This Extended Vatican Museums Tour is ideal for art-lovers interested in seeing more of what one of the world's most important collections has to offer. With No Wait access, you won’t waste any time waiting in line and small group sizes of 20 people or less in the company of an expert guide mean that your experience of the masterpieces inside will be intimate and well-informed.
- This incredible tour enters restricted areas to gain rare access to Bramante's famous staircase, a spiral of carved stone built in the early 1500s inside the Vatican's square tower. It was used in the past by the likes of Michelangelo and Raphael, but few see it these days, as it is not open to the public.
- Another highlight is the Vatican Picture Gallery, the 'Pinacoteca', filled with beautiful paintings, including Raphael’s 'Transfiguration', Caravaggio’s 'Deposition from the Cross' and Leonardo Da Vinci’s unfinished 'St. Jerome in the Wilderness'.
- You won't miss out on the general access rooms covered on standard Vatican Museums tours, from the Pinecone Courtyard to the Gallery of Tapestries, Gallery of Maps, Gallery of the Candelabra and something that no tour can be without – the Raphael Rooms.
- Of course, you'll also visit the grandest part of the Vatican Museums, the awe-inspiring Sistine Chapel with Michelangelo's ceiling and 'Last Judgement'. Your guide will have already described these works, explaining what each of them means so that once you're inside you’ll be able appreciate all their minute details.
- The last stop on this extended tour takes you from the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter’s Basilica, home to Michelangelo’s famous sculpture, the 'Pieta'.