St. Peter's Basilica Tour: Dome Climb and Art History

Discover St. Peter’s Basilica (one of the finest cathedrals) on a guided small group tour with a professional art historian. Enjoy a rare bird’s-eye view over Rome with this tour that includes a climb to the top of its dome.

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • St. Peter’s Square - The most famous and the biggest square of the Vatican City. In the middle of the huge square enjoy the Obelisk from Egypt (over 2500 years old) Start your tour in St. Peters Square and perceive the all-embracing character of its majestic architecture. Understand the game of visual effects as were thought by its designer,…
What's Included
  • Dome tickets by elevator
  • Tour guide
  • All fees and taxes
  • Good quality headsets
What's Not Included
  • Transportation is not included
  • Skip the line
Location
Best In Rome Tour
Borgo Vittorio
Meeting point is very close to the St. Piter's Basilica, just 1 minutes walking distance.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(167 Ratings)
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Patricia_l
Aug 12, 2025
Wonderful tour and very interesting Tour Guide! - Our tour guide was so well-informed, friendly and interesting. She even recommended a number of great things to do while in Rome! Highly recommend her tour!
Review provided by Viator
Pascal_t
Aug 3, 2025
The best group visit DE lifetime! - We had a unique and detailed EN experience thanks to a unique and extraordinary guide. Valentina B was absolutely amazing, human, funny and full of anecdotes because she worked in the past within DE pontificate machine. WoW, what a beautiful exchange and she knew how to organize our journey to avoid waiting DE long moments despite the Jubilee 2025 with several hundred DE thousands DE young EN pilgrimage. Many thanks to Valentina B.!!!!
Review provided by Viator
David_l
Jul 27, 2025
Great tour and guide - Great tour and guide. Great information on everything seen. We saw a lot in 2 hours. The views from the dome were amazing. At the end of the tour you could stay longer if you wanted. Would recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Explorer173475
Jul 24, 2025
- Alexandra was very good and explained everything very well Gave us tips and went with our pace Great experience !!! Recommend
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jerry_x
Jul 4, 2025
Great experience! - Kelly was very kind and knowledgeable. She showed that she truly enjoys her work. We were a bit late and she waited for us.
Review provided by Viator
Jackie
Jul 3, 2025
Everything I hoped it would be! - Our guide was OUTSTANDING!! I have physical issues, and she would stop and let me catch my breath before moving on. Fantastic!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
202jasonm
Jun 21, 2025
Best Guide - Valerie was probably the best guide we’ve ever had on any tours in any of our travels. He was very friendly, and extremely knowledgeable about everything in the Basilica. He understood how to talk to our kids and relate things to them while not talking to them like they were kids. I felt very blessed we were lucky enough to have him guide us through the tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Camper494056
Jun 18, 2025
Amazing tour with Alexandria! - Alexandra was an amazing tour guide for our group. She is deeply knowledgeable about the whole of St. Peter's and the site's prior history before the Roman Catholic Church. You are lucky if you get a tour with her--intelligent, articulate, compassionate and delightful.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
John_d
Jun 12, 2025
Vatican - I did not enjoy being preached to about the Catholic religion as I felt I was being converted , as I'm a Roman Catholic anyway I felt it was too much and time wasting when most of us just wanted to see St Peter's , the Crypt and roof . Also , there was a young Lady of Muslim faith and she was picked out four or five times with comparisons with to what her religion allows and what it doesn't , I was on the verge of asking the Guide to cool it a bit as it was uncomfortable. The Vatican itself was fantastic .
Review provided by Viator
Pioneer31128918510
Jun 10, 2025
Disappointed - We booked the tour for a maximum of 10 people; however, when we started there were 12 participants. Also, the tour guide added people while waiting in a large crowd to enter the Basilica. The tour was supposed to start at 1, we arrived on time, and after “checking in,” which involved waiting in line with more than 50 people in mass chaos, we tried to keep up with our “tour guide” to wait in a large crowd of more than 100 people to get into the Basilica. We could hear her through the hearing devices adding participants to our tour. We were also told by her that the wait would be long to enter, and that the previous day she waited 4 hours to enter. The tour was supposed to start at 1, but we learned upon arriving that the Basilica did not open until 2. We opted to ditch this “tour” and have requested a refund.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $57
up to 10 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).