Due to Covid-19, this tour has been amended to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our guests. St Peter's Basilica may be subject to visit restrictions, including limited access to the Dome climb and Papal tombs. Your tour will be amended on the day to offer you the most comprehensive experience available.

Get to grips with Christianity's most important church on this complete tour

Explore St. Peter's Basilica from top to bottom with an expert guide and small group of 15 people or fewer. This is the most intimate and extensive St. Peter’s Basilica tour on the market, designed for lovers of great architecture and jaw-dropping churches. We’ll help you to understand the history of the building and point out the details that make the Basilica such a masterpiece. You'll go from floor to dome, Pietá to baldachin, and everywhere in between.

Climb St. Peter's Basilica Dome for incredible views

Your St. Peter's Basilica tour starts early in the morning with a stroll around St. Peter’s Square and an introduction to the Swiss Guard - then it's up to the dome. You’ll arrive before the crowds gather and use your pre-reserved St. Peter’s Basilica dome tickets, which include an elevator ride to the first level. Here you’ll get an up-close look at the stunning mosaics and stucco embellishments inside the dome. Seen from below these mosaics are beautiful, but up close, you’ll understand just what impressive works they really are.

From there, it’s 281 steps up to the top of the dome. Before you go, your guide will give you some notes on what to look out for up there. From the top of the dome, you’ll see the most incredible views over St. Peter’s Square, along the straight avenue bulldozed by Mussolini and across the Tiber to the ancient heart of the city. There’s no competition – this is the #1 view in Rome.

Enjoy a 60-minute tour inside St. Peter's Basilica

Back on solid ground, your guide will take you on a full St. Peter’s Basilica tour. Explore the side chapels and the hidden crypts; see Michelangelo’s ‘Pietá’ and learn why this is the only work he ever signed; understand the mastery in Bernini’s baldachin; and learn how Michelangelo triumphed as the only person who could crown St. Peter’s Basilica with the perfect dome.

Your final stop is the Papal Crypt. This is where many of the Popes have been interred and is an important pilgrimage point for Catholics. Although your guide can’t lead the group here, they’ll give you full details on the most important Popes to look out for.

For anyone who loves, art, architecture, and amazing churches, this is a unique experience that will be the highlight of your vacation.

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