Walks of Italy launches exclusive, after-hours experiences of the Sistine
Chapel, David, and Colosseum
At Walks of Italy, we’re always in search of the most unique experiences for our
clients. So we’re thrilled to announce our new, exclusive after-hours tours that
explore four of Italy’s most famous sights… without the crowds: the Sistine Chapel,
Michelangelo’s David, Rome’s Colosseum, and Venice’s St. Mark’s Basilica.
New this year, we’re offering the chance to visit the secret rooms of the Vatican
museums, plus the Sistine Chapel when it’s closed to the general public. A Vatican
guard travels with our guide and the group (with a maximum of just 10
participants), opening locked doors and lifting velvet ropes to allow access to
hidden parts of the Vatican—including the Niccoline Chapel and Bramante stairs. To
top it off? The group experiences Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel after it’s closed…
and almost alone! (This tour is an even more VIP version of our well-renowned
“Pristine Sistine,” in which guests enter the chapel before it’s opened to the public).
Our David after-hours tour also allows visitors to view one of Italy’s finest
masterpieces, sans crowds. Our small groups (maximum 12) are allowed access into
the museum after it’s closed to the public. (We’re the only operator giving tours
outside of the Accademia’s regular museum hours… which are always crowded!).
After getting up close and personal with Michelangelo’s world-famous sculpture—
and hearing tales of its fascinating backstory from their engaging Walks guide—
clients enjoy an aperitivo of wine and snacks in the empty Accademia.
If that weren’t enough, we’re also offering the chance to see the Colosseum at night,
when it’s closed to the general public, including its underground! On this tour, guests
explore the Colosseum when it’s practically empty, including the third tier, arena
and hypogeum, or underground “dungeons” where gladiators waited to fight. In a
maximum group of 12, clients get to experience this creepy site at its spookiest and
most thrilling… not to mention most unique!
Finally? There’s no church like Venice’s St. Mark’s Basilica. But it gets crowded
during the day—which is why we’re thrilled to offer after-hours access to St. Mark’s.
St. Mark’s has offered to open its doors to our visitors, after it’s closed to the general
public. And no one else is in the basilica other than our group (a maximum of 12).
Talk about a VIP experience!
These exclusive after-hours tours are just four of our many top-notch, unique
offerings, which range from a cooking class and wine tasting at an organic Tuscan
farmhouse, to a pasta-making class from a professional chef in a Rome loft.
Walks of Italy’s website was launched in 2010 by two Americans who adopted, and
fell in love with, Italy. Today, the company has one of the largest offerings of à la
carte Italy experiences and tours on the web, with more than 80 activities
countrywide–including in Florence, Rome, Venice, Pompeii, Milan, the Amalfi coast,
and Siena. With its enthusiastic, passionate team of experts in both its Rome, Italy
and Austin, Texas locations, its maximum group size of 12, and its commitment to
sustainability, Walks of Italy has received rave reviews from Rick Steves, Fodor’s,
USA Today, and hundreds of clients on Tripadvisor.