Venice: St.Mark's Basilica & Doge's Palace Tour with Tickets
Description
Experience Venice on an exclusive small group guided tour, designed for a more personalized and enriching adventure. Skip the lines with pre-reserved tickets and maximize your precious vacation time as you uncover the city's most iconic landmarks, including the breathtaking St. Mark’s Basilica and the legendary Doge’s Palace — all in just three unforgettable hours. Let an expert local guide bring the city’s history, art, and hidden gems to life with insider stories you won’t find in any guidebook. Walk away with a wealth of knowledge and inspiration to make the most of your journey through this one-of-a-kind Italian treasure.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Join a 3-hour guided tour in Venice to see the major highlights of the city led by an expert guide. The tour includes two must-see sites: Doge’s Palace and Basilica of St. Mark, both with pre-reserved tickets.
Meet your expert guide in famous St. Mark’s Square and start getting to know "the Floating City" and its origins. Explore 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 that both play an important role in St Mark’s history.
Continue on to the Basilica of St.Mark, and enter the cathedral with your pre-reserved tickets. Take in its sheer size and the fascinating golden mosaics inside. Learn about the design of the monument, called the Church of Gold, and its status as a symbol of Venetian wealth and power. Listen to the story of the life-size Horses of St Mark’s Basilica, said to be some of Europe’s finest creations. Find out the answers to all of your questions and more as you accompany your guide on this well-planned walking tour in Venice.
Follow your guide at a relaxed pace to visit the Doge’s Palace. You'll walk straight into this opulent palazzo with our with pre-reserved tickets. Learn about the supreme authority and wealth of the ruling Venetian Doges through the ornate 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.
Your admission ticket to the Doges Palace also includes entry to the Correr Museum in 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. Generally, you can visit the Correr Museum after your tour has ended. You may also have tickets for the next morning, depending on the hour of the tour you book.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Each traveler must present a valid passport or ID document that matches the name provided at the time of booking for successful entry to St.Mark’s Basilica.
- 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.
- Acqua Alta (high tide) in Venice can cause delays in entering the Basilica.
- 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.
- Basilica is a holy place, both men and women must wear clothing that covers the belly, shoulders and knees.
- Religious authorities may decide to suspend skip-the-line priority because of the high number of visitors. We are only allowed to stay inside the Basilica for 20 minutes.
- In case of denied access, you will be provided with entrance tickets to visit the Basilica on your own at the assigned time.
- If you take the 2:00 PM tour, the 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.
- Do not bring large bags or luggage. These items are not allowed, and there is no place to leave them, so you will be denied entry.
- 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.
- Direct ticket costs for the included attractions are as follows: Doge’s Palace (€27.00) and St. Mark’s Basilica (€12.00).
- Tips/gratuities (for your guide) are always appreciated.
Reviews(1,292)
Really interesting great guide
We enjoyed the tour and the guide was lovely and knowledgeable but it did not include the Pala d’Ora or balcony. As we wished to do these activities we paid separately but could only pay via internet and the internet connection was almost non existent and we spent over an hour to get the extra tickets. If you wish to view all areas book a tour which includes everything so you don’t waste time unnecessarily.
Thanks, Elaine and Paul, We are glad you enjoyed the tour we provided. Yes, it does not include the other parts of San Marco, as there is very limited access (it is very, very small), and because we only have 20 minutes allowed inside the basilica, we prefer to use it wisely for the main areas.
Beautiful place well worth a visit, not on this tour though. The reason for my review was because I want to read honest reviews not fake ones. The lady who took us around is so unbelievably informative, just too informative if that makes sense. My issue is I love to meander through buildings admiring and learning about the history, architecture etc but I don't want to be stood in one spot listening to someone talk for 20 minutes. Its hot, nowhere to sit and we need to keep moving slowly so we can see all the sights, learn a little..... not the whole chapter and verse. This ruined it for me. The lady was nice, its no fault on her part, the history lesson needs to be cut down to bitesized manageable pieces not 3 hrs long. For me as tourists I want to be able to see the sights, take pictures for my memories and move on. We visited two beautiful buildings, I could have done this tour in an hour and thats stretching it. 3 hrs is too long. Be warned if you book this tour. Imagine sitting through history back at school in a hot classroom trying to concentrate but remembering nothing by the next day as the voice just keeps going on and on and on. You take nothing in just snippets. So my honest review is go by yourself and enjoy the day. Dont be tied down to a 3hr lesson you will not remember the next day. This for me was the worst tour ive endured and not because the place was not worth it. Not because the tour guide was awful, because she wasnt. Because this is a hard slog of 3hrs listening to everything from start to finish and ruined my experience to take in such beauty. Please give my regards to our tour guide, it was not her, she is wonderful, the structure of the tour needs changing dramatically. God help anyone who takes children on this tour or someone who had ADHD. THIS TOUR is in my opinion, Not recommended for anyone who cannot stand for long periods, not recommended for the elderly and not recommended for children. Go by yourselves and enjoy it without the 3hr history lesson.
Thank you, Gemma. We're delighted to hear that you enjoyed our guide's expertise. Our tours are intentionally kept to small groups and are designed for travelers who are genuinely interested in history, culture, and insights that go beyond what guidebooks or audio guides can offer. This style of experience isn't for everyone, and we're sorry it didn't match your expectations. As for the weather, summer in Italy can indeed be very hot. If you're sensitive to high temperatures, visiting during spring or autumn may provide a more comfortable experience while still allowing you to enjoy the country's remarkable history and culture.
Excellent tour. Our guide Zoe was knowledgeable. We enjoyed the tour. Lots of beautiful history to enjoy
This tour was expensive compared to some of the others. But our guide was Claire was amazing and super energetic. She had great info to share.
Our guide, Christina, was extremely knowledgeable about Venice, its history and the buildings we toured.
Claire was energetic, engaging, and incredibly knowledgeable. She somehow remembered the names of all 15 people in our group, which made the tour feel much more personal. Her passion for the history and stories behind St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace made everything come alive. This was a wonderful experience, and I would highly recommend Claire to anyone visiting Venice!
Good, very informative and the guide Simonetta was great, I don't think it was worth the cost as quite expensive to book. Would look to book ourselves next time
This tour was above and beyond my expectations! The tour in the Doge’s Palace was fantastic. Our tour guide Simonetta was so knowledgeable, and we really appreciated and enjoyed the history telling combined with the tour. I wish we had a little bit more time in St. Mark’s Basilica, as I thought that part felt a bit rushed. However that did not take away from the amazing sites.
The guide was very knowledgeable and let us know the history behind the art, statues and architecture. Very enjoyable.
