Rome: St. Peter’s Basilica & Dome Climb Dome Climb With Audio Guide ( Without Lift )

Celebrate the Basilica’s 400th anniversary with a dedicated host assistant . Begin at the Dome, then explore its art, architecture, and Vatican Grottoes at your own pace.
On 18 November 1626, after 120 years of construction, Pope Urban VIII consecrated the present St. Peter’s Basilica. Four hundred years later, this expert-led tour looks at how the building took shape and why work on it continued long after that important day.
Meet your Host near St. Peter’s Square and receive a short introduction before joining the mandatory Vatican security line. An illustrated timeline will place the earlier Basilica, the first Renaissance plans and the building seen today side by side.
After security, begin with St. Peter’s Dome. From the internal gallery, see its mosaics at close range and look down into the Basilica below. Hear how Michelangelo changed the plans he inherited and how Giacomo della Porta completed the Dome after Michelangelo’s death.
Continue to the upper viewpoint, where you identify landmarks across Vatican City and Rome. Look over St. Peter’s Square and locate Castel Sant’Angelo, the Vittoriano and the direction of the Pantheon among the city’s rooftops.
After descending, explore the Basilica with the Dome’s scale still fresh in your mind. Stop at Michelangelo’s Pietà and learn why this early work became so closely connected with his name. Continue towards the papal altar and Bernini’s Baldachin, which shows how the Basilica’s Renaissance design later developed into something unmistakably Baroque.
Our Digital audio guide will connect the work of Bramante, Michelangelo, Maderno, della Porta and Bernini without overwhelming you with a long list of dates. The illustrated timeline will help you see which parts of the project each figure inherited, changed or completed.
Continue into the Vatican Grottoes beneath the Basilica. Hear how the present church remained connected to its predecessor and to the traditional burial place of St. Peter.

To guarantee availability book as soon as possible. Early booking is worth consideration especially if you planning the trip during high season like public holidays or weekends.

This excursion you can cancel with no cost up to 24 hours before the start of the trip. If you cancel it after 24 hours or not show up on the excursion you will still be charged the full price of the activity. Being late on pick-up or departure will be considered as not showing up.