Rome Extension: Ancient City, Modern Metropolis

Arrive in Rome, and transfer to your hotel where you’ll meet your private guide and begin your walking tour.  Along the way, you’ll travel back in time to experience the past grandeur of the Roman Empire, its tragedies and love for entertainment, and discover some of its most famous citizens including Julius Caesar, Emperor Augustus, and Emperor Nero. The itinerary will begin at Capitoline Hill, the most important of the seven historic hills in Rome. You’ll visit the Roman Forum, from where the Romans ruled their Empire, and marvel at the ancient ruins of the temples and Basilicas. You’ll venture inside the glorious Colosseum, where you can take in the grandeur and scale of this city’s and the Empire’s past. Coliseum entrance fee is included (no waiting in line).

Transfer to the Vatican for a guided tour of the Vatican Museums. The Vatican Museums (Musei Vaticani) is the largest museum complex in the world. With over 1400 rooms in more than 50 galleries, there are over 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) of galleries to be seen! They display works from the immense collection built up by the Roman Catholic Church throughout the centuries including some of the most renowned classical sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world, and some of the most famous artworks in the world by some of the most famous artists of all time including but in no way limited to Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Bernini, Botticelli, Raphael, Caravaggio, and Giotto. The Vatican Museum includes the museum itself, galleries with an impressive 3,000 years of art, the Sistine Chapel with its ceiling frescoes by Michelangelo, and parts of the papal palace. There is an astonishing amount of art to see here, including the Stanze della Segnatura – a room of works by Raphael, while the Pinacoteca Vaticana is probably Rome's best picture gallery, with many Renaissance works. One of the most impressive halls is the Hall of Maps, with murals of old maps of the papal lands.

Breakfast and departure on your own (private transfer available on request).