There’s no richer artistic treasury than the Vatican Museums, but with three million tourists per year cramming into spaces built for the exclusive use of the papal court, a visitor’s experience can be less than sublime. In summer months, the wait in line can last hours, and once you make it into the Sistine Chapel, the atmosphere is more like a cattle pen than a house of worship.

Visiting in the off season (November through February) helps, and administrators are now considering longer opening hours, which would be all to the good. But for those able and willing to pay extra, a private evening tour is the way to ensure peace, quiet and informed guidance all at once. In most cases, the only other people you see will be Vatican employees closing up for the day.

Most of these tours are arranged by organizations, but at least one agency, Italy With Us, offers its services to individuals and familes. On a recent evening, we joined a group of about a dozen Americans from various cities for an intimate, two-hour encounter with a few of the most celebrated pieces in the papal collections, including Michelangelo’s monumental ceiling fresco. The narration by Christopher Longhurst, a young art historian from New Zealand, was erudite and passionate.

The only glitch? We had to wait slightly longer than expected to get into the Sistine Chapel, while Pope Benedict finished praying Vespers there. That seemed like a pretty good reason, so there were no complaints.