Your guide will meet you at the entrance to the museums and with pre-booked tickets you’ll avoid the queues and the tour will begin immediately; visiting the Belvedere Courtyard, the Pio-Clementino Museum and the large collection of Ancient Roman and Greek statues. You will then enter the Gallery of Tapestries followed by the Gallery of Maps; a priceless collection of Renaissance maps, and one of the most important in the world.. In the Sobiesky Room you will see one of the largest paintings in the Vatican collection, as well as view some stunning frescoes in the room of the Immaculate Conception. A must see on any Vatican tour is Raphael’s Rooms. Raphael decorated these rooms for Pope Julius II, and they contain some of the artist’s greatest works, the Parnassus and The School of Athens.

As talking is forbidden in the Sistine Chapel, before you enter your guide will discuss the masterpieces you will see inside, including the renowned frescoes by Michelangelo, Botticelli and others on the walls and ceiling. Your guide will also share anecdotes about the chapel, which is used today for the papal election – Conclave.

t is then time for a tour of St. Peter’s Basilica where you will explore the numerous side chapels with their hidden crypts. You will see Michelangelo’s Pietà and your guide will explain why this is the only work that he signed. You will gain an appreciation of the mastery that went into the creation of Bernini’s altarpiece and learn how Michelangelo triumphed over his contemporaries for the honour to paint St. Peter’s magnificent dome. There is still more to see though below ground level. You guide will lead you below ground to the papal crypt where, over the centuries, many of the Popes have been interred. This special place is a site of pilgrimage for many Catholics.

Here you can see the exterior of the papal palace as well as glimpse the colorful Swiss Guards.