3-hour museum tour
Partially accessible
kid-friendly tour
For a limited period each year, the Vatican Museums stay open late and this tour will allow you to admire the magical atmosphere of the Museums and the Sistine Chapel in the evening.
With this special evening tour, you’ll roam the museum corridors admiring work by such old masters as Michelangelo and Raphael and gaze at the immense frescoes in the Sistine Chapel unhurried and without the daytime crowds. Starting from the Court of the Pigna, you will enjoy a scenic view over the Vatican Gardens; the tour will proceed with the visit of the Pius-Clementine Museum which houses important pieces of ancient art such as the Laocoon, the Apollo of the Belvedere and the Belvedere Torso.
Delving deeper into the collection, you will go through the Gallery of the Candelabra, the Gallery of Tapestries, and the Gallery of the Maps. Finally, you will be taken to the Sistine Chapel, which was entirely frescoed by the masterful hands of Michelangelo.
Some of the most representative pictures of this tour
Discover the main stops of this tour
This museum, named after the two popes who oversaw its foundation, is today the nucleus of the pontifical collections of classical sculptures, among which stand out for importance and prestige the Laocoon, the Apollo of the Belvedere and the Belvedere Torso.
The Gallery of the Candelabra takes its name from the massive marble candelabra which decorate this place, together with the coloured marble columns. The Gallery of Tapestries is named after the spectacular tapestries on the walls depicting scenes from the life of both Christ and Pope Urban VIII. The Gallery of the Maps consists of forty beautiful fresco painted maps of Italy. These and other rooms form part of the Pius-Clementine museum.
The four rooms known as the Stanze of Raphael formed part of the apartment situated on the second floor of the Pontifical Palace that was chosen by Julius II as his own residence. The same Pope commissioned Raphael and his school the frescos that decorate the Stanze.
The Spanish Rodrigo Borgia, elected pope with the name Alexander VI, lends his name to part of the residence used during his papacy. The Borgia Apartment consists of six monumental spaces that now house part of the Vatican Museums’ Collection of Contemporary Art.
Official residence of the pope and still today the site of the papal conclave, it has become famous for the beautiful frescoes that decorate the ceiling and The Last Judgment on the back wall, both carried out by Michelangelo. Besides him, other skilled painters worked here during the 15th century, creating the series of frescos depicting the Life of Moses and the Life of Christ which decorate the lateral walls: the team included Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Cosimo Rosselli and Luca Signorelli.
Some useful information for your experience
Expert and licensed guide, entrance ticket, full on-site assistance, sterilized earphones (from 5 people upwards).
Suggested start time: 4.30 pm. Available only on Friday from April to October.
Italiano
English