VIP Key Master's Tour: Open The Sistine Chapel
Unlock the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel alongside the Museum Key Master. Tour the empty museums before they are open to the public.
Highlights
- Join the Vatican’s Key Master to open the Sistine Chapel.
- Take part in the opening of the Vatican Galleries.
- Spend 2 hours inside the Vatican Museums completely alone.
- Explore alongside an Official Vatican Museums Guide.
- Explore the Vatican free of crowds.
What's included
- Official English-speaking Vatican guide
- Expertly guided walking tour
- Entrance ticket to the Vatican Museums
- Hotel Pick-Up/Drop Off
- Gratuities
Overview
This once in a lifetime tour offers the most incredible Vatican experience imaginable. Enter the Vatican museums before dawn, with the Museums’ Key Master. Join him as he opens the still and silent galleries and breeze through Italy’s most prized gem in luxurious seclusion. For two unique and memorable hours, you’ll glide through the deserted Museums, seeing the most awe-inspiring spaces including the Raphael Rooms and – the height of exclusivity - an empty Sistine Chapel.
Travel with the Vatican’s Key Master as he opens up the Museums, unlocking doors and lighting long, empty galleries for you to explore. On this unprecedented tour, the most exclusive ever offered by the Vatican, your small group enjoy 2 hours inside the Vatican Museums completely alone. The highlight of your tour will be the opening of the Sistine Chapel, where you’ll enter completely alone and watch Michelangelo’s frescoes flicker to life. On this tour, you’ll have the whole Museum to yourself for a full two hours -- an experience usually reserved for the Key Master....and the Pope.
Accompanied by an Official Vatican Tour Guide, you’ll get up close with some of the finest artworks in the world, appreciating every detail of the gallery’s masterpieces. While opening the Sistine Chapel is an unforgettable experience, there’s so much more to the Vatican Museums. The Raphael Rooms are a particular highlight. Often more crowded than the Sistine Chapel, they’re home to a collection of frescoes just as revered by art historians. Visiting alone, you’ll have the space to appreciate them in all their majesty. During your experience, you’ll walk the galleries featured on Vatican tours, like the historic Gallery of the Maps & Gallery of the Tapestries.
Enter the still-closed Pinecone Courtyard and you can choose to stay inside the Museums to explore more on your own, or head off for your next adventure, passing the crowds who are only now getting inside the doors.
Unfortunately due to the nature of this tour it is not suitable for guests with mobility impairments, or for wheelchairs or strollers. Please contact the Guest Experience team at +39 068-596-0143 (Italy) or 888-683-8670 (USA) to make alternative arrangements.
Points of interest
Stanze di Raffaello, Viale Vaticano, Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy
Cappella Sistina, Vatican City
Cortile del Belvedere, Vatican City, RM, Italy
Musei Vaticani, Vatican City
Cortile della Pigna, Vatican City
Additional Information
Unfortunately due to the nature of this tour it is not suitable for guests with mobility impairments, or for wheelchairs or strollers. Please contact the Guest Experience team at +39 068-596-0143 (Italy) or 888-683-8670 (USA) to make alternative arrangements.
Walks comply with all local government regulations. You may need to wear a mask or provide proof of vaccination to enter certain venues. Please refer to Italy government guidelines for the most up to date information
Before you travel, please read the "Know Before You Go" section for essential information, requirements, and possible disruptions regarding your tour.
Unfortunately due to the nature of this tour it is not suitable for guests with mobility impairments, or for wheelchairs or strollers. Please contact the Guest Experience team at +39 068-596-0143 (Italy) or 888-683-8670 (USA) to make alternative arrangements.
Mobile tickets will be accepted.
Know before you go
This tour is in English.
This is a walking tour. Guests should be able to walk at a moderate pace without difficulty.
The tour meeting time is 15 minutes prior to the start time. No refunds can be provided for late arrivals or no-shows.
All guests must pass through security. For useful information/restrictions about your tour in the Vatican Museum, visit https://m.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani-mobile/en/visita-i-musei/consigli-utili.html
All guests (including children) must bring ID on the day of their tour.
Only small backpacks and handbags are allowed inside the Vatican Museums. Storage for small items is available.
Due to the religious nature of the Vatican, all individuals regardless of gender must cover their shoulders and knees. Walks cannot be held responsible for those denied entry.
Unfortunately due to the nature of this tour it is not suitable for guests with mobility impairments, or for wheelchairs or strollers. Please contact the Guest Experience team at +39 068-596-0143 (Italy) or 888-683-8670 (USA) to make alternative arrangements.
Tips/gratuities (for your guide) are always appreciated.
Walks comply with all local government regulations. You may need to wear a mask or provide proof of vaccination to enter certain venues. Please refer to Italy government guidelines for the most up to date information
Cancellation policy
Cancellations received greater than 72 hours prior to tour commencement are fully refundable.
