Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & Bramante Staircase Private Tour

Highlights

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Itinerary

1. Designed by the famous architect of Tuscany, Donato Bramante, the original staircase was commissioned by Pope Julius II in the early 16th century. The staircase features herringbone paving and has granite columns lining the innermost side of the spirals. It also allowed Pope Julius II to travel directly to his private residence by carriage. The reason this was possible is because the original staircase doesn’t have stairs but is more of a paved ramp. What’s more is that this fascinating architectural marvel displays the double helix shape. This is the shape we most commonly relate to a strand of DNA today. It allowed traffic to travel up on one path and down on the other to ensure that there were never any interruptions. The original staircase is an exclusive destination which makes it very difficult to visit.

   3 hAdmission included

2. Regarded as Michelangelo’s masterpiece, the Sistine Chapel is a jaw-dropping attraction you must see at least once in your lifetime.The Sistine Chapel is one of the greatest treasures of the Vatican City, of Rome and of the world in general. It is known as much for its decoration, as for being the temple in which popes are chosen and crowned.The construction of the building was between 1473 and 1481 during the mandate of Pope Sixtus IV, to whom it owes its current name. What grabs the attention in the Sistine are the frescoes that completely cover the walls and the ceiling. Some of the most important artists who worked in the chapel are Botticelli, Perugino, Luca and Michelangelo.Without any doubt, The Creation of Adam is the best-known image from the Sistine Chapel. It is located in the central part of the vault and represents the story from Genesis in which God gives life to Adam.Located over the high altar Michelangelo’s other masterpiece, The Final Judgment.

   1 hAdmission included

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Know before you go

How it compares in Rome

• Its from-price is 918% above the median of the 8352 experiences we list in Rome.
• It is longer than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 4477 of 8352.

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.

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