Doge's Palace Skip the Line Guided Tour in Venice
Description
Take a special tour of Venice's Doge's Palace for a memorable experience. Explore the secret stories and mysteries of this amazing building with local experts who love history. Start your visit at Piazza San Marco, often referred to as the "drawing room of Europe," which is the principal public square of Venice and a masterpiece of urban design. Discover the fancy rooms where Venetian kings used to walk, and be amazed by the detailed art decorating every part. Our tours give you special access and individual attention, so you can discover the palace's secrets in a new way.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Start your trip at the famous St. Mark's Square, is a famous public place. Your guide will tell you about its history and why it is important. Admire the beautiful Clock Tower and Marble Lions that are a big part of St. Mark's square has had a very interesting past.
Enjoy a visit to the fancy Doge's Palace with pre-reserved tickets that let you go inside right away without waiting in line. It's the center of the old Empire's politics. Be amazed by the stunning Gothic design of the palace and learn about the powerful Venetian Doges who lived there, as well as the talented sculptors who created art for the palace in the 14th century.
Benefit of a visit to The Bridge of Sighs in Venice is an iconic landmark that connects the Doge's Palace to the historic prison. Built in the 17th century, its name originates from the sighs of prisoners who crossed it, glimpsing their last view of beautiful Venice before imprisonment.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Correr Museum, National Archeological Museum, and Biblioteca Marciana Access, are self guided
- Tickets are nominative. Name/s provided during the booking must match the valid photo ID presented by each participant. Entry may be denied otherwise.
- Please note that St. Mark's Basilica enforces a strict dress code. Visitors must always cover their knees and shoulders.
- Visitors aged 11+ (Basilica-only) or 6+ (Doge’s Palace) must buy a standard adult ticket.
- Skip-the-line does not bypass security check lines. During peak season, wait times may be longer.
- The Basilica is an active place of worship. Access may be restricted or modified without notice due to religious events, high tide or crowd control.
- Audioguides are provided via the Crown Tours App. Due to limited local connectivity, we strongly recommend downloading the app beforehand (requires 500 MB). Bring a charged smartphone & personal headphones.
- From January 1, 2026, the entry fee for Basilica-only access is €12. Optional access: Museum or Pala d’Oro €24; Museum and Pala d’Oro €36; Campanile €18; Doge’s Palace €35; Extended Museum Pass €40. Remaining value covers operational costs, including audioguide provision and hosting services, or certified guides with whisper devices.
Reviews(15)
Fantastic first experience with Crown Tours for the Doge's Palace guided tour (with prisons) in Venice! I believe our guide was Natalia. She was amazing! I love how she explained the palace, the Doge's and how Venetian government worked, the paintings and all the things, and gave a real sense of understanding of Venice in general. One of the best European Tour guides I have had! I would book with Crown tours again. I found them because I was having difficulty finding a guided english tour tickets for Doges Palace with prisons during the same week, and they luckily had availability.
Thank you for your wonderful review. We are so happy to hear that you had such a fantastic first experience with Crown Tours and that Natalia made your Doge’s Palace visit so engaging and memorable. It is lovely to know her explanations helped bring Venice, its history, and the palace to life. We truly appreciate your kind words and hope to welcome you again soon. Best regards, Sky Crown Tours
Awesome experience! Tour guide was amazing and took her time explaining the history of Doge's Palace
Dear Tom, Thank you for your wonderful review. We are delighted to hear that you had an awesome experience visiting Doge’s Palace and that your guide made the history so engaging and easy to follow. We hope to welcome you again soon. Best regards, Sky Crown Tours
The Doge’s Palace was fantastic and I am glad we had skip the line tickets. However, the tour company told me there was no guide available the night before so basically just provided the tickets. At least they offered to refund the guide part of the cost hence not giving them 1 star.
Great way to so the Duomo and some of the city from the rooftop. Great tour guide. Worth the price. We would recommend it.
Tour was definitely worth it! Our tour guide, Nico, was very informative and passionate about all things Venetian! He made you feel like you were part of the times when the Doge lived in the palace. We learned a lot about the Palace and church; the details of art and architecture inside were amazing.
A Skip the Line tour is a must for this tour. Although Oct/Nov are supposed to be off season, Italy was anything but. Just overwhelming crowds everywhere. No problem meeting our guide and the group was smallish (10) but hard to hear due to the large crowds in all the rooms. The tour was worth the price just to skip the line. Doge's Palace beautiful and steeped in history
Hi Jennifer, Thank you for sharing your honest feedback — I’m really sorry to hear that you had trouble understanding the guide, and that it affected your ability to fully enjoy the experience. We know how important clear communication is, especially on a tour packed with historical information. Your comments are helpful, and we’ll be reviewing them internally to ensure we’re matching the right guides to the right groups moving forward. If you’d like us to take a closer look at your booking or assist further, please feel free to contact us at feedback@crowntours.com. Best regards, Sky Crown Tours
From start to finish an excellent visit, our guide Marina has taken us into the history and architecture of Venice. Thank you Crown Tours for this fantastic tour of the Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica. It was a 2h30 tour and time has flown by and without queues... a 10!!
Hola Vane, Muchas gracias por tu maravilloso comentario. Nos alegra saber que tu visita fue excelente de principio a fin y que Marina pudo sumergirte en la historia y arquitectura de Venecia. Es genial escuchar que el tiempo pasó volando y que disfrutaste del tour sin tener que hacer colas. Agradecemos mucho tu calificación y esperamos poder ofrecerte otra experiencia fantástica en el futuro. ¡Gracias de nuevo! Saludos, Fernando Crown Tours
Informative and interesting tour by friendly local tour guide. She provided information about the palace and artwork via a small microphone and it was easy to hear what she said because the tour company provided us with receivers and a single headphone. 10 other people joined our family of four, so it was not too crowded on the tour.
Hello! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a wonderful review! We are so glad to hear that you loved the experience with us. We can’t wait to share your 5-star review with our team. They’ll be thrilled! Thank you for choosing us. Best regards!
Excellent tour guide, well Spoken and perfect English. Very knowledgeable. Well organised tour company that provided exact directions on meeting point and times.
Hello! We are overjoyed with your 5-star review! We can't wait to have you back for another phenomenal experience! Thank you for choosing us.
My family and I had a great time! The guide was very professional, friendly and helpful! I thank the Crown Tours team who assisted me on the phone to obtain information regarding the meeting point, very kind. Super recommended, I can't wait to do another tour with this agency, thank you so much for the great experience!!
Hello! Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We are thrilled to hear that you and your family loved your experience with us! Thank you for choosing Crown Tours! Kinds regards.
