It's Jubilee time in Rome

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Private St Peter’s Tour | Dome & Papal Tombs


Private
2 hrs 30 mins
Piazza della Città Leonina
Refundable booking
st peter's basilica skip the line

Important Notice: Jubilee Year 2025
As part of the 2025 Jubilee celebrations, St. Peter’s Basilica may experience unexpected partial or complete closures. In the rare event that the Basilica cannot be visited, rest assured that your tour experience will remain exceptional. Your guide will seamlessly adapt the itinerary to include alternative highlights, ensuring the full duration and quality of your tour.

LivTours’ Private St. Peter’s Basilica Tour offers you and your private group top-to-bottom access to the spiritual heart of the Catholic Church. With reserved entry, priority elevator access to Michelangelo’s Dome, and a private exploration of the Papal Tombs, you’ll enjoy an intimate journey through centuries of art, history, and sacred tradition. Led by your top-rated private guide, you’ll meet masterworks like Michelangelo’s Pietà and Bernini’s Baldacchino, experiencing Vatican treasures at your own pace.

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  • Enjoy a complete tour of St Peter's including papal tombs & Michelangelo's dome
  • Visit one of the world's largest churches in the company of your expert private guide
  • Admire the breathtaking views of Rome from the top of Michelangelo’s Dome
  • Marvel at the ornately decorated tombs of beloved former Popes including John Paul II
  • Discover the great works of art by Michelangelo, Bernini, Bramante and Raphael
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Exclusive private Tours and Experiences. Also offered in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Swedish and Russian

Our prices always include tickets and reservations fees (no waiting in lines!)

Our tour guides and staff are selected experts and speak perfect English

Easy to book and prepay your tours with our secure payment system

Eco-sustainable tourism, designed to respect and support local culture, art and traditions


Your Private St. Peter’s Basilica Dome Climb Tour begins in St. Peter’s Square, where your expert private guide will introduce you to the awe-inspiring architecture and symbolism of this iconic space. Learn about the magnificent colonnade designed by Bernini and the spiritual importance of this square, where thousands gather to hear the Pope speak.

From there, you’ll enter St. Peter’s Basilica – named after the first Pope and considered the gatekeeper of heaven. Inside, your guide will walk you through the Basilica’s most important highlights. Marvel at Michelangelo’s La Pietà, protected behind bulletproof glass, and learn why this moving sculpture is the only one he ever signed. Gaze up at Bernini’s towering bronze canopy over the High Altar, used during papal masses, and visit the Statue of St. Peter in Bronze, worn smooth by centuries of pilgrims. You’ll also explore treasures like the Chapel of the Baptistery by Carlo Fontana and Bernini’s Memorial of Alexander VII, a poignant representation of mortality and prayer.

Next, your guide will lead you to the base of Michelangelo’s Dome, the tallest building in Rome. After a brief climb and elevator ride, you’ll reach the interior dome gallery for a stunning aerial view of the Basilica below. From there, continue your climb of 281 steps to the very top of the Dome, where unforgettable panoramic views of St. Peter’s Square and the city of Rome await. Your guide will provide context and materials for this self-paced ascent, allowing you to enjoy the climb and the views at your own rhythm.

After descending, you’ll rejoin your guide for the final part of your tour: a visit to the Papal Tombs, located beneath the Basilica. This solemn and sacred space is the burial site of many popes throughout history and is believed to be where St. Peter himself was laid to rest, directly beneath Bernini’s Baldacchino.

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  • Private group tour
  • Top-rated English Speaking Tour Guide
  • Reserved Entry to St. Peter's Basilica
  • Climb Michelangelo's Dome
  • Priority Access to the Dome Elevator
  • Visit to the Papal Crypts
  • Bernini's Baldachin
  • Michelangelo's Pietá
  • Panoramic view over Rome
  • St. Peter's Square
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  • Offered in: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. Please specify under “Additional notes” if you wish to book the tour in a language other than English.
  • Places of worship have strict dress code requirements for entry. All participants are required to have shoulders and knees covered (no tank tops or short dresses) to enter.
  • Important Notice Jubilee Year 2025: As part of the 2025 Jubilee celebrations, from December 24th, 2024 to January 6th, 2026, St. Peter’s Basilica may experience unexpected partial or complete closures. In the rare event that the Basilica cannot be visited, rest assured that your tour experience will remain exceptional. Your guide will seamlessly adapt the itinerary to include alternative highlights, ensuring the full duration and quality of your tour. Please note that, in accordance with our Terms & Conditions agreed upon at the time of booking, partial or full refunds cannot be issued due to Basilica closures.
  • Guests with mobility concerns should contact us at [email protected] as soon as possible, as the itinerary may need to be adjusted to accommodate specific needs.
  • IMPORTANT: Please advise our team if you believe that a disability qualifies you for complimentary access to the Vatican.
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LivTours’ group size of max 6 participants is and always has been based on sustainable travel, and we are proud to be at the forefront of change and innovation in the industry.  LivTours is committed to providing travelers with truly sustainable tours with the lowest possible environmental impact, all while supporting the local industries and people of each unique destination. To learn more about how you can actively support sustainable tourism  and how LivTours is contributing, click here.

