Description
The Vatican Museums stretch over dozens of galleries, and this Vatican Museums guided tour gives you a licensed guide to pick out what matters. You meet at the office near the Vatican walls, check in with the staff and walk past the waiting crowds, using audio headsets so the commentary stays clear.
The route passes the Gallery of Maps, whose walls show Italy in fresco, the Gallery of Tapestries and the Pio-Clementino Museum, home to the Apollo Belvedere. It ends in the Sistine Chapel, where Michelangelo's Creation of Adam and Last Judgment are easier to appreciate after the guide's stories.
Depending on the option you book, the tour continues:
- into St. Peter's Basilica by Bernini's Royal Staircase, with the Pietà and the Baldachin
- to the Dome, a self-guided visit by elevator to the terrace
Allow two to four hours. Bring photo ID, cover shoulders and knees, and travel light, since there is no cloakroom. All visitors pass security, and the tour is not suited to wheelchair users.