Venice Doge’s Palace & Basilica: The Legacy of the Roman Empire™
Description
What is this tour about? Guided tour of the Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica from an ambassador’s perspective. Follow the ceremonial route once reserved for foreign envoys and discover how Venice proudly claimed its Eastern Roman legacy. Who are you during the visit? You are not just a visitor, but an ambassador, sharing the viewpoint of those who once represented empires before the Doge. What will you see? St. Mark’s Basilica with its golden mosaics, the Doge’s Palace halls of power, and the prisons with the Bridge of Sighs. How does the experience begin? With a short VR introduction showing St. Mark’s Square through the centuries. Can I upgrade the experience? Yes. Add a gondola ride and experience Venice as ambassadors once did, arriving by water. Doge's Palace and Basilica: The Legacy of the Roman Empire™ © Venice Tours S.r.l. Licensed to City Tours Co. Ltd. All rights reserved.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Learning about the past of this charming city while walking along the historical streets of Venice! Walk through the Piazza San Marco with a qualified and experienced guide in order to learn Venetian history before the viewing of the main monuments in this area, including the Basilica San Marco, Palazzo Ducale, Bell Tower, Clock Tower and Procuratie. You will admire Campo Santa Maria Formosa, Campo SS. Giovanni e Paolo (the “Pantheon” of Venice), the Great School of Charity before viewing Marco Polo’s House and the Malibran Theatre. Visit the stunning Rialto Bridge with its traditional market. Coming back to San Marco through the main shopping area known as Mercerie!
The Palazzo Ducale has been for centuries the seat of the Venetian political power. In its splendid rooms, plastered and immersed in hundreds of painting masterpieces, the Duke and his Council controlled the fate for thousand-years in the old Republic. You’ll live it together with a guide who will show you the halls of power, plunging you into a very special historical context: the European Middle Ages. You’ll be surprised by the details of the gold staircase and of the realism of the scenes depicted by many artists who have decorated this building.
Relive the anguish of the prisoners crossing the famous Bridge of Sighs, and entering the Venetian prisons, famous for hosting Giacomo Casanova.
Follow a tour guide through St. Mark's Basilica, one of the most majestic cathedrals in the world. Learning about byzantine art and its religious background while taking a glimpse at the gold mosaics and marble floors. After the visit of the Basilica you will have the opportunity to visit a Glass Factory close to Saint Mark’s Square where you can see a Glass Craftsman at work. Please note this is a free of charge optional tour of approximately 20 minutes and it is not a part of the tour.
You may visit by yourself the other magnificent palaces around St. Mark’s Square as known as Procuratie. You will discover the Venetian way of life, Venetian paintings, library, coinage, sculpture. You will go back directly to the secrets of Venetian Empire and you will visit the area built by Napoleon and the rooms restored for Sissi Empress Austria
Upgrade your experience with a gondola ride experience on the Grand Canal and smaller romantic canals.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- A valid ID document is mandatory for security checks at the entrance to the Basilica.
- For security reasons, large bags and luggage are not permitted inside St. Mark’s Basilica, the Doge’s Palace, or on the gondola.
- 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.
- Tour does not operate in case of exceptional high tide or in case of unexpected religious functions (in these cases it can be postponed the days after otherwise it will be refunded)
- For the visit of the Basilica suitable clothing is required (no shorts)
- This tour is not wheelchair accessible and is not suitable for guests with walking disabilities.
- In case of exceptionally high tide or extremely bad weather, parts of the tour may be canceled or rescheduled. If this occurs, an alternative tour or a new date may be offered.
- Access to the Basilica may be restricted during religious services.
- Each gondola accommodates a maximum of 5 passengers.
- Seating is assigned by the gondolier to ensure proper weight balance.
- The official St. Mark's Basilica ticket price is €12.00 per person (standard) or €24.00 with terrace access; the remaining part of the price covers assistance at the meeting point, accompanied entry with a certified guide or host, access to the Venice Gallery with a dedicated VR experience, the use of an audio guide or radio system with earphones and sales costs.
- Please provide the full names of all travelers when booking. Failure to present a voucher with all travelers’ full names at the ticket office prior to entry may result in denied entry to the attraction.
