Vatican Museums Tour: Early Morning Access

Experience exclusive early access to the Vatican Museums and avoid the crowds. Explore the masterpieces with a small group or in a private tour, led by an expert local guide.

Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Vatican Museums - With the luxury of our truly small group size of 6 people max, or in the personalized intimacy of your very own private group, you will be guaranteed to get the very most out of your Vatican experience. This way you can easily navigate through the countless masterpieces with an expert guide, ask all the questions you wish, and have the guarantee of a personalized experience. We trust this makes ALL the difference!

Walk through the heavily decorated Gallery of the Candelabras and enjoy the trompe l’oeil in the Gallery of the Tapestries. After you learn about the impressive Gallery of the Maps, continue to the exquisite Raphael Rooms. With your professional expert tour guide, you will be sure to see all the highlights as well as hidden gems! You will not only learn the fantastic history of the powerful Popes but will also delight in the bits of gossip and other little-known stories about life in Vatican City.

  • Stanze di Raffaello - The Papal art collection at its best in the Raphael Rooms

  • Sistine Chapel - Enjoy a thorough explanation of the incredible masterpiece that is the Sistine Chapel and learn all about it from your professional expert guide before you actually enter the chapel. As it is a holy place, it is strictly forbidden to speak inside. That is why we guarantee you will learn all about it before you enter. Then, once inside, you will have time to take it all in and admire the breathtaking beauty of this world famous site in contemplative silence.

  • St. Peter’s Basilica - Your comprehensive Vatican tour concludes with VIP entrance directly into St. Peter’s Basilica without standing in the long lines. Walking through the Basilica, you will learn all about the secrets of the magnificent and ornate decorations, sculptures, altars and chapels. Visit Michelangelo’s Pieta and walk down the main nave to admire the dome he designed that sits on top of the largest Catholic church in the world.

What's Included
  • Skip the long ticket lines
  • Private Option of this tour is Available!
  • Tour in a Safe and Semi Private Group of 6 people
  • Learn from a Professional Local Expert Guide
  • Enjoy Early Morning Entrance to the Vatican Museums for a quieter experience
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks
  • Gratuities (optional)
Additional Information

Get early morning access into the Vatican Museums to admire countless works, and beautiful courtyards! Together with a truly small group of only 6 participants max, or in your very own private group, you will be able to avoid the big crowds and quietly enjoy these wonderful masterpieces. The Vatican Museums is on everyone’s Rome itinerary so you can imagine it gets quite full, quite quickly. This tour guarantees the personalized and intimate feel that is only possible with our truly small group size, or in your very own private group. We believe that having an intimate experience makes ALL the difference! With your expert local guide, make your way through the vastness of the Museums, with the greatest highlights of the Papal art collection, the Raphael Rooms, the Gallery of Tapestries, the Pinecone Courtyard, and of course the exceptional Sistine Chapel. Finish with the incredible Saint Peter’s Basilica.

  • Occasionally the Basilica may be closed due to last minute private events outside of the tour operators control and often without notice. In these uncommon circumstances the tour will operate as usual and the time spent inside the basilica will be made up elsewhere on the tour. No refunds will be granted in the event the Basilica is closed
  • Starting in 2024, the Vatican Museums will discontinue early access for ALL tour providers, instead opening to the public at 8AM. This tour will then be offered as a first entrance experience, which we recommend for a less crowded, more personalized, and fully guided experience.
  • Vatican management maintains the right to delay the opening of the Sistine Chapel for religious reasons, in this case the guide will modify the itinerary and extend your visit of the museums to ensure you make the most of your time before access to the Sistine Chapel is permitted.
  • Please note St Peter’s Basilica is closed on most Wednesday’s. If you book during a day in which the Basilica is closed, your tour of the Vatican Museums will be extended to compensate the closure
  • Not recommended for travelers with mobility issues
Location
Viale Vaticano, 100
Viale Vaticano
In front of Cafè Vaticano, right across the street from the Vatican Museum's Entrance. Your guide will be holding a LivTours sign
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(2971 Ratings)
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Barbara_r
Oct 1, 2024
Excellent Tour thru the Vatican - Our tour guide, Sue, was terrific, energetic. Made the experience very special. The Vatican experience was excellent, although some of the staff were quite rude when moving people within the Vatican. The Sistine Chapel is spectacular, we had time to meditate and really take in all of the paintings and artwork. Excellent Tour
Review provided by Viator
Sandra_m
Sep 30, 2024
Lovely day at the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel - Assunta was a wonderful tour guide. Her knowledge of art history added so much to our tour. It was fabulous to have someone who is passionate about art and so knowledgeable about art to show us around and share what she knew. We learned so much.
Review provided by Viator
Jillsr8807am
Sep 30, 2024
Vatican tour - She was AMAZING and very informative. Laura P was the BEST guide!!! She knew all about the history and was able to answer all of our questions.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bernard_h
Sep 29, 2024
Great experience! - Incredible! Was just beautiful and the history was incredible! Massimo, Max, our tour guide was the best! Thank you MAX!!!!
Review provided by Viator
Catherine
Sep 29, 2024
Early Morning Tour of the Vatican - We just finished an AMAZING tour of the Vatican with Barbara from Liv tours. She was knowledgeable, intelligent, enthusiastic and friendly. We learned so many new and fascinating things about the Vatican and its history. She was also helpful with recommendations for the rest of our vacation in Italy! We recommend this tour for sure!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Scottccannon
Sep 29, 2024
Personal Vatican tour - Barbara was an amazing guide! Very warm, outgoing personality and incredibly knowledgeable. She had detailed information on everything we viewed but tailored the tour to our interests too. She made it a very memorable day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wonjik2022
Sep 28, 2024
Great experience - Elena was extremely informative and friendly. We brought our 9month old and she was very accommodating to a family with a little kid. Highly recommend her and Liv tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ruth_j
Sep 28, 2024
Wonderful tour - Brilliant way to see the Vatican before all the crowds really get going. Serafina the guide was excellent, so knowledgeable about all the various rooms and styles of art. A treasured experience. Grazie Mille!
Review provided by Viator
933deborahv
Sep 26, 2024
Perfect experience - Liv Tours has been the best tour group that we had for our European holiday. I had questions a few times and they got back to me in a very timely way with good information. Our guide Giovanni was informative and so funny. He made the experience perfect for us. We are from Edmonton Canada and I would highly recommend the tour guide and group to work with.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Johanita_k
Sep 26, 2024
Efficient and informative exploration of the Vatican museums - Very efficient and informative way to see the Vatican museums in 3 hours. Our guide Alexandre was very passionate about art and provide extraordinary insights into the art and history, I have learned a lot and seen more than I would have on my own.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
October 2024
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