Vatican Private Tour at Night with Sistine Chapel & Vatican Museums

Visiting the Vatican Museums is a must on any trip to Rome but there is a certain magic about seeing the Vatican at night. Walk across the marble floors of the old papal palace and into courtyards under the stars as your private guide takes you on a journey through art and time. You’ll see remarkable pieces from ancient Greece and Rome along with some of the most famous Renaissance frescoes in the world like Raphael’s School of Athens and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling.

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​The Vatican only opens its doors after hours on a few evenings throughout the summer months when the light fades from the sky and the heat of the day dissolves along with it. You’ll visit the monumental pinecone courtyard, see statues like the revolutionary Laocoon group and Belvedere torso as you walk along the sumptuous galleries where walls of tapestries and maps tell the story of Christianity and the Papacy.

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​While Michelangelo was at work in the Sistine Chapel, his rival Raphael was painting the papal chambers of Pope Julius II. The artist’s School of Athens is the pinnacle of Renaissance form and philosophy and launched young Raphael to fame. Not always a part of Vatican museum tours during the day, these rooms are some of the greatest masterpieces of Western Art History.

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And no tour of the Vatican is complete without a visit to Michelangelo’s masterpiece. Visiting the Sistine Chapel at Night is an experience unlike any other. You’ll marvel at the work of Michelangelo’s Genesis unfolding on the ceiling above you and his striking Last Judgement on the altar wall of the Pope’s private chapel.

 

A Vatican Night Tour won’t soon be forgotten.