Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel Tour & Optional Basilica｜Italy

Explore the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and, on select options, St. Peter's Basilica. Three ways to experience the visit are available: a self-guided ticket, a shorter guided tour, or a full guided tour that continues into the Basilica.

Every option includes skip-the-line access, avoiding the general admission queue outside the Vatican walls. At the meeting point on Via Sebastiano Veniero, our welcome staff check you in and take you through the ticket and security procedures required of all visitors; security checks can take up to 30 minutes depending on the day.

Once inside, the route passes through the Museo Pio-Clementino, where the marble Laocoön and His Sons and the Apollo Belvedere are on display, before continuing through the Gallery of Tapestries and the Gallery of Maps, its walls lined with sixteenth-century depictions of the Italian regions. On the options that include the Raphael Rooms, you also see the frescoes Raphael painted for Pope Julius II's private apartments.

The Sistine Chapel follows, where Michelangelo's ceiling and his Last Judgment cover the walls above. This part of the visit is included in every option and is usually what guests remember most.

If you have chosen the ticket-only option, your visit is self-guided from the entrance onwards. Welcome staff assist you only up to the entrance; after that, you set your own pace through the museums and the Sistine Chapel, with no guide accompanying you. St. Peter's Basilica is not included with this option.

If you have chosen the express option, a licensed guide leads you through a condensed two-hour route covering a selection of the main galleries before the Sistine Chapel, suited to visitors with limited time in Rome. St. Peter's Basilica is not included with this option either.

If you have chosen the complete option with the Basilica, a licensed guide accompanies you throughout the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel over roughly three hours, then leads you into St. Peter's Basilica, where you see the Pietà and the Baldacchino before the tour ends.

Choose the option that suits how much time you have and how you would like to spend it.

Tour Options

Museum & Sistine Chapel Ticket Only (No Guide & Basilica)
Self-guided visit to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, with fast-track entry and welcome staff assistance at the meeting point. No guide and no Basilica access.

Vatican Express: Museums & Sistine Only
2-hour guided tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel with skip-the-line access, covering a selection of key galleries. St. Peter's Basilica is not included.

Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Tour
3-hour guided tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel with a licensed guide, including access to St. Peter's Basilica.