Venice in A Day: St Mark's Basilica, Doge's Palace & Gondola Ride
Description
This Venice tour is built for travelers who want the city’s major sights and quieter corners in one efficient day. Pre-reserved tickets help simplify entry for St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace, two of Venice’s most important landmarks, while your guide connects the city’s golden mosaics, maritime power, council halls, and old prisons into one clear story. Between the headline sites, you’ll follow narrow lanes and tucked-away courtyards toward the Rialto Bridge, seeing a side of Venice many visitors miss when they stay only in St. Mark’s Square. The experience also includes a 30-minute shared gondola ride, so you see Venice from the canals as well as on foot. With timed-entry tickets, a guided walking route, and free time for lunch, this tour gives you a practical, well-paced way to cover Venice’s essential sights in a single day.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Your tour begins in St. Mark’s Square, Venice’s central public plaza. Meet your guide and learn about the history of this iconic piazza, home to St. Mark’s Basilica.
Known as “The Church of Gold”, St. Mark’s Basilica’s elaborate design features gold mosaics and marble slabs. Use timed entry tickets and learn about the basilica’s storied history during a guided tour of the stunning Basilica.
After your visit to the basilica your journey continues into the hidden back alleyways of Venice, guided by a knowledgeable local. Learn about the history and legends surrounding the Rialto Bridge, a magnificent architectural gem that spans the Grand Canal.
Check off a bucket list item as you board a shared gondola with others from your group (max 5 guests). Drift through canals for 30 minutes and see the postcard views Venice is famous for.
Enjoy 1.5 hours to choose your own lunch nearby. Grab a quick panini or enjoy some cicchetti, and ask your guide for a few local recommendations.
After lunch, explore the fascinating Doge's Palace with an expert guide and timed entry tickets. This Palace used to be the home of Venice's public administration. At the same time, it operated as a prison, where some of Venice's criminals saw their last days. Explore the fascinating artwork of the Doge's Palace, and get a glimpse of the famous Bridge of Sighs, the bridge that connects Doge's Palace to its prison.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Knees and shoulders must be covered for both men and women to enter St. Mark’s Basilica; entry may be refused otherwise. Please avoid wearing sandals, hats, shorts, skirts, or tops that expose your shoulders.
- A valid government-issued ID is required for entrance to St. Mark's Basilica. The name on your ticket (entered at check-out) must match the name on your ID, or you may be refused entry.
- 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.
- The order of stops may change due to timed entry schedules, crowds, or operational reasons, but you will still visit the same key sights listed.
- We regret that we are unable to accommodate guests with wheelchairs or any walking impairments that require special assistance on our group tours. We are also unable to accommodate strollers or baby carriages.
Reviews(688)
The guide we had was so good . She was so excited to tell us all abt Venice and stories to keep it interesting. Overall an amazing experience.
Very good history of St mark Basilica and Doge Palace and The Rialto Bridge. I enjoyed going to the jail under the Doge palace.
First, one of the guides was sick and they combined our group with another and we were 17 at that point. Was disappointed in the amount of time spent in St. Mark's and entering with a group that size was a problem especially as we were given no direction as to where to wait once we entered. We were in , we were out. No balcony for our group. The trip to Rialto bridge was good. And seeing the daily markets of fruits, vegetables and fish was a treat. We then went back to St Mark's Square to take our gondola ride. One group went to one gondola and our group went to another. After the gondola ride we were on our own for lunch and we had to ask where and when to meet our guide again after that. The guide wasn't very forthcoming with that information. He also walked too fast for some of the people on our tour and had to keep stopping to gather everyone. After lunch we met at the designated place and were informed that our guide was still sick and our groups would be combined again with the same guide we had before. Not thrilled. Next was Doge's Palace. The guide was very informative and we did see everything on the itinerary. But with 17 people, it was a little much and I kind of felt sorry for the guide having that many people to handle.
My tour was very knowledgeable about the area.
Thank you for your review! We're so glad you enjoyed your time exploring Venice and found your guide knowledgeable. We appreciate you joining us and hope to welcome you back for another unforgettable experience!
Great tour! Informative. Our guide knew her info. She made us laugh lots. Watched out to ensure all of us stayed together even amidst crowds. Even tracked down a guy that wondered off! Had a break for lunch which worked well. Recommend tour!!!
Thank you for your wonderful review, Terri! We're so glad you enjoyed the perfect mix of history and humor on your tour. It's great to hear your guide kept the group together through the busy streets of Venice while making the experience both informative and fun. Thank you for your recommendation, and we hope to welcome you back soon!
This was a great way to see all things related to Venice and it's history. I do wish we had more time for lunch, but we really enjoyed the boat rides, the islands, and the other tours!
Thank you for your thoughtful review! We're delighted to hear you enjoyed discovering Venice's history, landmarks, islands, and waterways. We appreciate your feedback regarding the lunch timing and are glad the rest of the experience was so memorable. We hope to welcome you back for more Venetian adventures in the future!
The palace tour was a bit long
Thank you for sharing your feedback! We're glad you enjoyed your Venice experience and had the opportunity to explore the city's incredible history and landmarks. We appreciate your comment regarding the palace portion and will continue working to ensure our tours provide a great balance of information, exploration, and enjoyment. We hope to welcome you back again!
Amazing experience and we learned so much history - told in a fun and engaging manner. Our guide was knowledgeable and attentive to our needs.
Thank you for your wonderful review, Maria! We're delighted to hear you had such an amazing experience exploring Venice. Bringing the city's fascinating history to life in a fun and engaging way is exactly what we strive for, and we're so glad your guide helped make the day memorable. We hope to welcome you back for another adventure soon!
This was well worth it. I totally recommed this tour. It os all inclusive and definitely a way to explore venice in a day.
Thank you Hyon! We are thrilled that our all inclusive itinerary helped you perfectly explore Venice in a day. Be sure to spread the word about The Tour Guy to your friends and family before your next big adventure!
It was terribly hot, inside and outside, no fault of Viator. The tour guide was pleasant and knowledgeable. I expected to see more of the Doges palace. Our gondola driver spent the whole time conversing across the canals to other drivers and was not at all sociable or informative. He said they only sing at night. The ride was a decent length. It was hard to hear the guide when she told us where to meet after the lunch break, but fortunately we tracked them down before they entered the cathedral. It was quite crowded and hot so that became a distraction from the true quality of the tour.
