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Alone in the Vatican Museums VIP Early Entry Tour with Key Master

5.014 reviewsVatican Museums

  • 2 hours
  • Free cancellation up to 24h before
  • Guided in English
  • Instant confirmation

Highlights

Walk alongside the Vatican’s Keeper of the Keys and witness the lights turn on throughout the galleries on this exclusive VIP Key Master semi-private tour. This once in a lifetime experience will allow you to hold in your hand and turn the keys that unlock the doors of the Vatican’s halls, galleries, and the Sistine Chapel itself—all completely alone. Once the private palace of the popes, the Vatican Museums welcomes 25,000 people every day. On this very special early morning tour, you will be able to enjoy the marbled halls, frescoed galleries, world-famous antiquities, and Renaissance masterpieces in almost total privacy. Experience the vibrant color and artistic genius of the Raphael Rooms alone. Bask in the awe-inspiring magnificence of Michelangelo’s frescoes in the empty Sistine Chapel. Then, enjoy a delicious breakfast in the grandeur of the Pinecone courtyard.

Inclusions

What's included

  • Pinecone Courtyard for VIP breakfast
  • Key Master access to the Vatican Museums before the opening hours
  • Official Vatican guide
  • Museum Highlights
  • First look at the Sistine Chapel & Raphael Rooms
  • A group of no more than 20 people
  • Semi-Private tour

Itinerary

  1. Be the first people to enter the hallowed portals of the Vatican an hour and a half before it opens to the general public. Enjoy a unique private tour with an expert guide completely alone in the Vatican. No other parties or groups. Just you. A unique, unparalleled opportunity.

    1 hAdmission included

  2. Normally buzzing and bustling with hundreds of people, enjoy the peaceful solitude of Pope Julius II’s private apartments, frescoed by Raphael, the painter of sweetness and light. Admire the School of Athens and the Disputa – unparalleled works of art.

    20 minAdmission included

  3. Marvel at the Flemish tapestries, created according to Raphael school designs and originally meant to insulate the Sistine Chapel. Admire the golden opulence and staggering accuracy of the 17th-century Gallery of Maps.

    20 minAdmission included

  4. To enter the empty Sistine Chapel is an extraordinary and unforgettable moment. Stand alone beneath Michelangelo’s great masterpieces, the Creation of Man and the Last Judgment. Its magnificence and majesty is both moving and humbling. A once in a lifetime experience. From January 12 through March 31, the Vatican Museums will be carrying out special conservation work on Michelangelo’s Last Judgment inside the Sistine Chapel. During this time, a scaffolding structure will cover the entire Last Judgment wall. The Sistine Chapel will remain open and fully accessible, but this specific artwork will not be visible during the restoration period. Thank you for your understanding as this masterpiece receives important care.

    15 minAdmission included

  5. Lastly enjoy a delicious breakfast buffet in the open-air grandeur of the Pinecone Courtyard.

    5 minAdmission included

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

5.0

  • 514
  • 40
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  • 10

Ratings come from 14 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

Meeting point
In front of Cafe Vaticano, right across the street from the Vatican Museum's Entrance. Please arrive 15 minutes before the start time. IMPORTANT: You must bring photo ID to guarantee entry.
Pickup
Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
Ticket type
Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Group size
Up to 20 travellers
Operated by
LivTours
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
  • All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • Places of worship have strict dress code requirements for entry. All participants are required to have shoulders and knees covered (no tank tops or short dresses) to enter
  • There is no photography allowed inside the Sistine Chapel.

How it compares in Rome

  • Its from-price is 358% above the median of the 8352 experiences we list in Rome.
  • It is shorter than most of them.
  • By number of reviews it ranks 2062 of 8352.
  • The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Rome

Rome layers nearly three thousand years of history into one walkable city, from the Colosseum and Forum to Baroque piazzas and Vatican art.

Ancient Rome is still in plain sight. The Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill sit together at the city's heart, the Pantheon still stands with its open oculus, and fragments of temples and aqueducts turn up between apartment blocks. Across the Tiber, Vatican City holds St Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling.

Top-ranked sights in Rome: Colosseum, Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel.

See all 8352 experiences in Rome

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