Vatican Semi-Private Tour
| Tour Time: | Mon-Sat 10.00 am | Max Group Size: | 8 | Distance covered: | 3 miles approx |
| Tour Duration: | 5 hours | Tour Type: | Walking | Difficulty: | Moderate - some steps |
| Pinacoteca | Pine Courtyard | Gallery of Maps | Raphael Rooms | Sistine Chapel | Gallery of Muses |
| Deposition | St Peters Basilica | Tombs of the Popes | La Pietà | St Peter's Square | Gallery of Tapestries |
This tour is recommended for those who wish to participate in an in-depth exploration of the Vatican City, with a smaller group (max 8 people). Tour time is 5 hours, which includes an optional 30-minute break for coffee and snacks.
The tour begins at the Vatican museums in the morning. We will have tickets for the VIP line so that none of your time is wasted. We spend 3 hours of this tour exploring the Vatican Museums in depth - explaining the history of its birth 500 years ago and its evolution into one of the world's biggest museum collections today. We visit more of the museums than are included on other Vatican tours, including the treasures of the Pinacoteca, where you will see art pieces from such famous artists from different generations as Giotto, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio and Pieter Wentzel.
Rome Tips and Advice
Following on from the Pinacoteca, we take you on a tour of the most famous and spectacularly-designed galleries
of the Vatican Museum complex - including the Rotunda, the Pine Courtyard, the Gallery of Muses,
the Gallery of Tapestries, Gallery of Maps and the Greek Cross Room.
From there, we bring you to the former palace of the Popes, which was decorated by the great Raphael from 1508 until his untimely death in 1520. Hence the name - Raphael Rooms.
These rooms are packed with history and art, and are a must-see for any lover of Art History.
Following on from the Raphael Rooms, we take a 30-minute lunch break before visiting the awe-inspiring Sistine Chapel, richly decorated by Raphael's great rival Michelangelo. Your guide will provide you with an in-depth explanation of the Sistine Chapel story - the meaning of the paintings, the secrets hidden inside by the artist, the difficulties with which he struggled to accomplish this gargantuan task and the purpose of the chapel and its decoration.
The guide will spend 20-30 minutes with you in the Sistine Chapel, before visiting St Peters Basilica,
without standing in line. Here the guide will accompany you into the Basilica, where you will see such magnificent sculptures as Michelangelo's Pietà, Bernini's Monument to Alexander VII, the 13th-century bronze statue of St Peter and Bernini's amazing Baldacchino above the altar of St Peter.
You will also be able to admire the accomplishment of the 9 "maestroes" - the chief architects who,
over a 120-year period, masterminded this amazing building. Bramante, da Sangallo, Raphael
and of couse Michelangelo are among the most famous of these names.
From there, we bring you to the former palace of the Popes, which was decorated by the great Raphael from 1508 until his untimely death in 1520. Hence the name - Raphael Rooms.
These rooms are packed with history and art, and are a must-see for any lover of Art History.
Following on from the Raphael Rooms, we take a 30-minute lunch break before visiting the awe-inspiring Sistine Chapel, richly decorated by Raphael's great rival Michelangelo. Your guide will provide you with an in-depth explanation of the Sistine Chapel story - the meaning of the paintings, the secrets hidden inside by the artist, the difficulties with which he struggled to accomplish this gargantuan task and the purpose of the chapel and its decoration.
The guide will spend 20-30 minutes with you in the Sistine Chapel, before visiting St Peters Basilica,
without standing in line. Here the guide will accompany you into the Basilica, where you will see such magnificent sculptures as Michelangelo's Pietà, Bernini's Monument to Alexander VII, the 13th-century bronze statue of St Peter and Bernini's amazing Baldacchino above the altar of St Peter.
You will also be able to admire the accomplishment of the 9 "maestroes" - the chief architects who,
over a 120-year period, masterminded this amazing building. Bramante, da Sangallo, Raphael
and of couse Michelangelo are among the most famous of these names.
Tour details.
Finally, your guide will bring you through the Vatican Grottoes, beneath the floor of St Peters,
to see the tombs of the former popes, including among them the late John Paul I. From here to St Peters Square, where the tour will be brought full-circle with an explanation of Bernini's design for the square and the alterations to his symbolical intentions by Benito Mussolini in the 1930s.
After this tour, you will have a great understanding of the history of the Catholic Church in Rome,
as well as the popes and artists who inspired what we see today.
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Download our meeting point (pdf)
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Tour Fees for groups of up to 4 (see note on tour fees below):
Adults €100
Students €90
Children 7-17 €75
Children under 7 Free
VIP Ticket included in tour fee.
NOTE ON OUR TOUR FEES FOR SEMI-PRIVATE TOURS
Our semi-private tours are priced with discounts for larger groups. The price you see for each tour is applied only if the group is comprised of 4 people or less. For groups of more than 4 people, each person receives a discount of €5. On no occasion will our groups exceed 8 people*.
*not including small children, who are free
to see the tombs of the former popes, including among them the late John Paul I. From here to St Peters Square, where the tour will be brought full-circle with an explanation of Bernini's design for the square and the alterations to his symbolical intentions by Benito Mussolini in the 1930s.
After this tour, you will have a great understanding of the history of the Catholic Church in Rome,
as well as the popes and artists who inspired what we see today.
Download our meeting point (pdf)
===============================================
Adults €100
Students €90
Children 7-17 €75
Children under 7 Free
VIP Ticket included in tour fee.
NOTE ON OUR TOUR FEES FOR SEMI-PRIVATE TOURS
Our semi-private tours are priced with discounts for larger groups. The price you see for each tour is applied only if the group is comprised of 4 people or less. For groups of more than 4 people, each person receives a discount of €5. On no occasion will our groups exceed 8 people*.
*not including small children, who are free
Tour Details
Booking
If you would like to book a Vatican Semi-Private Tour with us, please fill out the form on our booking page and it will email us your request.
Booking
What Our Clients Say
-
“Our tour guide was outstanding. His knowledge of Rome and history was impressive.
He had a natural ability to communicate this wealth of knowledge in a way
that was easy to grasp and enjoyable. I look forward to visiting Rome again
in the future and highly recommend your company to everyone.
Thank you for a wonderful day in Rome full of amazing memories!”
– Shauna, USA -
“We had a great tour and we were very impressed and overwhelmed with the guide’s
abundance of knowledge! He was great and made it wonderful because we learned so much!
The group size was small which was very nice.
I will definitely recommend your company to others traveling to Rome!
Thank you.” - Kim, U.S. -
“Tour with Richie was wonderful. Everything we expected and more.
It was singlely the best decision we made when planning our trip!
Richie was very knowledgable and we enjoyed spending the day with him.”
– Kristy, USA -
“All three of our guides' level of historical, archeological and artistic expertise
is to be highly commended. I cannot say enough positive words about all three tours.”
- Wendy, Connecticut. -
“Your 3 tours made our time in Rome really worthwhile.
The sunset one with Richie was great; he was so helpful and informative.
The Vatican tour with Alexandra was equally good
and we could not get over how much of a difference it made to the holiday.
Thanks too for the easy to understand directions and meeting places,
we had absolutely no problems at all.
You are all wonderful……..” – Jenny, Slough -
“We had a wonderful tour and Richie was a great guide!
He was wonderful with the children (ages 7 and 4) as well as us adults.
We highly recommend him to others!
Thank you for helping us have a truly wonderful experience in Rome!
Also, a special hello and thank you to Richie!!
We still talk about him!”
- Susan, USA.