Vatican tours are always extremely popular, with rave customer reviews, and we anticipate great demand for this new Private Systine Chapel and Vatican Tour

Seeing the Vatican’s galleries when they are closed to the general public is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Tickets are limited - each group will consist of a maximum of 30 people so if this sounds appealing you need to book quickly - and this tour is only available through Viator. The Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums are notorious for the crowds of people passing through during the day. With this exclusive two-hour tour you will have a unique chance to escape the crowds and, once the Vatican Museums close to the public, explore the artistic and architectural treasures.

The private tour starts in the Museo Pio Clementino, home to the Pope’s collection of magnificent Greek and Roman statues including the Apollo Belvedere and the Laocoon. The Laocoon was actually discovered in the deep earth in the forum — and Michelangelo, then frescoing in the Vatican, was asked to come and check if and how it should be lifted from the earth.

Next you will visit the Papal Apartments, which Raphael created for Pope Julius II. Raphael’s work is sublime — you will see in the lunettes against the walls the Dispute over the Sacrament, The School of Athens and the Parnassus, each scene set in the grandest and most beautiful Renaissance perspective.

Next you will visit the Cappella Sistina (Sistine Chapel) — imagine standing beneath Michelangelo’s masterpiece without the herds of crowds, it is magical. As your tour guide leads you inside let the vivid colors and bold figures of the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling take your breath away. The impact is so much greater when viewed in silence and minus the crowds that normally fill the chapel. Take as long as you need to absorb these frescoes, considered one of the most renowned artworks of the High Renaissance.

Such an exclusive tour doesn’t come cheap - the price per person is about £170.

However, Viator also offers traditional group tours in the daytime to the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, and the price for these start at under £35 per person.

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