VIP Key Master's Tour: Open The Sistine Chapel

From August 6th, all Italy sites we visit will require clients and guides alike to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test completed within 48 hours prior to entry. They will also require a legal form of ID matching the vaccination or test results. This does not apply to children under 12. You can read more about it here.

Enter the Vatican Museums before dawn and travel with the Key Master on his daily ritual. Sweeping through silent halls, you'll unlock rooms covered in world-famous frescoes and hear footsteps eccho around the Popes's Palaces.

For a full 2 hours you'll follow the man with the keys through some of the Vatican's most famous rooms - the Raphael Rooms and of course, the Sistine Chapel. As the lights come up, you'll stand in silent awe of Michelangelo's masterpieces. There's a lot to take in here, and for regular visitors it's impossible to soak it up. But devoid of the day's noise, you'll have the time and space to do truly appreciate this space. Few people ever have the opportunity to make memories like this.

Aside from the Key Master, you'll also be accompanied by an Official Vatican Museums Tour Guide, hand-chosen by the Museum authorities to lead this special experience (that's a pretty high bar to pass). As you move through the Museums, they'll explain the historic and artistic significane of what you're seeing, adding colour and character to these hallowed halls.

While the Sistine Chapel will undoubtedly be the highlight of your experience, there's so much more to the Vatican Museums. Unlike previous iterations of this experience which allowed guests only inside the Sistine Chapel when it was empty, you'll see those rooms empty too. This is a particular treat at the Raphael Rooms. Much smaller than the Sistine Chapel but just as revered by art historians, they're often too crowded for guests to fully appreciate. Not on your tour though.

During your experience, you’ll walk the galleries most commonly featured on Vatican tours, like the historic Gallery of the Maps & Gallery of the Tapestries.

After two hours of touring, your guide will leave you at the still-closed Pinecone Courtyard, a beautiful enclosed space inside the Museums. Here you'll have access to a full breakfast buffet. Grab a coffee and whatever you fancy and relax, soaking up the peace of the morning and the dome of St Peter's Basilica behind you.

Once finished, you have two choices. You can stay inside the Vatican Museums to explore more, or you can head for the doors (just now opening to the public) and off on your next adventure.

This incredible access is new in 2021. Previous ‘exclusive access’ tours (including those offered to world leaders and a-list visitors) entered the Museums during regular hours and simply ended at the Sistine Chapel where guests were allowed to stay inside for a few minutes after closing time. On this tour, you’ll have the whole Museum to yourself for a full two hours - an experience usually reserved for the Key Master and the Pope.