Santa Maria Maggiore tours, things to do and tickets

What exactly can you expect from this tour?
Immerse yourself in the Rome of the Popes, where stories, wonders, legends and reality blur and harmonize with today's Rome.

You will be guided by one of our local, certified tour guides. What makes our guides special is their passion for Rome and they want to share it with you.

Highlights of the tour:

On this tour, you will experience "Santa Maria Maggiore", which contains one of the four Holy Doors.

Then we will reveal the hidden basilica "Santa Prasede" and its secrets.

Followed by "San Pietro in Vincoli" where you will see the statue of Moses by Michelangelo and the miraculous chains of St. Peter.

Then we will visit two of the oldest churches in the city:
"Santi Quattro Coronati" with the legend of Pope Sylvester
"San Clemente", dedicated to the fourth Pope "Clemens I"

The tour culminates in a visit to the arch-basilica of "San Giovanni in Laterano", which contains another of the four Holy Doors.

Admire the mix of architectural styles and historic significance of Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, the largest church in Rome dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Join an official guided tour of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Admire the Loggia delle Benedizioni, Gian Lorenzo Bernini's Staircase, the Hall of the Popes, and the Liberian Historical Museum.

Explore five of Rome’s major basilicas with an option to visit the Catacombs ancient burial site, on this seven-hour private tour including transportation from your Rome hotel by air-conditioned vehicle. Visit the Eternal City’s St. Paul Outside the Walls, Santa Maria Maggiore, St. John Lateran, Holy Cross in Jerusalem, and Church of Domine Quo Vadis, learning from your private guide about their design and the relics, including from the Passion of Jesus, housed inside their ornate chambers.

Although enlarged and redecorated, the basilica retains much of its original structure of the fifth century. In the years following the return of the papacy to Rome from Avignon, part of the church was used as a papal residence until the complete renovation of the Vatican palace. Admire its mosaics of the fifth century, a reliquary that is said to contain a piece of the crib that once held baby Jesus, an ancient icon of the Virgin Mary, the tomb of St. Jerome and the tomb of the artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini.There is also the Sistine Chapel in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, dedicated to Pope Sixtus V.

Discover Rome and explore the sites that have made this city the center of Christianity. You can relive this ancient history walking through the Impressive Papal Basilicas, places where history, faith and art blend together through the lives of popes, saints and artists. You can visit the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, with its beautiful medieval cloister, then move on to the first Basilica in Rome, St. John Lateran, the place of the greements between the political power and the power of the Church. You will continue your journey in Catholicism at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, the most important of the Roman churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary, with a lot ofmosaics and decorations. You will conclude the tuor admiring the elegance and the artistic and architectural majesty of St. Peter's Basilica and the masterpieces of Bernini and Michelangelo.

Explore three Major Vatican Basilicas and Holy Doors on this 3-hour tour with transfers. Save yourself hours of walking and join us on this guided tour of Santa Maria Maggiore, Saint Paul Outside the Walls, and Saint John in Lateran. Three Vatican Basilicas outside the Vatican.
During this tour, you will also discover unique Christian Relics, stunning works of art, the throne of Pope Francis, and the Holy Doors that only the Pope can open during the Jubilee year.
At each stop, you will also have free time to take photos, to visit the gift shop, and to rest.

Uncover the secrets of Santa Maria Maggiore's Basilica with a guided tour and witness the beauty of the Loggia of Benediction, Room of the Popes, Bernini’s stairs, and Historic Liberian Museum.

Rome Private Double Decker Open Bus Panoramic Tour | Exclusive Sightseeing Morning, Afternoon, Evening, or Night Tour | Tour Guide on board
Exclusively visit Rome, on an open panoramic double-decker bus at your complete disposal for a one-of-a-kind city tour. With this service, you will have at your complete disposal a double-decker Open Bus to see the most important attractions of the Eternal City. During this incredible private sightseeing tour, you can admire the most important monuments of Rome. This tour is suitable for children, small families, or small and large groups. During the panoramic tour, you will see: Castel Sant’Angelo, Colosseum, Campidoglio, Piazza Venezia, Palatine Hill, Teatro di Marcello, temples of the Foro Boario, Circo Massimo, Aventino, Isola Tiberina, Santa Maria Maggiore, St. Peter's Basilica and much more. A stop to admire the ruins of the imperial palaces where the emperors of the Roman Empire lived.
The private sightseeing tour lasts about 75/90 minutes.

Explore hidden treasures of Rome on this 2-hour walking tour. With a small group of no more than 10 travelers, visit three of the most beautiful churches in Rome: the Basilicas of Santa Maria Maggiore, St. Pudentiana, and Saint Praxedes. Marvel at the history, art, and architecture each one represents as your guide shares their stories.

Your private storyteller will let you experience an authentic pilgrimage to sacred places of Rome during this tour, discovering three of the Great Basilicas in Rome: S.Giovanni in Laterano, S.Paolo fuori le Mura, and S.Maria Maggiore.

During this tour, you will have the opportunity to learn about Christianity and see impressive artwork and masterpieces from many different centuries.

The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is an absolute Early Christian masterpiece of art and architecture.

Outside the historical district, you'll find the Basilica of Saint Paul outside the walls. Imposing, elegant, majestic, and built where Saul of Tarsus (St. Paul) was buried.

The Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, defined also as the "mother of all churches" is part of a great monumental complex including the great obelisk, the Lateran Palace, and the Sanctuary of the Holy Stairs. Upgrade your tour with a visit to the world-famous Scala Sancta!

Discover Rome's iconic basilicas with a private guide: Santa Maria Maggiore, San Giovanni in Laterano, and San Paolo Fuori le Mura. Private van included for a seamless experience.

Discover the 5th-century mosaics of Santa Maria Maggiore, a reliquary said to contain a piece of the crib that once held the baby Jesus and see the Sistine Chapel, named for Pope Sixtus V.

Visit the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, one of Rome’s four patriarchal basilicas
As you arrive at Santa Maria Maggiore, you find yourself in front of a beautiful elaborate facade and a striking bell tower.
Beneath the triumphal arch, is the high altar which is above a relic which contains five pieces of wood said to be from the manger in which Christ was laid in Bethlehem
Marvel by the elegance of the Loggia of Benedictions on the second floor topped with a sculptural group. Explore Bernini’s spiral staircase, a first of its kind
Discover the Liturgical vestments of the Popes that are also exhibited in the museum together with the historic Liberian museum’s collection consists of the most precious objects of the Basilica
Explore the basilica of Santa Prassede all'Esquilino that preserved the remains of more than 2000 martyrs. This is a magnificent place, sparkling with mosaics & the testimonies of holy martyrs

On board the open double-decker red buses you'll have the possibility of visiting comfortably all the main sites of the eternal city, from the Roman Forum to the Colosseum, from Circo Massimo to Santa Maria Maggiore Square, listening to all the information and curiosities about the beauties encountered along the way, thanks to the audio guide in eight languages.