Small Group Tour of the Vatican

If you are going to be in Rome either before or after your cruise, check out this unique small group tour of the Vatican -

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/1636f28044e8cbca

Sounds wonderful.

DON

You included a link to google mail rather than to the tour.

You included a link to google mail rather than to the tour.

I couldn't find the WEB site for the tour but this is a description. The tour is done by https://citywonders.com/vatican-tours -

Overview

The Vatican attracts some 25,000 people a day, but this experience gets you in before anyone is even waiting in the morning lines. Start the day with a group of 20 or less as the key master unlocks doors and flips on lights for the iconic landmark. Unlike other early access Vatican tours, only your guided group and employees are there. Inside the Sistine Chapel, your guide is even allowed to discuss Michelangelo’s most iconic work—a rare privilege. End with breakfast as visitors are just starting to arrive.

What to Expect

This tour takes you to one of the busiest tour locations in the world, and it allows you to follow a Vatican clavigero (key keeper) inside the iconic landmark at least an hour before other early access tours.

Along with 20 people (or less), your guide leads you through the main areas of the Vatican Museums, including the Sistine Chapel, Raphael's Rooms, and the Gallery of Maps. Be one of the first that day to enter each room right as the clavigero finds the right key and switches on the lights. Because of the size of your group, you can enjoy a quiet walk through religious areas, providing a more spiritual experience. This is the only Vatican tour where a guide goes inside the Sistine Chapel to provide commentary up close to Michelangelo’s artwork to your group.

After your tour, head to the Pinecone Courtyard for breakfast, where you will see all the early access groups starting their tours for the day. Once you wrap up your meal, you’ll be able to stay at the Vatican as long as you lik

More than a decade ago I took one of the first after-hours tours (at that point they didn't offer a morning option yet), we were in the Sistine Chapel for about a half hour with a Vatican archivist, just our group of 15 and, on the other side of the room, a Vatican official conducting part of a state visit with two political visitors.

It was wonderful and to my mind worth the exorbitant price (I don't remember exactly after all this time but I think it was around $350).

Your morning version sounds wonderful as well.

That sounds wonderful. We saw the Sistine Chapel on a June day when the museum was very busy. We were jammed in - you could hardly move your arms - not a very pleasant experience.

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