Vatican Museum Sistine Chapel Skip the Line Tour

Rome, Italy

2 to 3 hours (approx.)
Offered in: English

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Overview

Book a skip-the-line tour of the Vatican Museums so you won't spend your vacation time standing in the ticket queue at one of Rome's most popular attractions. Once inside, you can see artistic treasures by Raphael, Bernini, Michelangelo and others in the various rooms and galleries, including the Sistine Chapel. A guided tour provides a hassle-free experience where you won't have to navigate the crowds on your own.

Explore the Vatican Museums with a guide so you won't miss the top features
Skip the ticket line at one of the most-visited places in all of Rome
Booking in advance means you won't risk a sold-out tour
Upgrade your package to include a tour of of St. Peter's Basilica

What's Included

guided tour with guide in your language
headphones for everyone if the group is more than 11 people
skip-the-line ticket
attention: every last sunday of each month the entrance is free and the guided tour cost is lower
on last sunday of the month the price is lower and the line cannot be skipped
The option "3 Hours Basilica included" adds 1 hour of guided tour at the Basilica

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Via Mocenigo, 2, 00192 Roma RM, Italy
Enter in the office and show your reservation to the staff at the desk

End point

Sistine Chapel
00120, Vatican City

Operating hours
.11:50 am

Itinerary

Vatican Museums

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Sistine Chapel

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

St. Peter's Basilica

1 minute • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation

Most travelers can participate
Vatican City dress code requires knees and shoulders covered
During coronavirus emergency The exit that provides direct access from Sistine Chapel to St. Peter’s Basilica will remail closed until further notice
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

3.5

based on 15 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Sort by: Most insightful

Never to be forgotten visit

john_j, Jun 2024

The tour guide was fantastic, very knowledgeable and seemed to know how to skip the queues and take us to as many areas as possible. The one down side was at times it did feel a little rushed. There was so much to see and only a limited time to see it all whilst keeping up with the guide.

Learning the history...

ADRIAN_P, May 2024

Learning the history about the Vatican and Sistine chapel from our guide Claudia who was very knowledgeable

Crazy madness.

Nigel_O, Jul 2023

Sistine Chapel. Pity I was there with 1000 other people. Definite one off. Must have made plenty of profit on the tickets as the actual entrance fee was 17 euros. Guide was very good. Thought I would have seen the Raphael rooms, the school of Athens etc? Tour came to an abrupt halt when we handed over the ear pieces. Thought we were meeting up after the Sistine gallery? That appeared to be the end.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

As alredy told you, you visited the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel in high season. The ticket costs 17 euros only if you do the line at the entrance and this was not your case. We skiped the line and you also had a guided tour service and I am happy to understand you loved the guide. The tour ends at the Sistine Chapel but online we also have an option "Basilica included" that adds 1 more hour of guided tour inside the St. peter's Basilica after the Sistine Chapel. Next time please feel free to ask us and we will organize for you the best service.

Sunday Tour of the Vatican

Joanne_S, Jun 2023

Our guide Alessandro was very good! He had an amazing grasp for the history of the Vatican and each room/area we went through. It was extremely hot the day we toured. I felt extremely rushed. I was having some breathing problems and had a difficult time staying up with the group on our way to Vatican City. It was a good distance to walk. It was also very busy. If you’re doing the tour during summer months I would recommend going as early as you can. We later found out that the 4th Sunday of the month is free which is the day we toured.

Operator no showed. No contact to inform. Sies not open Sunday

David_D, May 2023

Operator. Never showed up. Booked tour was not offered that day. No contact. Asked for refund. No answer

Vatican City Let Down

Suzanne_L, Mar 2023

Finding the tour meet point was not easy. Our group of four got sent to another tour operator who didn't seem to know what to do with us. I did appreciate that we were given 7-8 min in the Sistine Chapel. I'm disappointed that we didn't see more than 10% of the Museum (mostly statues) and any of the paintings. We didn't see the Pieta. I was annoyed at the confusion and argument the tour guides-organizers had about our participation, waiting 45 min (standing) for our tour to start, spending over 15 min looking at a maquette of Vatican City and over half an hour in front of panels of photos of the art work in the Sistine Chapel. The information shared by the tour guide was superficial at best and nothing I couldn't find on Google. I learned more about her personal taste in art, her daughter and husband's activities and how to eat and live like an "Italian" than the art work we were supposed to be looking at. The tour was overcrowded and as a short person, I often couldn't see anything because of the crowds.

