Pristine Sistine™ – The Chapel at its Best

Extended Description

See the Sistine Chapel like the Pope does: Without hundreds of tourists making it harder to appreciate the grandeur of the famous masterpieces inside.

On our top-of-the-line Vatican tour, enjoy early entrance before the Vatican Museums open to the general public, and go directly to the Sistine Chapel. Experience Michelangelo’s frescoes without the crowds, meaning you have the time and energy to appreciate the master’s glorious, and rightly world-famous, works… and to hear your guide’s witty, entertaining, and in-depth explanations that bring the images to life! Did we mention that the Sistine Chapel is also the site of the conclave, where the cardinals pick the new Pope in a top-secret, and mysterious, process? Or that the paintings on those side walls are pretty important, too? Discover it all—in the best way possible—with Walks of Italy.

But don’t worry: Savoring the Sistine doesn’t mean skipping out on anything else! You’ll also explore the rest of the Papal Palaces, today known as the Vatican Museums. From incredible ancient statuary to beautiful Renaissance masterpieces, you won’t miss a beat… and, in bringing it all together with tales of not just art, but popes, politics and power, neither will your guide!

Because this is the in-depth, V.I.P. walk, you’ll even discover the Raphael rooms (something skipped over on many other companies’ Vatican tours!). As Pope Julius II’s private apartments, painted by Michelangelo’s main rival when he was just a young man, we think they just can’t be missed. And we know that, once you see these gorgeous rooms, you’ll agree!

The other stop we’ll make that most others don’t? St. Peter’s Basilica. The world’s biggest church, chock-full of art, treasure, and relics, built on the spot where Christianity’s first Pope was buried, the basilica got its start under Pope Julius II—who also had Michelangelo fresco the Sistine Chapel. The basilica also boasts Michelangelo’s Pietà, the heartbreaking sculpture that just may be the master’s very best. Oh, and Michelangelo himself designed the church’s soaring dome. See how everything comes nicely full circle? Since these same topics crop up again and again, make sure you appreciate them the right way—and right from the start—with the only way to see the Vatican and the Sistine: pristine.