Venice: Doge's Palace Guided Tour With Tickets & Optional Gondola
Description
Visit the iconic Doge's Palace in Venice on a small group guided tour. Head in faster with pre-reserved tickets and bypass the lines. Delve into Venetian history on a tour that showcases the highlights of the city. See the opulent apartments and the Hall of the Great Council at Doge's Palace. Take a walk over the Bridge of Sighs and see the Old Prisons. Choose to include an optional 30-minute gondola ride along the Grand Canal. Discover the charming canals and picturesque spots of Venice by traditional gondola.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Meet your expert guide at the famous St. Mark’s Square and start getting to know the city and its origins. See the most renowned public space in the city and, learn about its historical, social, and political importance. Learn about the Clock Tower and the Marble Lions which are all part of St Mark’s history.
Follow your guide at a relaxed pace to visit the Doge’s Palace with pre-reserved tickets straight into this opulent palazzo. Bypass the long lines to explore the political heart of an Empire. Learn about the supreme authority and wealth of the ruling Venetian Doges in the Gothic architecture of the palace. Ask about the talented 14th-century sculptors that worked on the palace and enjoy stunning views across the Lagoon as you explore this world-famous landmark.
Learn why the New Prisons were built, and understand the significance of the Bridge of Sighs, another highlight of Venice. Listen to the extraordinary story of the famous Casanova and his life in Venice. Leave your guide with enough knowledge to enjoy the rest of your stay in Venice on your own.
Your admission ticket also includes entry to the Correr Museum on St. Mark's Square. The building was originally designed as a residence for Napoleon, and later became the Venetian residence of the King of Italy. Enjoy the Correr Museum at your own leisure after the guided tour has ended.
Choose to Include a Gondola Ride along the Grand Canal. Depending on your selected option, complete your tour of the Doge’s Palace with an enchanting gondola ride, the perfect end to your day in Venice. After exploring the palace's rich history, your local guide will take you to the nearby pier where you will board a traditional gondola. Step aboard a traditional gondola for a 30-minute journey through Venice's picturesque canals, passing hidden corners and magnificent palaces. This relaxing ride is a must-do experience to conclude your visit to Venice.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Please note that if you take the 14:00 (2 pm) tour, Correr Museum will be closed before your tour finishes. Therefore, you will have Correr tickets for the next day.
- Please note that carrying any type of weapon or sharp objects, such as a knife, is not allowed for this tour.
- Clients must arrive at the meeting point 15 minutes before the start of the tour. This is due to the timed entry of the tickets.
- Please be advised that it is not possible to join the tour after it has commenced.
- If you choose the optional gondola ride, your guide will lead you to the pier at the end of the Doge’s Palace tour.
- Please note that the gondola ride is shared with other participants from your tour, just like it’s always been in Venetian tradition.
- Each gondola accommodates up to 5 guests. If your group is larger, you’ll be placed on separate gondolas.
- Sites visited during this tour are subject to occasional closures due to holy observances, high tides, and flooding. If a site closes, your guide will tour the exterior of the site. If time permits, you will be contacted before your tour. For last-minute closures, modifications may be communicated at the tour start time.
- Tips/gratuities (for your guide) are always appreciated.
Reviews(190)
Very knowledgeable and courteous guide. Answers questions without hesitation in a clear and concise manner.
Poor customer service and do not honor refund policy. Would not allow us to join our gondola ride or refund our money.
Hi Amy, Unfortunately, you were unable to join the tour due to a delayed flight. As outlined in the cancellation policy you accepted at the time of booking, cancellations or no-shows within 24 hours of the tour start are non-refundable. Since we were informed after this period and you were unable to attend the tour, your booking was recorded as a no-show in accordance with our policy. We completely understand that flight delays are frustrating and beyond your control. However, as the guide, staffing, and tour arrangements had already been confirmed, we are unable to make an exception to the policy in this case. Thank you for your understanding.
Was a very nice tour she was very informative and very patient with some other people in the group that were a bit demanding
Viator told us and another couple in our group that the St Marks Basicila was included in the tour and when we received tickets it did not. Extremely disappointing. We paid too much for what we received. When talking with another family from Wisconsin, they were told the same thing as us. When I was paying it said St Marks was included and when we received the tickets it wasn’t. We were unable to buy separate tickets for St Marks for that day so we didn’t get to go inside. Somehow, the person in charge of tour could have arranged for us to do the church tour and then Gondola ride but didn’t seem to care.
Hi Judy, As you can see, the tour you wrote the review is for the Doge's Palace, and it is not for San Marco's Basilica. They are two separate sites. You booked a tour that visited only the Doge's Palace.
This was a great tour. Our tour guide, Clare (from France), was so full of energy and told us great history stories. Even my 12 and 14 year olds stayed interested the whole tour!
The meeting point instructions were clear. The tour changed times but messages were sent to us on time with options. Our guide Claire was AMAZING!!!!!!! very knowledgeable, friendly(she remembered all of our names), professional and delivery of information and history was very entertaining. AWESOME experience. We highly recommend this tour with Gondola ride. Exceeded our expectations. Thank you very much!!!!!
Excellent tour - instructions to meet guide very clear and really easy to find them. Guide very knowledgeable and friendly. We had a little introduction to St. Mark's Square initially, then the tour of the Doges Palace which was quite comprehensive and finally a little gondola ride. We would definitely say it was good value for money and very well organised. We thoroughly enjoyed it!
Great visit m. The tour guide is amazing. I think her name was Hilaria or Lalaria. There was also a helpful assistant Laura who escorted us to the tour. I highly recommend. Tour guide was extremely knowledgeable About the history of the building and the history of Venice.
This was such a fun and informing Tour. Claire, our Tour guide was engaging, energetic and very informative. The inside of the palace is so huge and with this Tour, we understood the history and a great explanation of the artwork. It was well worth it.
Visiting the Doge Palace without a guide would be a shame. The place is so huge and there is so much history that a guide will add so much to a visit.
