VIP Semi-Private Key Master: Opening the Sistine Chapel

Explore the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel before they open to the public on this VIP tour. Open the Sistine Chapel, admire world-famous art and enjoy a breakfast buffet in the Pinecone Courtyard.

Meet your official Vatican guide outside the Vatican Museums as the sun rises over the Eternal City. Enter the empty foyer to begin your truly exclusive VIP tour through the Vatican before the crowds arrive. As you turn the keys and flip on the lights to each gallery with the official Vatican's Keeper, marvel at world-famous antiquities including the Apollo Belvedere and Laocoon. Admire Nero’s monumental marble bathtub, wander through the serene Gallery of the Candelabra, and see the iconic Diana of Ephesus statue. Walk by the hand-stitched Flemish tapestries, created according to Raphael school designs, originally meant to insulate the Sistine Chapel. Enter the dazzling golden Gallery of the Maps, showcasing accurate 16th-century frescoed maps of Italy. Appreciate the vibrant colors and unique skill of Raphael, the painter of sweetness and light, as you look at the School of Athens. Stand in awe and wonder beneath the vast frescoes of Michelangelo, from the Creation of Man to The Last Judgment. Normally bustling with hundreds of people jostling for position, you’ll have this rare opportunity to enjoy both the Raphael Rooms and Sistine Chapel completely devoid of crowds. You will have the chance to participate to the daily ceremony of the Sistine Chapel's door opening. After your sacred time beneath those frescoes, your guide will lead you to the open-air Pinecone Courtyard to enjoy a delicious breakfast buffet and some well-earned espresso.