Very disappointing. Waste of time.

Dawn_J, Sep 2022

Not totally our guide’s fault, because she was probably doing what she was told to do, but we hardly saw anything in the museum because she talked about St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel paintings most of the time, and the museum was so crowded, it was impossible to see anything or stop and look at anything. Felt like a piece of cattle being shuffled thru the whole thing. Awful experience. Very disappointing.

Response from Host, Sep 2022

Hello, Unfortunately one of the rules of the Vatican Museum for groups is lead visitors through the galleries without stop. By the way if a customer wants, can come back to the museum at the end of the tour and remain as long as needed. If your guide talked you about the Sistine Chapel and the Basilica even walking through the museum's galleries she did a good job. Remind that inside the Sistine Chapel and Basilica is forbidden to speak and that's the only way to provide customers with a lot of informations

Claustrophobic and not worth time.

Karen_W, Aug 2022

We were rushed through and herded like sheep. Wasn’t given time to take photos. The guide kept saying we needed to hurry as the Vatican was closing. The tour should have been organised for an earlier time then!!!

Response from Host, Sep 2022

dear Karen, I am sorry you would liked to have more time to visit the Museum. Unfortunately, the Museum requires that each group with a guide can stay for a specific time in each gallery. We offer the same guided tour also at 12pm and 1:13pm. Next time you can book one of the earlier start time and at the end of the tour you can come back to the Museum as long as you want

Not what id paid for!

Helena_H, Aug 2022

I booked this trip as we were spending time in Rome prior to a cruise. The trip booked was Skip the line Vatican, Sistine chapel and Basilica. The trip left 15mins late to start with, we then walked to the Vatican and went through security etc which is to be expected. There was no queue outside. The guide told us that there was a passage between the Sistine chapel and basilica which hopefully we could use but it would shut in 45 mins! we were then rushed through the entire Vatican to the Sistine chapel in 45 mins by which the Basilica access was closed. The guide then said the tour was over. It was supposed to be a 2hour tour. It was difficult to hear the guide and difficult to take any photos due to the speed he rushed through to the Sistine chapel. I emailed the tour company to be told "I'd got what I'd paid for!" very disappointed and feel ripped off. The tour was not what was advertised. Viator said they had investigated my complaint and said that it was due to covid! This was not true as we later had to queue up and entered the Basilica ourselves, no Covid issue, in fact not even masks had to be worn. Would not use the company again, complete waste of money. Pity as we have used and booked many trip before .

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Thank you for letting us know your point of view. The product you booked says "Vatican Museum Sistine Chapel skip the line tour" and the visit to the Basilica is not mentioned at all because is not included. We told you that there is a passage between the Sistine Chapel and the Basilica that was always open before the pandemic and that now is closed (and to this referred the Viator customer service) as written in the information provided online in the section titled "new covid-19 safety measures". At your arrival we told you that sometimes the guard inside the Sistine Chapel let pass little groups into the Basilica and that we couldn't guarantee it. The tour at the Basilica wasn't never included in your booking. So you had exactly what you paid for.

Wow!

Doug_R, Aug 2022

Such a knowledgeable guide who engaged our small group. I learned so much about every beautiful thing we experienced!

The guide was very...

Makesha_C, Jul 2022

The guide was very informative! We were given earphones to hear everything the guide said. I learned so much during the tour.

Vatican Museum Sistine Chapel Skip the Line Tour

Lillian H, Dec 2019

Skip the line tours are the only way to go. When travelling who wants to waste time waiting in a line when you could spend the time sightseeing. There was so much to see at both sites. After the last tour we were allowed to spend more time viewing the artwork on our own which was nice.

Response from Host, Dec 2019

Thank you for writing your review! We are very happy to learn that you appreciated our skip the line service and that your visit was good. Grateful to do our part we hope to see you again in your next visit in Rome!