3 Places You Must Visit in Rome – City Wonders

Enjoy a Tour of the Vatican and Visit Amazing Sights with City Wonders!

Rome City Wonders is a tour company that has been in business for fifteen years. Their small group tours are dedicated to providing the highest quality customer service while sharing the history and sights of the world. In fact, they took out the prestigious Travellers’ Choice Award as the number one tour group in addition to the #1 Experience Worldwide by TripAdvisor for their Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica Tour. If you are only in Rome for one day, then these are the three places you must visit.

TripAdvisor No.1 Travellers’ Choice Award Goes To City Wonders

Those who choose City Wonders for their tour of the Vatican will quickly realise that City Wonders is an Official Partner of the Vatican. That comes with plenty of perks thanks to their Exclusive Partner Entrance – where every tour guest receives priority entry to the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica.

While this may not seem like a big deal, since all three landmarks offer ‘Skip the Line’ options. However, visitors must understand that there are often long skip the lines! City Wonders’ tours removes all lines and wait times giving their guests immediate access that other tour operators can’t!

You Won’t Miss a Thing!

The City Wonders Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica Tour is led by an expert English-speaking art historian guide. While the knowledgeable guide is right there with you, City Wonders realises that the massive crowds within these three attractions can be a little noisy. Therefore, guests are provided with a headset, so none of the information they are listening to gets lost amongst all the noise. This is important, because the guides offer so much exclusive information and they try to engage their group as much as possible.

Each City Wonders tour only has twenty people at the most and they are very child friendly. Since their tour groups are small, it is apparent that they have done many of them, since they have taken more than one and a half million people through the Vatican.

Independent State

The Vatican City is a tiny independent state that lies in the middle of Rome, and the heart of the Roman Catholic Church. It is where the Pope and other leaders of the Catholic Church reside in Rome Italy.

Vatican City Dress Code

Guests who takes the tour must follow the Vatican City Tours dress code. The entire body must be covered as much as possible. A light sweater can be pulled over short sleeved shirts and sleeveless dresses. While pants are always a better choice over shorts or a short skirt.

No Wait Lines

These tours are three to four hours in duration, which may not seem too long to some people. Guests must remember that there is no time wasted on long lines. Instead, the entire time is spent moving directly from one attraction to the next and seeing all the amazing sights in between.

3 City Wonders – Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica Tour

1. Vatican Museums

The first stop of this magnificent tour is the Vatican Museums. Tour guests are automatically led through City Wonders Exclusive Partner Entrance. As everyone walks down the long halls, your tour guide shares some interesting Roman facts and stories about those who have strolled these same halls in the past.

There are so many options when it comes to exploring the Vatican Museums. It is impossible for anyone to see every intricate detail. Nevertheless, the tour guide does their best to make sure that everyone sees the best of the best. Don’t forget to peer out of the windows and admire the Pinecone Courtyard and gardens below. You can see the ancient statues amongst all the modern sculptures before venturing to the Sistine Chapel.

Before getting to the chapel though, everyone will see the Hall of Maps, the Gallery of Tapestries, the Gallery of Candelabra, and the famous Raphael Rooms.

2. The Sistine Chapel

Prior to entering the Sistine Chapel, everyone on the tour is given instructions and other pertinent information from their guide. This is necessary since no talking or photography is allowed inside the chapel at any time. Everyone is made aware of where to look for the intricate details on the walls and ceiling inside the Sistine Chapel. It will be time to promptly enter the chapel and skip past the crowds of people waiting their turn on the outside.

It is quite important that everyone looks for the shields that represent the stories from the bible. These beautiful frescoes and self-portrait were painted by Michelangelo. Michelangelo spent more than four years painting the frescoes on the ceiling chapel and then after some time off, he returned to create more paintings for different Popes. Of course, people must be aware that other famous artists did some of the Sistine Chapel paintings on the walls too. Those artists include Sandro Botticelli, Pinturicchio, Pietro Perugino, Cosimo Rosselli, and Domenico Ghirlandaio.

3. St. Peter’s Basilica

The time in the Sistine Chapel will fly by for everyone in the tour group, despite the fact that there is no talking allowed. The tour continues on and finally it is time to see inside St. Peter’s Basilica. This is where Michelangelo’s Pieta is found. Michelangelo craved his most famous masterpiece ‘Pieta’ when he was only 24 years old and it is one of the Vatican’s best known artworks. It is a must to see before sitting down to worship in this basilica that was constructed over the tomb of St. Peter.

Mosaic Works of Art

At first glance, you will assume that the elaborately decorated interior is a series of intricate paintings from the frescoes in the dome to the huge paintings that adorn the walls. But this is not so. Every single one of these works of art are actually created from mosaic tiles. In fact, there is not one painting in St. Peter Basilica, only mosaics.

After spending some time worshipping, the group exit’s St. Peter’s Basilica and venture into St. Peter’s Square. You get to see where everyone stands when the Pope speaks in front of an audience and the window where the Pope appears from at the Apostolic Palace for the Sunday Angelus.

Best Attraction in the World

The tour is over too quickly! Guests feel they know so much more when they leave the Vatican at the end of the City Wonders tour. Everyone also has a new appreciation for this part of the world, and many will decide to stay and soak in more of the ambience before continuing their journey to other parts of Rome. Anyone that wants to truly appreciate the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica will want to take City Wonders Tour. After all, people might as well use their best guided Vatican Tour option when it comes to seeing three of the best attractions in the world!