Vatican

Michelangelo painted the ceiling between 1508 and 1512 and returned for the Last Judgment on the altar wall in the 1530s. It is the final stop on the museum route and the reason most people book a Sistine Chapel tour. Early or late slots are quietest; the chapel still hosts papal conclaves and ceremonies.

Four rooms in the papal apartments frescoed by Raphael and his workshop, including the School of Athens. They sit on the route just before the Sistine Chapel, so every Vatican Museum tour passes through them. A guide is worth it here: the philosophers, popes and hidden portraits are easy to miss unaided.

The 120-meter Gallery of Maps shows 16th-century Italy region by region under a gilded ceiling. The Pinacoteca, the Vatican picture gallery, holds Raphael's Transfiguration, Caravaggio's Deposition and Leonardo's unfinished St. Jerome, and is often skipped by rushed groups. Ask for it on a private Vatican tour.

The Laocoon group, the Apollo Belvedere and the Belvedere Torso that inspired Michelangelo all live in the Pio Clementino Museum around the Octagonal Courtyard. The Gregorian Egyptian and Etruscan museums are next door. This is the first stretch of the route, before the crowds compress toward the chapel.

The largest church in the world, built over the tomb of the apostle Peter. Inside are Michelangelo's Pieta, Bernini's bronze baldachin over the papal altar and the chair of St. Peter. Entry is free with a security check, and official guided tours run Monday to Saturday from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm.

The dome is booked separately from the basilica, by lift to the terrace or by stairs, and both options include the basilica with a digital audio guide. You visit the inner ring, looking down into the church, and the outer ring above Rome. Open 7 am to 6 pm in summer and 7:30 am to 5 pm in winter.

Beneath the basilica lies the Roman necropolis where St. Peter's tomb was found. Only about 250 visitors a day are admitted, in groups of about 12 by language, on visits arranged by the Excavations Office of the Fabbrica di San Pietro. Request well ahead; the Vatican Necropolis tour cannot be booked as a walk-in.

The Vatican Gardens cover much of the city state and are open only on guided visits booked through the Vatican Museums. On most Wednesdays the Pope holds the General Audience, usually in St. Peter's Square. Papal audience tickets are always free from the Prefecture of the Papal Household; our tours handle seating and timing.