Morning Tour: Basilica, Doge’s Palace & Gondola Ride in Venice
Description
Meet your professional guide and start your combination tour discovering the buildings in the square and then we enter inside the Doge's Palace "Palazzo Ducale", it was once the residence of the Doge, the elected ruler of the city. The tour then continues into Saint Marks Basilica, which majestically symbolizes the lagoon and enshrines the city’s history and Saints relics. At 1:00 pm you will end the first part of the tour and you will have approx 2 hours free time to stroll around Saint Mark's square, to have lunch (not included) or to visit the Correr museum on your own already included with the Doge's Palace ticket. The second part of your combined tour is the classic gondola ride at 3:00 pm or 5:15 pm (check the availability). PROGRAM -> Doge's Palace & Basilica departure at 10:45 am to 1.00 pm -> Gondola ride (duration 30 min) April - October gondola at 3.00pm or 5.15 pm November - March gondola only at 3.00 pm
Tour Options
Itinerary
Meet your guide in calle larga de l'ascension next the post office behind Saint Mark's square.
Hear about the republic of the Serenissima and the city's origins to the present day. See all the most important monuments (from the outside) in the square.
Your guide will provide you with the perfect introduction to the origins, symbols and traditions regarding Saint Mark's Square, Saint Mark's Basilica the Doge's Palace, the bridge of Sighs, the bell tower and the Marciana area.
Immediately entering the Palace you will pass through the great courtyard and admire the wealth of detail on the famous Golden Staircase. Once inside the Palace, you will visit the halls where the Duke (Doge) and his Council controlled the fate of the Serene Republic, whilst surrounded by hundreds of artistic masterpieces and discover the political history of Venice and its people. You will be able to admire the paintings realised by some of the most important artists of the Italian Renaissance, amongst them, the world's largest oil painting by Tintoretto.
Passing through the famous Bridge of Sighs, you will reach the new prisons. The bridge was given its name by the English poet Lord Byron, probably referring to the last breath of the prisoners, who had their last view of the lagoon and of Venice from the window of this bridge, before they were to be imprisioned.
This guided tour concludes in the courtyard of the Doge's Palace. Here it will be possible for you to stay longer inside the Palace absorbing the history and mystery of days gone by.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Please arrive at the meeting point at least 15 minutes before the departure time;
- Late arrivals, No Shows, No refund;
- On certain dates, most travelers staying outside of Venice who are planning to visit for the day will be required to pay a €5 access fee. For further details (including exemptions) and to learn what days this fee is applicable, please visit: https://cda.ve.it
Reviews(38)
Tour was identified as accessible. They were unable to accommodate my husband in a wheelchair, for the gondola, and refused to refund any portion of our tickets.
Hello, Thank you for your feedback. Your comments help us improve the quality of our tours. Kind regards, Greetings from Venice
We had booked a German tour. It's in the booking information. This was also the reason that we booked this and also willing to pay an extra price for it. The language given was English (astonished us, but we thought this was a misstatement). How do they define German Tour? We were the only German-speaking participants and the guide spoke English. The guide was very good and explained everything very well (in English, which we also understood well). Organizationally, it worked out well. The rating is due to the German Tour, which were not adhered to.
Sehr geehrter Gast, vielen Dank, dass Sie sich die Zeit genommen haben, Ihre Erfahrung zu teilen. Es freut uns sehr zu hören, dass Ihnen die Tour gefallen hat, Sie die Erklärungen unserer Reiseleitung als klar und informativ empfunden haben und auch die Organisation reibungslos verlaufen ist. Gerne möchten wir darauf hinweisen, dass die Buchung gemäß den Reservierungsdetails für eine englischsprachige Führung vorgenommen wurde und die Durchführung entsprechend in englischer Sprache erfolgte. Ihr Feedback ist für uns sehr wertvoll, da es dazu beiträgt, unsere Informationen für alle Gäste so transparent wie möglich zu gestalten. Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Guide was extremely knowledgable; however, tour was supposed to include a gondola tour. We asked about the gondola and she had no clue. Told us to go back to the starting point and ask - of course there was no one at the starting point to ask!!! So no gondola ride was included!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Very frustrating and completely inexcusable. False advertising.
Hello , Thank you for your kind and thoughtful review. Your kind feedback helps us improve our tours and experiences with our suppliers. Our Team with each and every tour try to improve and try to find where mistakes are. Guests are required to follow all information on the voucher. Sending kind regards, Team Venice Events
Our tour guide was very funny and very knowledgeable. The only problematic part is we also booked a tour with a gondola ride and none of the information provided told us where and when that was to take place. We had to message the provider and fortunately about 14 minutes before the meet up time they responded and we happened to be in that area. So beware and ask questions up front. Otherwise it was a very well run and well guided tour. Highly recommend.
Hello Scott, Thank you for your kind and thoughtful review. Your kind feedback helps us improve our tours and experiences. We look forward to welcome you back in Venice. Sending kind regards, Team Venice Events
We had Monica as a tour guide she was wonderful, a great combination of explaining the importance of the art of architecture of both buildings as well as the history of Venice more broadly. Only complaint is that the tripadvisor itinerary advertises that the gondola ride would immediately follow the tours when they finish at one. At the end of the tour we were told the gondola ride would not happen until three. The gondola ride was definitely worth it and me and my wife enjoyed it. We were disappointed that we were unable to make it to our other afternoon plans because the gondola ride was important. Can’t stress this enough, tours were great and gondola was fun. Just know that if doing it all back is what you’re wanting to schedule this isn’t the correct one.
Hello Louis, Thank you for your kind and thoughtful review. You kind feedback helps us improve our tours and experiences. We look forward to welcome you back in Venice. Sending kind regards, Team Venice Events
Our tour guide was great. She not only gave us information from the tour, but about Venice in general. She was very friendly and answered any questions we had. Very easy to understand and laid back. Would highly recommend!
Hello Carla , Thank you for your kind and thoughtful review. You kind feedback helps us improve our tours and experiences. We look forward to welcome you back in Venice. Sending kind regards, Team Venice Events
Venice was truly magnificent.. the weather didn't deter our excitement and experiences. Our night tour was totally amazing with the streets feeling alive. Then our day tour with Mike..made it all comes to life with Venice's rich history. We totally enjoyed our gondola ride and the company. The restaurants were exceptional and the shopping as well. Wish we had more time here!! Awesome Venice!!
A large market square, that's all it is. The surrounding arcades are surrounded by cafes and upscale boutiques. If you want, you can sit down in one of the countless cafes and enjoy an overpriced coffee or espresso. We saw the square and were somewhat disappointed. We have seen nicer squares without the tourist crowds, and we were in Venice specifically for the "sights", but seeing it once is enough for us for the rest of our lives.
This was an informative and efficient way to see the two magnificent structures that are the St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doges Palace. Our guide, Diana, was very engaging and really knew her Venetian history. The tour also included tickets to explore the Correr museum on our own, which we did after the guided tours (and lunch). It’s always a distinct advantage to skip the lines. Tour was well organized despite the chaos of San Marco piazza.
The tour was amazing and our guide excellent! However, the quality of the audio equipment, earphones and a lack of carry strap ruined the tour ! Not what we had expected given the cost. My wife gave up trying to listen to the commentary half way round the tour and really missed out !!
