Vatican Museum Night Tour: How it works & Available Options

The Vatican Museums night tour is for sure one of the most exciting experiences available in the Vatican City and in Rome. Every year, travelers are given the extraordinary opportunity to visit the wonders of art housed inside the Vatican Museums after sunset, during a special visiting time that goes from 7.00 pm to 11.00 pm. The Vatican Museum Night Tour is available only on Friday from April 21st to October 27th. Hence, if you happened to be in Rome during those dates, it’s something you should definitely plan to add to your bucket list of things to do in Rome… Oops! We almost forgot! The Vatican By Night Tour includes the Sistine Chapel.

Art & Music in the Pope’s Palace

Moreover, every year this special tour experience is further enriched by a comprehensive concert programme, which (if scheduled) starts usually at around 8.30 pm.

Tickets and guided tours must be reserved online only. You have multiple options at your disposal for your Vatican Museum Night Tour. Below we explain each one of them, so you can start planning your visit!

1 Buy the Entry Ticket & Vist on your own

Just buy the ticket and visit on your own the Museums and Sistine Chapel by Night. This option is known as “Night Open Tour of the Museums and the Sistine Chapel”.
Full ticket: € 16.00 (plus reservation fee)
Reduced ticket (Children between the ages of 6 and 18 years): €8.00 (plus reservation fee)
Compulsory online booking fee: €4.00.

2 Buy the Entry Ticket Plus Audio Guide

Full ticket + Vatican Museums audioguide: €23.00.
Reduced ticket + Vatican Museums audioguide: €15.00
Reduced ticket + audioguide children FT: €13.00 (FT stands for Family Tour. It basically includes an audio guide on a MP3 Device and an illustrated map, especially suitable for little kids).

This is the direct link to purchase the Vatican Night Tour Plus Audio Guide

3 Vatican Night Tour & Happy Hour

Enjoy a Buffet Aperitif in the magnificent setting of the Pinecone Courtyard. Having finished the aperitif you can continue your visit the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel.

Full ticket + Happy Hour: €35.00
Reduced ticket + Happy Hour: €27.00

This is the direct link to purchase the Vatican Night Tour & Happy Hour

4 Vatican Friday Night Group Tour

This option allow individuals to join a group tour. Duration of the tour is approximately 2 hours. Also in this case, purchase online is mandatory.
Full ticket: €32.00
Reduced ticket: €24.00

This is the direct link to purchase the Vatican By Night Group Tour

5 Vatican Museum Night Tour with an Exclusive Vatican Tour Guide

Duration of the tour is 2 hours, but in this case you can have at your disposal a private guide.
Full ticket: €20.00
Reduced ticket: €16.00
Tour Guide Fee: 250€
This option is suitable for families or small group of friends up to 15 people.

This is the direct link to purchase the Vatican By Night Private Tour

6 Vatican Museum Night Tour for Big Groups

This option is available for large groups starting from 16 people. A tour guide is assigned every 35 participants. So of you group is really large, it will be split in more groups and each one will be assigned a tour guide.
Full ticket: €32.00
Reduced ticket: €24.00

This is the direct link to purchase the Vatican By Night Tour for Big Groups

Open Sectors on Friday Night at the Vatican Museums

These are the sectors that will be accessible during the Vatican Museum Night Tour, either if you are on your own or if you have booked a guided tour:
Gregorian Egyptian Museum, Pio Clementino Museum, Gallery of the Candelabra, Gallery of the Tapestries, Gallery of the Geographical Maps, Raphael’s Rooms, Borgia Apartment, Collection of Contemporary Art, Sistine Chapel.
Museum sectors exclusively open: Rooms of St. Pius V (collection of Medieval and Renaissance ceramics; miniature mosaics).