The Vatican Museums are home to over nine miles of art, much of which is never seen by the general public, either for timing or access reasons. Delve deeper into the Vatican Museums than ever before with this Extended Vatican Tour that takes you where the public can’t usually go and visits more general access areas of the museums than a classic Vatican tour.
This special No Wait Access tour crosses velvet ropes to gain rare access to the famous Bramante Staircase, a dizzying spiral of carved stone built in 1512 inside a square tower.[readmore]It once bore the weight of horses, but few ever set foot on it these days, making this visit particularly special. A sure highlight of the tour will be the beautiful paintings of the Vatican Pinacoteca painting gallery, including Raphael’s ‘Transfiguration’, Caravaggio’s ‘Deposition from the Cross’ and Leonardo Da Vinci’s unfinished ‘St. Jerome in the Wilderness’.
On top of that, we’ll visit all the general access rooms covered in our basic Vatican Museums tour, from the Pinecone Courtyard to the Gallery of Tapestries, the Gallery of the Maps, the Gallery of the Candelabra and a highlight of any tour – the Raphael Rooms.
Of course, your tour also includes the Vatican Museums’ most famous room, a room whose threshold has a higher footfall than the museums themselves because so many visitors come twice. Over the course of your tour, your guide will have described the works in here, explaining with the aid of photos and drawings, what each section means so that when you arrive here – at the Sistine Chapel – you’ll have time to yourself to take it all in.
The last stop on our extended tour takes you through a special door in the Sistine Chapel and past another long queue to gain access to St. Peter’s Basilica. Every day but Wednesday (when the Papal Audience often means that the Basilica is closed) you’ll have a guided tour inside this colossal building – one of the most important in all of Christianity and home to Michelangelo’s famous sculpture, ‘La Pieta’.
Sites Visited Inside
It is the individual responsibility of all visitors to arrive at the designated meeting point 15 minutes in advance
Late arrivals will not be able to catch up with the group and no refunds will be given for those who arrive after departure time
The Vatican only permits very small bags and specifically prohibits large bags, tripods, umbrellas, and backpacks
Knees and shoulders must be covered for both men and women
On Wednesdays, access to St. Peter’s Basilica and Square may be closed at the time of the morning tour due to the Papal Audience
We regret that we are unable to accommodate guests with wheelchairs or any impairments requiring special assistance