Priority Access to Doge’s Palace: Guided Walking Tour in Venice
Description
The Doges Palace, once the home of the Duke of Venice and seat of all important political decisions during the period of the Serenissima. Listen to your informative guide as you pass through its lavish chambers, with paintings by Tintoretto and Titian. Cross over the bridge of Sighs and through its prisons coming out into a breathtaking courtyard.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Meet your professional guide in Saint Mark's Square who will escort you into this magnificent palace, to visit the halls of power, and immerse yourself in medieval Europe, among hundreds of masterpieces. Dominating Saint Mark's Square, the heart of Venice, the Doge's Palace stands out for its size and its extraordinary structure, where Byzantine, European and Oriental architecture collide.
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 imprisoned. 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.
At the end of the tour, keep your Doge's Palace ticket to visit on your own: Museo Correr, Museo Archeologico Nazionale and Monumental Rooms of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in Saint Mark's square, opposite side of the Saint Mark's Basilica.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Large bags or backpacks are NOT allowed
- Children are free until 5 years old, from 6 they pay the full ticket (document required)
- 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
Reviews(21)
Viator did not provide us with needed tickets when we were five minutes late. Refused to compromise at all even though we alerted them that we would be slightly late due to no fault of our own.
Hello Sheri, Thank you for your feedback. As our tours operate on a schedule, if a guest arrives late, the tour must begin at the designated time out of respect for the other participants. Thank you for your kind understanding. kind regards, Greetings from Venice
Gina was a wonderful guide through the impressive Doge’s palace. We really enjoyed the tour through the grand rooms and the Bridge of Sighs.
Hello Jessie, Thank you for your feedback. We truly appreciate you taking the time to share your experience. It was a pleasure hosting you, and we hope to welcome you again in the future.
The tour picked a really terrible place to meet. We arrived before the group was due to depart. Because it was raining very heavily, the tour guide decided to depart early without us. We got through to the operator on the phone who said it was our fault we missed the tour and no refund will be provided. We were on time, the tour left early because of bad weather. This was part of our honeymoon trip. Terrible experience.
Thank you for your kind feedback. Unfortunately as is mentioned on voucher guests are responsible for showing up 15 minutes prior to the start time. All tours leave precisely as indicated on the voucher. Not earlier. There were other guests on the day who arrived without issue. Thank you for your kind understanding.
excellent organisation, precise instructions and very knowledgeable and informative guide. Was well worth the money paid also to help skip the busy queues!
Hello Frank, Thank you for your kind and thoughtful review. It means so much to the Team. Thank you and sending kind regards from Venice. We hope to welcome you again in the future. Team Venice Events
Excellent tour guide, just long enough for a knowledgeable tour for those that get overwhelmed with too much information over a long period of time.
Hello Jennifer, 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
Guide should not wear garb that blends in with the general public. It wasn’t bad when he had on the cranberry jacket, but when he removed it, forget it, I got separated and then could see him nor hear him. Also his Italian accent was SO strong I didn’t understand him. Waste of time & money.
Great tour! Guide was very informative. Elisabetta was a great guide and brought it to life. Would recommend!
I already wrote to the local operator as your site suggests for complaints. At the kiosk after getting the ticket, I asked the guide if we were ready and she said no in a few minutes. I turned around two minutes later and she had left. I was unable to catch up with them, or find them in the venue. Subsequently, I wrote to you to let you know the equipment is at the hotel I stayed at, because the kiosk was boarded up when I returned, I have already asked for a refund to my ticket cost since the guide abandoned me, and I was unable to see the doges palace.
Our guide was very knowledgeable about the Doge’s history and the paintings. He explained how each room was used and the style of painting/artists who created the various paintings.
This was a pretty good tour of just the Doge's palace. The role of a Doge was really unique and I am not sure I would've understood the fullness of the Doge unless I had taken this trip. This was not too long so its good for all ages in my opinion. I think more history on what we were seeing would have been good rather than alot of names and dates as that is hard to digest during a tour. Its a tough balance. But all in all, a good tour. Meeting: This was probably our 7th tour booked via Viator during our vacation. Getting the app is well worth the effort since you can get directions to the meeting point via the link in the app to google maps, as several people who booked the tour showed up at the wrong place. Viator Customer Service: We had to reschedule since our train from Florence was cancelled due to a train derailment. I had to call customer service and they were great! The outcome was not as the tour operator (not Viator) would not consider a refund, but offered to reschedule but this was after we had to book a fresh tour so we really paid twice.
