Early Morning Vatican Tour with Hotel Pick-Up

The Vatican Museums house the most famous and most visited art collection on Earth. Curated over centuries by the papacy, the Vatican’s attractions include the world’s most beautiful paintings, sculptures, frescoes, and archaeological treasures. The collection began with Pope Julius II in the early 1500s and has expanded over the centuries to encapsulate more of human history, from antiquity to the modern day.

This complete Vatican itinerary will take you through the museums first, in the early morning before the crowds are let in. This means that you will have the special opportunity to explore the Vatican Museums with barely a tenth of the usual visiting population present. Your guide will expertly lead you through the enormous galleries, which you will be able to savor and admire in peace. You will see all the best of the artworks and artifacts, from sculptures to the exquisite frescoes on the walls. The grandest of these is to be found in the Sistine Chapel — its ceiling is lavished in frescoes by Michelangelo and is one of the most famous artworks in human history. The museum is breathtaking no matter when you visit it, but to see it when it is quiet and serene without the crowds is unlike anything else; to stand in the Vatican’s divine halls and watch the doors open on the radiant frescoes of the Sistine Chapel is an experience nothing short of life-altering.

The complete Vatican experience must include Saint Peter’s Basilica*, only a stone’s throw from the Vatican museums and gardens. It is the largest Christian church in the world and among the most highly revered, as it is said to have been built on top of the tomb of Saint Peter. It is also a distinct architectural marvel; the famous dome of Saint Peter’s and the basilica’s characteristic facade make a striking silhouette. The row of columns along the front of the building reaffirms its divine and palatial splendor.

The Vatican and the Basilica are synonymous, and seeing them together is an essential stop in any visit to Rome and Vatican City.