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When you book a LivTours Private Tour or Experience, you are guaranteed a dedicated, expert guide that allows you the flexibility to start your tour at a time which is convenient for you, making planning easy. Our private tours ensure that you will get a tailored experience to meet all your needs so we go at your pace, perfect for families with younger children, elderly, or individuals with accessibility needs. Please be advised that all private tours begin at a base price starting at two people*. Prices are inclusive of entry tickets where applicable. *Some Ferrari private experiences are inclusive of one person only.

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Make your experience even more unique by upgrading your LivTours experience. Please note: add-ons are non refundable.

One Way Pick-Up Transfer Service
With the one way pick up service, your driver will pick you up directly from your accommodation and drive you to the meeting point where you will be greeted by your tour guide. Guarantee stress-free. One way only.
starting from 105 €
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  • A good family experience

    LivItaly was very professional in their communication and booking with them was very easy and painless.. We did the St Peter's tour with Luca. He was extremely knowledgeable, friendly and flexible. Our teenage children loved his enthusiasm and really enjoyed the tour. The private tour was perfect for our family to have a personal experience and not have to worry about the crowds. The kids loved going to the top of the dome! Thank you LivItaly for making our visit perfect.

    - Freida
  • Well worth it

    This tour does skip the line and we were so happy it did! Seeing all of those people waiting to go through security so that they could enter into the church made us realize how fortunate we were to have chosen this tour. Our guide was super informative and fun and filled us with more details than we could ever remember. Up on the top of the dome, we had an awesome view and took tons of pictures. It was great to have a guide with us to point out the various monuments so that we knew what we were looking at. This is a great tour and well worth every cent!

    - Stacy
  • Just brilliant!

    My mother and I have both been to the Vatican museum so we decided to concentrate, this trip, on St. Peter's. Our tour with Rafaella was brilliant and it was everything we had hoped for. We met in the square and then entered easily into the church, despite the long lines of people waiting outside. Rafaella was full of history and great stories to share and we enjoyed every minute with her. She made this a highlight of our trip to Rome.

    - Phillipa
  • So happy with this tour

    We did this tour on 31 December and we were so glad we chose this private, skip the line tour! The Basilica was so crowded and closed early so we would not have been able to see it otherwise. Our guide Marzia was really knowledgeable, made the tour so interesting and alive and answered all of our questions. She gave us a good introduction to the Vatican when we first met and then, once inside, she navigated us through the crowd and made sure we got the full experience. The visit up to the top of the Dome was spectacular. I highly recommend this tour!

    - Izumi
  • Private St. Peter's tour

    We were so happy we had booked a private tour to see the Vatican. Our tour guide, Valentina, was excellent! Very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and did an outstanding job of giving us relevant and interesting information. Her knowledge and communication skills made this an awesome experience for us. The tour included going up to the top of the Dome and also a visit underneath St. Peter's to see the papal tombs. Excellent experiences made even better with Valentina's guidance and insights. We highly recommend her and LivTours - we will definitely use this company again!

    - Carolyn M.
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By selecting Choose Dates Later / Buy as Gift at booking, any tour can be purchased without fixed dates. This is the perfect option if you want to purchase your tour as a gift for a loved one, or if you are in the pre-planning phase of your vacation. After booking, you will receive a Travel Voucher Code and full instructions on how to schedule your tours when ready. Once your travel plans are confirmed, you can easily use the Travel Voucher Code on the LivTours website to formally schedule your tours. You can find out more here.

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