Complete Early Morning Vatican Tour: Small Group with Breakfast

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Pass By: What a Life Tours, Via Santamaura, 14B, 00192 Roma RM, Italy

The activity starts directly at our office located conveniently very close to the Museums' entrance.

Stop At: Vatican Museums, Viale Vaticano, 00120 Vatican City Italy

The Vatican Museums feature many works of art that belonged to the different Popes and are full of artistic beauty. Here is a glimpse of some of the most beautiful things to see in the Vatican Museums. Rooms and Galleries of the Vatican Museums, as the Greek Cross Room, the Gallery of Maps, the Gallery of Tapestries, Raphael Rooms and much more!

From a relatively small collection of statues brought in by Julius II, it grew into a gigantic museum to a point that nobody even knows how many items are kept in the vaults and galleries of the Vatican.

Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Gallery of Maps, VA, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Vatican City

The Gallery of Maps is a stupendous hallway where geography and history are perfectly intertwined. Created at the end of the 16th century, the entire room is dedicated to customized maps, which display the whole of Italy. On one side of the 393-foot long gallery are two representations of the country: one from the Imperial Roman Era and the other from the 1500s. Each map shows political happenings, religious roles, and major battles. The ceiling is no less remarkable, with frescoed scenes displaying episodes and miraculous events of apostles, saints, and martyrs, which are linked to the geographical maps below.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Gallery of Tapestries, VA, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Vatican City

The world-renowned tapestries adorning the walls of this breathtaking gallery used to hang in the Sistine Chapel until they were moved to their present-day location. The most esteemed pieces of the collection are the carpets based on Raphael’s drawings, depicting crucial scenes from the life of Jesus. Out of these 9 tapestries, we recommend paying some special attention to The Resurrection of Christ, which is woven in many layers, creating a surprising optical illusion as you walk by. It took the weavers 4 years to finalize the masterpiece and they cleverly used materials of different densities in order to obtain the eye-deceiving effect.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Sistine Chapel, Viale Vaticano, 00165 Vatican City Italy

Once inside the Vatican Museums, it’s straight to the main event – the Sistine Chapel. Gaze upon Michelangelo’s stupefying ceiling, Creation of Adam and the Last Judgment in awe, sharing the space with your group and a few others. Take your time – and savor each moment – because this is an experience you’ll never want to forget, as you nearly reach out and touch one of humankind’s most astounding creative achievements.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: St. Peter's Basilica, Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Vatican City Italy

If you thought the size of the Vatican Museums was overwhelmingly spectacular, St. Peter’s Basilica takes the “wow factor” to another level. The sheer capacity of the interiors is enough to leave any visitor searching for words to describe its vastness. At 613 feet long, 85 feet wide and 147 feet high, it took an incredible 120 years to build, starting from 1506. Admire Michelangelo’s unparalleled Pietà masterpiece and stroll towards the center right nave to observe Bernini’s 30-foot high bronze Baldachin, which sits directly atop the site of St. Peter’s tomb.

Duration: 45 minutes

Pass By: St. Peter's Square, Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Vatican City Italy

A visit to Vatican City would not be complete without standing in awe of the beauty in St. Peter’s Square, also known as Piazza San Pietro. This massive square framing St. Peter’s Basilica is the location where the pope holds Wednesday General Audiences and special masses on religious holidays.
Besides being an extremely sacred place for the Catholic Church, the square itself features a breathtaking architectural design. During the late 17th century, Gian Lorenzo Bernini erected a series of huge Doric colonnades extending out like arms from the basilica. If you stand in the right spot, the rows that consist of four columns, appear to converge as one. This optical illusion shows the incredible architectural precision of the time!
To make the most of your trip to Vatican City, we recommend you join a tour of the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica to learn the grand history behind this marvelous city from an expert guide.

Pass By: Vatican City, Vatican City, Lazio

Vatican City, a city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy, is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. It's home to the Pope and a trove of iconic art and architecture. Its Vatican Museums house ancient Roman sculptures such as the famed “Laocoön and His Sons” as well as Renaissance frescoes in the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel, famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling.

• VIP exclusive entrance before the general public
• A small group of 12 or fewer
• Expert English-speaking tour guide
• Headsets to hear the guide clearly
• Skip-the-line access to St. Peter’s Basilica
• St. Peter's Basilica INCLUDED in the itinerary
• Guaranteed to skip the lines
• Entry/Admission - Gallery of Tapestries
• Entry/Admission - Sistine Chapel
• Entry/Admission - Gallery of Maps
• Entry/Admission - St. Peter's Basilica
• Entry/Admission - Vatican Museums

• Hotel pickup and drop-off
• Gratuites

• Not wheelchair accessible
• While the Vatican Museums are equipped with elevators for wheelchair access, they are not conveniently located on the group tour route and only give access to specific sections of the Museums. As a result, we cannot accommodate wheelchairs on this tour.
• A dress code is required to enter places of worship and selected museums. No shorts or sleeveless tops allowed. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women. You may risk refused entry if you fail to comply with these dress requirements.
• Please plan on being at the meeting point 20 minutes prior to the start time.
• Stroller accessible
• Near public transportation
• Most travelers can participate
• From June 1st, 2022, all restrictions have been lifted. No masks or vaccine cards are required in Italy.
• This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
• Confirmation will be received at time of booking

You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.

See Availability

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.