Type: Art, Historic Buildings, Sistine Chapel, Walking
Length: 4 Hours
Walking: Medium (a lot of walking)
Mobility: Folding wheelchairs OK, some sites may be inaccessible (advance notice required)
Guide: Licensed Guide
Language: English

Rome, Italy - The focus of this special tour is an extensive walking tour of Vatican City including the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica.

You are met at your hotel and you immediately drive to Vatican City. We have VIP tickets reserved for you so you can avoid the long lines and get started with your tour.

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 (completed in his 30's) and the "Last Judgment" filling the altar wall (completed in his 60's).

After your museum tour, 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 which was completed when the young master was just in his 20's. You might also be interested in visiting the Vatican grottoes with the tombs of the popes, both ancient and modern. Behind a wall of glass is what is presumed to be the tomb of St. Peter himself.

After visiting Vatican City you are brought back to your hotel.

Special Vatican Tour Notes- The Sistine Chapel is not available separately, it is only able to be seen as part of the museum complex visit. The Vatican has a dress code so please come prepared. No bare shoulders, no shorts, no dresses above the knee, and no bare feet or exposed midriffs are allowed.