Skip the long ticket lines to the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica, and spend more time admiring breathtaking art from the papal collections. Your guide will take you on an inspiring journey through the galleries of the Vatican, including Michelangelo’s heavenly frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. Discover works from the Renaissance, and beautiful objects from Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece. Highlights of your tour include the Cortile del Belvedere (Belvedere Courtyard), designed by Donato Bramante from 1506. Marvel at Lysippos’ statues of “Apollo,” “Laocoon,” and “Apoxyomenos.” Continue into the Hall of Animals to see the “stone zoo” set up by Pope Pius VI. Admire the famous torso in the Hall of Muses, walk through the Greek Cross Room, and the Gallery of the Candelabra, and Gallery of Tapestries. Next, see works by ancient cartographers in the Hall of Geographic Maps. Enter the pope’s private chambers in the Raphael Rooms, and see Raphael’s frescoes of “The Parnassus,” “School of Athens” and “Disputation of the Holy Sacrament.” Enter the Borgia Apartments through a narrow passage, before gazing in awe at Michelangelo’s stunning Sistine Chapel. Pause for reflection as you admire the work of the master and other Italian Renaissance painters, such as Botticelli and Ghirlandaio. Continue into the Basilica of St. Peter’s to view one of the world’s most famous cathedrals. See the final resting place of popes, along with the Vatican Grottoes. Look at Michelangelo’s statue of the “Pietà,” before going outside to admire Bernini’s colonnades on St. Peter's Square. Pause outside the Apostolic Palace, official residence of the popes, and world-famous for the smoking chimney that announces a new pope.