Reviews(17)
We had a gondola trip scheduled for today. My husband had had stomach issues for the last three days. We tried canceling the excursion but have had no luck. Every number we called we had no luck due to this being a third party appointment scheduling We finally got ahold of someone only because we went through your office in Washington DC. They informed us we needed a Dr’s note. It is ridiculous that it has to come to this. They said it was 100 percent not refundable. Although they did give us the option of getting a doctor’s note once we returned back to the states. It is crazy that you allowed these type of policies to join your group. We will not be going today. He is still making trips to the bathroom, without being able to leave. I will get a doctors note but hopefully for the next guest and the next person to end up having issues on their vacation, they’re cancellation will be easier.
Dear Guest, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We are very sorry to hear about your husband’s condition and understand how difficult it must have been to manage this situation while traveling. We regret the frustration you experienced when trying to cancel the tour. As your booking was made through a third-party provider, their cancellation policies, including the requirement of a medical certificate, do apply. That said, we understand how inconvenient this can feel, especially in unexpected circumstances such as illness. We truly hope your husband feels better. Thank you and Kind regards, Customer Care Team
*LADIES DO NOT WEAR SKIRTS/SHORTS ABOVE THE KNEE - YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED INTO BASILICA* Unfortunately our tour guide failed to mention that my (modest) denim skirt would deny us access into the Basilica (despite having spent the morning with them on our walking tour of Venice prior), as it was above the knee. Completely respect the rules to enter the Basilica, it just would have been great to know prior.
Hello, thank you for your review and feedback. I am sorry to hear that you missed the basilica. Please always check the conditions of the place to visit. At your disposal for further information. Regards, Venice Tours Team
All the sights are of course wonderful. But what made the tour memorable was our guide Katerina - her knowledge and passion of Venice was amazing.
Great tour. Our guide was so knowledgeable and informative. Glad we got a little insight into the “back neighborhoods” of Venice.
Great walking tour, St Marks, and Doge's Palace. Covered all the high points. I would recommend this
Don’t waste your time or money on this tour. WORST experience ever. We had only 1 day in Venice and it was completely wasted. We booked a tour that clearly stated group of 10 or less. When we arrived we realised that there were 22 people. When we questioned the tour operator he was rude and dismissive. The headsets were not working trying to resolve this took over half an hour. Most importantly the guide could not speak English properly so we couldn’t understand a word. 5 minutes into the tour we left. We walked forever to find Venice tours offices. There we explained the issues and they were just as unhelpful. We had to call Viator and hold 3 times while in their office. We confirmed with Venice tours and Viator that we shall be refunded and we proceeded to buy our own tickets to see the one attraction that we had time to visit. Despite not going for the tour and not using any of the tour operators tickets and cancelling because we were lied to about the group size and the tour guide being fluent in English we still haven’t received a refund.
The tour was supposed to be 3 1/2 hours and they sent us for lunch in the middle. We didn’t get to see the dome and they didn’t offer a refund.
Tour didn't start on time. Golden Basilica was closed on the day I booked by trip. The operators could have informed us by SMS or emails it's closed on that day,I could have arranged for something else than. But they never informed until we started the tour. Disappointed.
This was our fourth of five tours booked through Viator and the only experience that did not meet expectations. Despite paying for it, we were not permitted to tour the inside of the Basilica. Before we started the walking tour, I informed our tour guide, Max, that my husband is disabled and struggles with long periods of walking and to please be cognizant of how far behind we would be. On every other tour, the guides would periodically wait for us to catch up. Not only did Max not keep track of who was with him, he did not care and we became lost in Venice in the pouring rain. We had to ask several people for help in order to find our way back. We finally made it back to the piazza a half hour before the tour resumed with the Doge Palace. We returned our headsets to Max and told him we were done with him. It was such a bad experience, that we refused to continue on to the Doge Palace. He did not even offer an apology. We will be seeking a refund
We had a mixed experience. St Marks Basilica was closed during our visit. Despite the tour company knowing in advance we were not given an option to cancel or reschedule. Furthermore after the tour started we were told we had to take a “break” and then return to complete the Doge Palace portion. They also extended the walking tour without giving any sense of how long it would be. Given we had elderly family members and young children (plus rain!) we may have opted to do something else / shorter. In the positive, the tour guide was extremely knowledgeable even though his style was a bit pedantic.
