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Early Morning Vatican Tour

Zen Lynch

"Vatican, Vatican City State - June 1, 2010: Monument to Christina Alexandra - Queen of Sweden at St. Peter's Basilica. She relinquished her throne and converted to Catholicism, ran away from Sweden and settled in Rome until her death. There are three reliefs on the urn: Christina relinquishes the throne of Sweden to embrace Catholicism (center), the scorn of the nobility (on the right), faith which triumphs over heresy (on the left)."

Vatican’s Open Secret

An open secret among the various Rome guides we use is the unique opportunity to view the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel EARLY in the morning. When entering the Vatican at 7:00 a.m., you are richly rewarded walking through the galleries and the amazing Sistine Chapel with few other tourists.

Sistine Chapel Ceiling

Hidden Treasures

Enjoy Michelangelo’s stunning frescos and the Last Judgment in peace, hours before the crowds come flooding in, leaving you with no room to walk among the art with a little bit of personal space.  The morning tour also allows you to pay a special visit to the often not open to the public Cabinet of Masks, containing mosaics of Hadrian’s Villa as well as remarkable Roman statues. An expert guide will take you past Renaissance masterpieces from Botticelli, Perugino, Pinturicchio, and Ghirlandaio before your tour ends at St. Peter’s Basilica, bypassing the long lines, to admire Michelangelo’s Pieta.

Cabinet of Masks

Breakfast

If unable to eat an early breakfast at your hotel, the Vatican Museum offers a continental breakfast inside for the early bird patrons.

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