The Vatican City

IN SHORT: This is the most popular tour among tourists visiting Rome for the first time: the rich artcollection of the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel painted by Michelangelo, St. Peter’s Basilica and its immense square.

IN MORE DETAIL: The tour concentrates on Michelangelo’s frescoes, but we’ll discover other masterpieces and great sections: the beautiful Apollo del Belvedere, the Laocoon, then the Galleries of Tapestries and Maps . The tour continues in St. Peter’s Basilica, an enormous hall populated with statues and infinite works of art. We finish up in the square, where we are embraced by the saints crowning the immense colonnade.

OPTIONS: With an additional hour, we can also visit Raphael’s Rooms, the Pinacoteca, or other sections on request.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Reservations.  With a (prepaid) ticket reservation, which can be made on the Vatican website, you will avoid the long lines outside the entrance, but you will not be able to avoid the crowd inside: the entire world comes to see Michelangelo.
The museum is normally very crowded in high season (from April to late October… slightly less in August), so I personally advise a morning visit; the situation is a bit better during the first opening hours (9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.).
Less crowded. Alternatively, you can visit the Museum (and Sistine Chapel) with fewer crowds, in high season and without price increase  on Wednesday mornings when the Pope is holding a general audience in the Square. But in this case, we cannot visit the Basilica.
Early morning tour. It is possible to visit the Museum and the Sistine Chapel before opening to the public, from 7:45 a.m., by purchasing a ticket from accredited agencies. You won’t be alone, but the crowd won’t be galactic, the visit is very pleasant. Naturally the price increases significantly. More information on request. This early entrance cannot be guaranteed :tickets get sold out soon, so the earlier we book the better.