Civitavecchia Private Tour - Option 1C

Best of Rome & Vatican City
(10 - 11 Hours)

Starting from Civitavecchia

Tour Summary-
Type: Antiquities, Art, Historic Buildings, Scenic Drive, Sistine Chapel, St. Peters
Length: 10 - 11 hours (traffic pending)
Walking: Difficult - a lot of walking
Mobility: Folding wheelchairs OK, some sites may be inaccessible (advance notice required)
Guide: Based on group size- see comments with price
Languages: English
Timing: This tour is not available on Sundays or Holy Days.
Prices: Scroll Down or Click here for Prices

Civitavecchia, Italy - In this tour you see Rome's major sites plus you enjoy a four hour tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. The tour includes either a driver guide or a driver and tour leader for the full day, plus you have a licensed guide who will join you at Vatican City for 4 hours. After meeting your driver guide at the pier in Civitavecchia you depart on the 1.5 hour drive to Vatican City where you meet your licensed guide.
 
The Vatican’s museum complex houses one of the most impressive collections of art and treasures from antiquity through the present day. Of course the Renaissance treasures of the Raphael rooms and the Sistine Chapel are the highlights of any visit.  In the Sistine Chapel you will marvel at the masterpieces by Michelangelo, including his frescoes of the "Creation" on the ceiling,  produced during his 30's, and the "Last Judgment" filling the altar wall, completed when he was in his 60's.  A recent restoration has revealed the beautiful colors he used in his work. 

As you leave the Vatican Museum, you will walk to St. Peter’s Basilica.  Gaze in awe at the symmetry of the Piazza San Pietro and the enormity of St. Peter’s Basilica, whose massive scale is almost too much to take in. The church, decorated in High Renaissance and Baroque style, is overwhelming with its grandeur of art in gold, marble and mosaics.  Your guide will show you Michelangelo’s exquisite Pieta, in the right nave near the entrance, which was completed when the young master was just in his 20s. After visiting Vatican City you say good bye to your licensed guide and continue to tour Rome with your driver guide or tour leader (based on group size).

Next is a stop at Piazza Navona where you have a chance to have lunch. This square is beautifully designed with several baroque masterpieces including Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers.

Following your lunch break you drive to the Coliseum which dates back to 80 AD and is perhaps the grandest and most famous of the city's monuments.  This enormous arena once featured 76 numbered entrances, marble seats for 50,000 spectators, retractable shade awnings and subterranean passages.  Gladiatorial combats against wild beasts and some say even mock naval battles were staged here. You have time to walk around the Coliseum to take lots of photos.  Next, you will pause at a vantage point overlooking the Forum where numerous foundations, columns and arches have survived the religious, civil and commercial hub of imperial Rome. 

Your next stop is the Trevi Fountain, where legend says that if you toss a coin into the fountain over your left shoulder it will guarantee a return visit to the eternal city. 

Your final stop is the Pantheon, which is one of ancient Rome’s greatest buildings. Built as a temple to the gods (Greek pan-theon, means all gods), this building was saved from destruction by being turned into a Christian church. You return to the pier in Civitavecchia 10 - 11 hours after you began.

Special Vatican Tour Notes- The Sistine Chapel is not available separately, but is only able to be seen as part of the museum visit.  Please note that the Vatican has a dress code.  No bare shoulders, no shorts, no dresses above the knee, and no bare feet or exposed midriffs are allowed.  Please come prepared, or you will be disappointed when you are turned away. 

Tour Breakdown-
1- Depart pier and drive to Vatican City- 1.5 - 2 Hours (traffic pending)
2- Tour Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica- 3.5 - 4 Hours
3- Rome Highlights- 3 - 3.5 Hours
4- Return to pier in Civitavecchia- 1.5 - 2hours (traffic pending)

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