is a wonderful guide! She is very nice & knowledgeable. This tour was very interesting. Highly recommend if you go to Rome for Jubilee.
Susan_L, Nov 2025
Great tour guide. She was very knowledgeable and informative, yet kept the tour on schedule so that we could see three major basilicas and ended at the holy steps, so that we could tour them as well.
Veronika_S, Nov 2025
Rebecca ist a wonderful guide!!! The tour was perfectly organized. We learnt a lot about the three vatican basilicas, still she gave us enough time to pray, ignite a candle und take photos and visit a souvenir shop. It could not have been better. I highly recommend her. Don't miss it! Especially in the jubilee year it's been a very special and moving experience.
Patrick_V, Nov 2025
Great tour to see these 3 most important catholic basilicas. The transport between the basilicas makes it very doable for less mobile people as well.
From $120.15
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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