Tours and Tickets
Waking Up the Vatican: VIP Small-Group Tour Before Museums Open
5

Waking Up the Vatican: VIP Small-Group Tour Before Museums Open

By City Wonders
Recommended by 98% of travellers
This number is based on the percentage of all Tripadvisor reviews for this product that have a bubble rating of 4 or higher
About
This first-of-its-kind experience gets you inside the Vatican Museums before all other early access and VIP tours. A guide and your small group follow the clavigero (key keeper) as he unlocks doors and flips on lights to the galleries that attract some 25,000 people a day. Walk the empty halls, and be the first to see the Raphael Rooms and the Gallery of Maps, among other rooms. Your guide also provides commentary inside the Sistine Chapel—a rare perk as talking is usually prohibited. End with breakfast in the Pinecone Courtyard as other visitors are just starting to arrive.

Ages 0-99, max of 20 per group
Duration: 2h 30m
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
English

Highlights
  • Enter the Vatican before anyone else, including standard early access groups
  • Guide permitted to speak inside the Sistine Chapel, which is usually forbidden
  • Unlimited time in the Vatican after breakfast
  • One-of-a-kind experience limited to 20 participants

  • Expert, English-speaking tour guide
  • Small groups of 20 people or less
  • Guided visit in the Sistine Chapel before it has been opened to the public
  • Buffet breakfast
  • Breakfast
  • Entry/Admission - Sistine Chapel
  • Entry/Admission - Stanze di Raffaello
  • Entry/Admission - Vatican Museums
What's not included
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pick-up/drop-off

This tour takes you to one of the busiest tour locations in the world, and it allows you to follow a Vatican clavigero (key keeper) inside the iconic landmark an hour or more before other early access tours. Along with 20 people (or fewer), your guide leads you through the main areas of the Vatican Museums, including the Sistine Chapel, Raphael's Rooms, and the Gallery of Maps. Be one of the first that day to enter each room right as the clavigero finds the right key and switches on the lights. Because of the size of your group and the early start time, you can enjoy a quiet walk through religious areas for more spiritual experience. Plus, this is the only Vatican Museums tour where a guide goes inside the Sistine Chapel to provide commentary up close to Michelangelo’s artwork to your group. It's an experience that has never before been offered to the public. Afterward, head to the Pinecone Courtyard for breakfast, where you will see all the early access groups starting their tours for the day. Once you wrap up your meal, you are able to stay in the museums as long as you like.

Departure details
  • Vatican Museums, 00120, Vatican City Vatican Museum Entrance Meet your guide at the main entrance of the Vatican Museums, on Viale Vaticano.
Return details
  • Returns to original departure point

  • Not wheelchair accessible
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 3731P209

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • This service ends at around 08:30AM inside the Vatican Museums.
  • Due to heightened security measures, you may experience delays in clearing security checks when entering the venue.
  • Large purses, bags, and backpacks are not allowed inside the Vatican Museums.
  • It is the responsibility of all visitors to be at the meeting point 10 minutes before departure. Guests arriving after departure cannot be accommodated & missed tours or tickets cannot be refunded.
  • This tour involves a fair amount of walking and stairs; comfortable shoes are recommended.
  • This activity is not wheelchair accessible. We are also unable to accommodate strollers or baby carriages on our group tours.
  • Entrance into the Vatican Museums requires a strict dress code. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women.
  • Photography is permitted in certain sections of the Vatican Museums. Your guide will inform you of restricted areas.
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travellers

  • All sales are final and incur 100% cancellation penalties.

If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 3731P209

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Itinerary
  • You'll start at
    Vatican Museums
    00120, Vatican City
    Vatican Museum Entrance Meet your guide at the main entrance of the Vatican Museums, on Viale Vaticano.
    See address & details
  • Pass by
    City Wonders
    Vatican City
  • 1
    Sistine Chapel
    Stop: 30 minutes - Admission included
    See details
  • 2
    Stanze di Raffaello
    Stop: 30 minutes - Admission included
    See details
  • 3
    Vatican Museums
    Stop: 2 hours - Admission included
    See details
  • You'll return to the starting point
+
About the operator
City Wonders
34,674
Rome, Lazio, Italy

#283 of 1,889 Tours & Activities in Rome
  • Elenagarcia99
    Elenagarcia99
    0
    0
    Visit at the Colosseum with Silvia
    Our guide Silvia was great! She was really enthusiatic about the Colosseum and made it informative and fun. Plus she’s a local archeologist so she knows her knowledge!! We really enjoyed the visit.
  • Carole M
    Carole M
    0
    0
    Must book!
    This tour was so great! We got really lucky with the weather being beautiful too. We only waited in a few lines but never for too long (especially when you see everyone else waiting in the long lines!) I enjoy having a tour guide who is so knowledgeable and enthusiastic with the group (Maria Giovanna!) we got to the meeting point 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time, a guide called out for people who booked for the company, he checked our names off the list and assigned us to a guide. The group had about 20 people. We all got radios and earbuds to listen the whole way through and did not experience any issues with that. We started at the colosseum and then proceeded to the Roman forum. The tour was well worth it. Also, lots of stairs and uphill walking in the Roman forum part of the tour so if you have any physical limitations, be mindful. Our tour guide made sure to wait for everyone ! Overall would recommend this tour for a morning adventure.
  • douglaswR1213ZU
    douglaswR1213ZU
    0
    0
    Colloseum trip
    Well organised, informative guide for our trip round the Colloseum and Roman Forum. November was a quieter time to visit Rome.
  • bethfS5497HK
    bethfS5497HK
    0
    0
    Excellent Experience
    Emily was amazing and went above and beyond our expectations as a tour guide! She gave everyone a promo code which will be very beneficial for future travel trips! I will always remember this wonderful experience!
  • bethfS5497HK
    bethfS5497HK
    0
    0
    Amazing Experience
    Our guide Barbara was great! She was very knowledgeable and helpful as well as friendly. The views were breathtaking! Some movies were filmed at this location such as Twilight, Gladiator and Under the Tuscan Sun. Good food, wine and people
  • Justyna H
    Justyna H
    0
    0
    Recommend if you want to know the history of the colosseum.
    Really enjoyed this tour. Being able to skip the lines and get access to the arena really makes a difference. Nadia was a very good guide. It really makes the visit more memorable when you have someone explaining to you the historical significance of everything you’re looking at.
  • K8andSi
    K8andSi
    0
    0
    Make sure you visit!
    What an amazing trip! Best day in Rome, thank you to Nik who was soooo knowledgeable and clearly loves his history! Thank you!
  • Global59698979019
    Global59698979019
    0
    0
    Great tour guide
    Our tour guide Nick was very informative. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour of the colosseum and forum. We would recommend this tour and guide.
  • amne43
    amne43
    0
    0
    An enjoyable trip to the Colloseum
    Our guide, Nicholas made the trip very enjoyable despite the rainy weather. He had a very good knowledge about the history relating to the Colloseum.
  • nickil69
    nickil69
    0
    0
    Great “off the normal path” tour
    I thought this was a very good tour. Emilio was a charming, amusing, intelligent and informative guide. I felt he had a true reverence for the church at the end of the tour. He was even helpful to us at the end helping to find good restaurants in the drop off area.❤️
  • normanp311
    normanp311
    0
    0
    Very interesting.
    The tour took us to visit through the Vatican Museums; the Sistine Chapel itself (which was fantastic) and into The Basilica. Each were equally as good. We learnt a lot today - although a bit overwhelming.
  • Daniel R
    Daniel R
    0
    0
    Good tour, but a bit rushed.
    With so much to potentially see and do on a trip to the Vatican, an organized tour may seem like the best way to hit all of the main points of interest. Given the skip-the-line privileges of tour groups, there really isn’t any other choice given that the alternative is 1+ hour lines at every turn. While this tour was well done and our guide was great, I felt like it left a lot to be desired. The Vatican Museums portion was extremely rushed (for good reason to stay within the allotted time), and it essentially involved constant movement through massive crowds without any time to digest the artwork we were solely catching glimpses of. The Sistine Chapel was beautiful, but chances are high that members of the tour group will discard the “no talking” rule and ask questions throughout. I’d recommend a longer tour if the Vatican Museums are a focus of your visit.
  • Experience816743
    Experience816743
    0
    0
    Skip the line Collodeum, Forum and Palatine Hill
    We did the Colosseum, Forum & Palatine Hill with Elisa. She was absolutely wonderful! She was very knowledgeable and considerate of our needs. She had a sense of humor and you could tell she truly loves the city. We would highly recommend this tour. We did the small group tour. It was excellent! Pam Bylund. Kentucky, USA. November 6. 2023. The weather was perfect! We couldn’t have been more pleased. She gave us a recommendation for a great lunch after our tour.
  • amelias591
    amelias591
    0
    0
    Amazing your guide
    Sabrina our tour guide was fabulous. She really brought the history and art to life. It was amazing how much she was able to share with us in 3hrs. I can’t say enough good things about Sabrina.
  • Deedeebaneenee
    Deedeebaneenee
    0
    0
    Ask for Sylvia
    SYLVIA! She was an amazing tour guide — incredibly detailed and informative. She brought diagrams to help us visualize these structures when they were first built. Loved that she’s an archaeologist so she was able to include information from experiments in the past few years. Best of all, she was funny and had such a great energy on a damp and rainy fall day. Highly recommend!
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions

5.0
202 reviews
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Pwillholme
Kuwait City, Kuwait369 contributions
Jul. 2018 • Friends
If you are looking for a relaxed, well paced tour of key elements of the Vatican and in particular the Sistine Chapel then this is a must. Very knowledgeable and honest guide (Tio??) and well supported by the excellent staff from the Museum (i.e. the key holders).
Reasonable, if a little hectic, breakfast buffet at the end of the tour and then the option to stay on and visit the rest of the museum if you wish.
One word of warning, this only really makes sense if you have a real urge and interest to visit and get some historic background. It does not make sense to pay for this if you or your companions do not have a true interest in history and beautiful art.
Written July 18, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Alessia R
London, UK224 contributions
The feeling of being the first person entering the Sistine Chapel is just so unique. Thank to our very nice and knowledgeable guide - Francesca - I have learnt so much and enjoyed every second of the tour. We had the chance to admire many amazing masterpieces in the absolute peacefulness of the early morning at the Vatican Museums. Absolutely loved it!
Written May 8, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

julie l
London, UK29 contributions
Breathtaking tour!! Alone in the Vatican!!
For the early birds! I was not sure what to expect when I booked this tour that exists only for a few days. Once in a lifetime experience. I got to open the doors in Vatican. Our tour guide Becky was amazing and the Vatican staff was so nice. We were 3 people that day on the tour, alone in the Vatican for 2hours! You get to visit the Sixtine chapel alone. A moment full of emotion.
Written May 18, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

