You’ll meet our professional English-speaking guide in the prearranged meeting-point, which can be changed according to guests requirements:

The tour takes you to the most interesting religious and cultural areas like the Vatican Museums (Pio Clementino Museum, Tapestries Gallery and Gallery of maps, Raphael’s Rooms and Sistine Chapel) and finally the Piazza del Bernini with the famous Basilica of St. Peter (without visiting the dome). The Vatican is the only museum in the world, which forms its own state. The Vatican Museums take a big part of the Vatican palace, which is the biggest complex of the Vatican State as long as St. Peter's Basilica, together with St. Peter’s Basilica. Already in 1475, the palace also served as library and museum. The Sacro Museum was founded by Benedict XIV in 1756 and the Profano Museum by Pope Clement in 1767.

The Pio-Clementino Museum was opened to the public at the end of the 18th Century, while the Museums Chiara Monti and Braccio Nuovo were opened only in the early 19th Century. The Etruscan and the Egyptian Museums followed between 1837 and 1839. In 1932, under Pope Pius XI, was opened the Art Gallery (Pinacoteca), in 1960 the Museo Gregoriano Profano for the collection of Greek and Roman originals (formerly located in Lateran) and finally in 1973 followed the Ethnologic Missionary Museum.

The Sistine Chapel was built by Giovanni de’ Dolci between 1473 and 1481, under Sixtus IV. In the House Chapel of the Vatican you can admire fantastic frescoes by Botticelli, D. Ghirlandaio, Perugino, Pinturicchio, L. Signorelli (long walls) and Michel Angelo (Ceiling 1508-1512, Prophets and Sibyllen, Prehistory of the Humanity in 9 images; Choir wall 1534-1541 and other).

At the entrance to the Vatican you’ll admire one of the greatest public squares in the world, the Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter’s Square by Bernini). Right there you’ll see a great Doric-pillared colonnade with statues of ca. 140 saints.

The interior of the cathedral consists of a transept and a choir apse and is almost too huge to take in. The largest church in Christendom also impressed for their rich, the most notable sculptures are grave monuments.

OPENING HOURS OF VATICAN MUSEUMS AND THE SISTINE CHAPEL:

Monday to Saturday: Entrance from 09.00 to 16.00; Closing time is 18:00
Sunday (the last Sunday of each month): Entrance from 09.00 to 12.30; Closing time is 14.00

Closed: Sundays, except for the last Sunday of each month, unless it falls at Easter, on June 29 (St. Peter and Paul), or on December 25 and 26 (Christmas Holiday)

Other holidays: January 1, January 6, February 11, March 19, April 12 – 13 (Easter), May 1, May 21 (Ascension Thursday), June 11, June 29, August 15, December 8 (Feast of the Immaculate Conception), December 25 – 26 (Christmas)


OPENING HOURS OF ST. PETER’S BASILICA:

The St. Peter's Basilica is open daily Apr-Sep 7:00-19:00; Oct-Mar 7:00-18:00

IMPORTANT INFORMATION : On Wednesdays the Basilica of Saint Peter is closed in the morning for Papal Audience. Tour will feature more of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel.