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Vatican Museums
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Vatican Museums tickets and tours

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Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel small-group tour with basilica visit
Must see
Attractions & guided tours

Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel small-group tour with basilica visit

Book your small group tour of the Vatican Museums, and the Sistine Chapel. Take advantage of a expert local guide and skip-the-line entrance.

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en 

Skip-the-line entrance to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
Likely to sell out
Attractions & guided tours

Skip-the-line entrance to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel

Benefit from the skip-the-line access to admire the Vatican Museums and visit the Sistine Chapel, one of the greatest attraction in Rome.

Flexible
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Skip The Line
Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica guided tour
Attractions & guided tours

Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica guided tour

Book your guided tour including Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel. Less time in line, more time on art!

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en 

Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel self-guided audio tour

Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel self-guided audio tour

Get to explore the Vatican Museums at your own pace and find out plenty of facts and curiosities about its masterpieces thanks to your self-guided tour!

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en, it, de 

Skip-the-Line Tickets for Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
Attractions & guided tours

Skip-the-Line Tickets for Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel

Enjoy your skip-the-line ticket for the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel and admire them at your own pace.

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en, it 

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Colosseum, Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel Experience
Activities

Colosseum, Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel Experience

Travel back in time to the center of daily life in ancient Rome at the Forum, and explore the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums.

Duration 48 hours
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en, it, fr, es 

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Vatican: Basilica, Dome and underground early bird tour
Activities

Vatican: Basilica, Dome and underground early bird tour

Admire the stunning frescoes, statues and mosaics of the Basilica and its square, set foot on the summit of the famous Michelangelo's Dome.

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en 

Reserved entrance and guided tour of Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
Likely to sell out
Attractions & guided tours

Reserved entrance and guided tour of Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel

Benefit from reserved access to admire the beautiful Vatican Museums and visit the greatest attractions in Rome, the Sistine Chapel.

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Semi-private early morning guided Vatican tour
Walking tours

Semi-private early morning guided Vatican tour

Enjoy the St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums during this early morning tour.

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Fast Track Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica Tour
Attractions & guided tours

Fast Track Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica Tour

Make the most of your time in Rome! Explore the Vatican Museums on a 2-hour guided tour and then visit the magnificent Basilica of St. Peter.

Duration 2 hours
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3-hour guided tour in the Vatican Museums and St Peter's Basilica
Activities

3-hour guided tour in the Vatican Museums and St Peter's Basilica

Enjoy the Vatican Museums art collections and the masterpieces inside St Peter's Basilica on a guided 3-hour tour with tickets from Musement.

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Complete Skip-the-Line Vatican Tour for Small Groups
Attractions & guided tours

Complete Skip-the-Line Vatican Tour for Small Groups

Book the ultimate Vatican experience with express access to the museums and Sistine Chapel and a full guided tour led by a Vatican expert.

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Guided tour of the Vatican's secret passage, Passetto di Borgo

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Fast track Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel tour

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Skip The Line

The inside story

The Vatican Museums are the public museums of the Vatican City. The museums display works from the extensive collection of the Catholic Church and feature some of the world’s most renowned masterpieces. Visiting the Vatican Museums is one of the most popular things to do in Rome, so tickets and guided tours should be booked well in advance.

Pope Julius II ordered the construction of the museums in the early 16th century to house his growing art and sculpture collection. Subsequent popes continued to add to the collection throughout the centuries and the first gallery opened to the public in 1771 by Pope Clement XIV.

Today, the Vatican Museums are in fact made up of multiple museums and include more than 70,000 works, of which 20,000 pieces are on display, including paintings, sculptures, statues, tapestries and other artefacts.

The galleries include works from many of the greats throughout art history such as Raphael, Caravaggio, Michelangelo, Bernini and da Vinci. It also houses a Collection of Contemporary Art which showcases works from Van Gogh, Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso, amongst others.

The Gardens of Vatican City, a landscape of forests, medieval monuments, sculptures and gardens, are also worth exploring during your visit. A lush oasis away from the hustle and bustle of Rome, visitors can stroll the beautifully curated gardens on a guided tour.

Top three highlights of the Vatican Museums:

  • Laocoön and His Sons

Laocoön and His Sons was the very first piece of art of the Vatican Museums and is now one of the most famous ancient sculptures in the whole collection. A marble masterpiece, the sculpture is based on an ancient Greek myth. It depicts Laocoön, the priest of Apollo from the city of Troy, and his two sons in mortal struggle with deadly serpents. The Laocoön and His Sons statue is on display in the Pio-Clementine Museum.

  • The Raphael Rooms

Raphael’s Rooms, also called the Raphael Stanza, comprise of four separate rooms painted by Raphael and his students. Commissioned by Pope Julius II, the walls and ceilings of each room feature immense frescoes depicting religious, political and historical scenes. The four Raphael Rooms are: the Room of Constantine, the Room of Heliodorus, the Room of the Signature and the Room of the Fire in the Borgo. The School of Athens, The Battle of Ostia, Disputation of the Holy Sacrament and The Expulsion of the Heliodorus are all must-see paintings within the rooms. The Raphael Rooms are located on the second floor of the Vatican Palace.

  • Bramante Staircase

The double spiral staircase is one of the most iconic images of the Vatican Museums. The original staircase was built in 1505 by Donato Bramante and was considered an architectural wonder of its time. The staircase consists of two separate flights that allow people to ascend and descend without running into each other. A second staircase inspired by the original one was designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932 and is located in the Pio-Clementine Museum. Please note, the original staircase is not generally open to the public, but certain guided tours do visit.

The Vatican Museums opening hours:

The opening hours of the Vatican Museums, the Vatican Gardens, St. Peter’s Square, St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel are different so please keep this in mind when visiting.

  • Vatican Museums – Monday to Saturday 8.30am-6.00pm, last entrance at 4.00pm

  • Sistine Chapel – Monday to Saturday 9.00am - 6.00pm, last entrance at 4.00pm

  • St. Peter’s Basilica - daily 7.00am-7.00pm April to September, 8.00am-5.00pm October to March

  • St. Peter’s Dome – daily 8.00am-6.00pm April to September, 8.00am - 5.00pm October to March

  • Vatican Gardens – Monday to Saturday, 9.00am-6.00pm

The Vatican is closed on Sundays (except the last Sunday of the month) as well as some religious holidays, so it is advised to plan your visit in advance.

How to get to the Vatican Museums:

Situated about five kilometres from the heart of Rome, besides walking, there are several transport options to get to the Vatican Museums:

By metro

  • Line A stations: Ottaviano - S.Pietro or Cipro

By bus

  • 49 stops in front of the museum entrance

  • 32, 81 and 982 stop at Piazza del Risorgimento

  • 492 and 990 stop at Via Leone IV / Via degli Scipioni

By tram

  • Line number 19 stops at Piazza del Risorgimento

By taxi

  • Taxi stand: Viale Vaticano in front of the museum entrance

Special notes about visiting the Vatican Museums:

  • Trousers and skirts must cover the knee and shoulders must be covered to enter the Vatican Museums.

  • Due to the vast number of things to see, a guided tour of the Vatican Museums is highly recommended.

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How to get there

Vatican Museums Viale Vaticano Rome