serena v
Turin, Italy32 contributions
May 2018 • Friends
This is an unforgettable experience that I wish everyone could try.
Being in the Vatican Museums with only a few people, going room after room while the Museums wake up, the moment the Clavigero opens the Sistine Chapel...it's all so magic!
Our guide Francesca was perfect and made the visit more memorable.
It's unbelievable how many people were already out waiting to enter the Museums when we finished! I realized that this tour was worth every penny.
Written May 8, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Elba S
Illinois2 contributions
I visited the Vatican museums and the Sistine chapel for the first time two years ago and though I was super impressed and in awe of it all it was extremely packed and rather uncomfortable to get through certain areas. That's why this time around I wanted to try the wake up the Vatican tour. I was a little skeptical on whether it would be worth it but now I can say without a shadow of a doubt it absolutely is!!! The experience of being the first ones in, going to areas not normally accessible, and experiencing it all without the crowds is almost indescribable. They also let us open the doors and turn on the lights ourselves which was a very unique experience. We were allowed to take pictures in the Sistine chapel which isn't allowed for almost any other group. Our tour guide Becky was GREAT! She was as excited as we were of the experience and her descriptions and enthusiasm made an amazing tour that much better! I know it's a little on the pricy side but if you can afford it, I wouldn't hesitate one little bit.
Written July 17, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

annedo62
Annecy, France104 contributions
The best way to visit the Vatican museum and the Chapel . Very small group so unique experience when they open each room for you. We walk with more then 2500 keys. You will have a selection of arts that will be explained . Then you can stay as long as you want to learn more about the rest of the collection, after a nice breakfast, but it won't be the same with the crowd that arrives and will be around you. I recommend.
Written May 27, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

OrangeCrush
San Francisco, CA82 contributions
May 2018 • Solo
This tour was truly an unforgettable experience. As a photographer, artist and student of ancient history, this was truly everything I expected and more. My guide was a scholar of Roman Art History so she made the experience the best 2.5 hour lesson ever! It is certainly worth the sacrifice to wake up early in the morning, beat the crowds and get to tour these amazing galleries in quiet company. As a photographer, I was truly thrilled to have the opportunity to take pictures. No flash is allowed so make sure you own a camera that can handle a very high ISO setting.
Written May 24, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

dangiapedia
Milan, Italy333 contributions
I’m still excited when I think about this tour and the feeling to be in the Sistine Chapel almost alone. I visited the Vatican before but with other thousands of people and I can now say that it’s not the same thing. In this tour I felt very lucky to be able to see the galleries in peace and to admire Raphael and Michelangelo masterpieces listening to our guide Francesca. And I was even able to take nice pictures very easily without fighting with other visitors!
Absolutely worth the money to experience a truly VIP visit.
Written May 8, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Synthdoc
Las Vegas, Nevada5 contributions
Jul. 2018 • Solo
I decided to take this tour at the last minute while in Rome for business. It was well worth the price! A group of just 6 people entered the Museums at 6am in the morning, the Clavigero ( keeper of the Vatican keys) opened the door just for us! We were then escorted through the main rooms and galleries. They let each member of the tour actually open the doors and turn on the lights to each room. Finally we came to the Sistine Chapel and the Clavigero said to me "You open this door and I open the door of the Sistine Chaple.. I ask at the beginning of the tour about photos and was told. " on this tour there are no rules for pictures. Selfie with the works of Michelangelo!!! It is expensive but 110% worth it and If you can afford it ....don't even think about ANY other tour - the HIGHEST recommendation possible!!!!!
Written July 13, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MarcDfromF
Friedrichsdorf, Germany11 contributions
Jul. 2018 • Solo
Booked the tour pretty late, cause I was struggling with the price. Let's face it: 314 EUR for 2.5hs, that is a lot of money.
Met early morning in front of the locked door and entered the museum with just 17 people. Only one word: AMAZING. Feels like "Night at the museum". The pictures you can take are awesome. No weird species called "Tourists" in the way. And it is quite. Very quite.

After breakfast I went back and walked partly the same way. Even though it was before the official opening time the place was crowed with "early access VIP tours". I mean really crowded.

I highly recommend this tour as a once in a lifetime experience. After you have been standing nearly alone in the Sistine Chapel you will know what I mean.

Special thanks go to our dutch(!) guide Lindsey (I think that was her name, I have a terrible memory), best tour I have ever done on this planet so far.
Written July 17, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Waking Up the Vatican: VIP Small-Group Tour Before Museums Open provided by City Wonders