Afternoon Tour: Basilica, Doge’s Palace & Gondola Ride in Venice
Description
Enjoy an afternoon in Venice discovering Saint Mark's masterpieces and wonders. Visit the Doge's palace and the Saint Marks Basilica and then enjoy a traditional gondola ride through the venetian canals. • See the iconic sights of Venice from the land and the water • Save with this experience that includes 3 of the best-selling tours in Venice • Skip the line and waste your time on holiday!
Tour Options
Itinerary
Meet your guide 15 min before the departure time in calle larga the l'ascension at the wooden kiosk next the post office. Look for the Turive assistant.
Your guide will provide you with a wealth of information regarding Saint Mark's Square and then accompany you on a detailed tour of the Golden Basilica from Saint Mark's square, once the private chapel of the Doge of Venice, the only one of its kind in Italy, thanks to the sumptuous golden mosaics and impressive marble inlay flooring.
During the tour you will be able absorb the atmosphere whilst listening to your guide who will describe the biblical scenes represented throughout the building, together with history and particularities of this ancient Basilica.
Our guide will accompany you to the Doge’s Palace, which dominates Saint Mark's Square, the heart of Venice. 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.
After a small break return the the meeting point and show your voucher for the gondola ride. Relax aboard this historic vessel, enjoying the thrills of both the Grand Canal and minor canals. Admire Venice from this amazing point of view, witness its magnificent architecture and whilst gliding under its bridges, discover secret entrances to the elegant palaces and hidden corners. APRIL - OCTOBER 14.45 - 15.45 Saint Mark's Basilica tour 17.15 - 17.45 Gondola tour NOVEMBER - MARCH 13.45 - 14.45 Saint Mark's Basilica tour 15.00 - 15.30 Gondola tour
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Operates in most weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- -> APRIL-OCTOBER Doge's Palace & Basilica departure at 14:45 (2 H 15 MIN) ->NOVEMBER-MARCH Doge's Palace at 11.45 (1 H 15 MIN) Basilica at 13.45 (1 H)
- -> APRIL-OCTOBER Gondola ride departure at 17:15 (30 MIN) -> NOVEMBER-MARCH Gondola ride departure at 15.00 (30 MIN)
- 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, please visit: https://cda.ve.it
- 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.
- 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.
Reviews(17)
Combined tour with gondola ride. Smooth admission and knowledgeable guide. No frills experience.
Well, our guide was a very sweet woman. She didn’t really interact with us as guests and she acted like an art history, major just pointing at the obvious and throwing dates and basic historical facts at us. There were no stories nothing to make the tour interesting or come alive. And it was very hard to understand her.
Hello Hesha, Thank you for your kind feedback and for joining our tour. Your keen insights help us improve the experience we are dedicated to improve everyday. Thank you and sending kind regards, Team Venice Events
Fantastic guided tour, Our tour guide was brilliant, her English outstanding, her knowledge was amazing, friendly & helpful. The visit to the Doges Palace & Brisciaic was superb. Gondala ride wonderful, saw parts of Venice we had not been to. Would recommend this to everyone. Thanks for a wonderful day.
Hello Jeff, 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.
Rosanna was fabulous. I’m not sure that I spelled her name correctly. She gave very informative and fun to listen to facts about Saint Marks as well as Doge Palace. We also got to walk across the Bridge of Sighs, which was an important part of visiting the Doge Palace for me. She let us spend whatever time we needed to take pictures or ask questions. She was very personable and friendly. We really enjoyed her! When we got done, we went back to the original meeting place as per instructions and no one was there, but within about five minutes, one of our guys showed up and took us to the gondola ride, which was again amazing! The highlight of coming to Venice! I can’t say enough wonderful things about this tour. I felt like we had a fabulous experience and the price was very reasonable.
Hello Debbie, 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.
Our water taxi was late but we could have made it to the tour being late coming from the mainland by about 5 minutes. However I was informed that we would not be permitted to join once the tour started. Then I asked if I could come straight there with my suitcase. That apparently is also not permitted. So, after paying a whole lot of money for something I really wanted to see, I was not able to because of silly rules, whether they are real or made up I dont know. Dont understand them if they were real. No advice, not telling me when the next tour is, nothing at all.. only no. All in all Venice was a huge disappointment, from rude public workers to the unpleasantness of locals towards “tourists” and the fact that there were no assistance or advice offered by tour operators for any small unforeseen hickup. On another tour I asked where the pick up spot was and the only answer I consistently received was “dont forget your voucher”. viator should really make more of an effort to vet these tours and make sure whet is advertised is actually correct. They are expensive enough.
Thank you for your kind message, as per the booking , conditions are very clear as these are tours which have high request and volume of guests and needs to be purchased in advance with the Basilica. Conditions are clear stating that if guests are late or can not show up on time it will be impossible to accomodate another time, as the reservations for entrance need to be sent 2 days in advance to the staff at the Basilica with all names. Unfortunately, all details and booking conditions are stated at the time of booking and can be reviewed again prior to the tour. We had explained this kindly to you as well a few hours prior to the tour, which you kindly understood. Thank you so much for your kind understanding and we hope to welcome you back in our city. Sending kindest regards, Venice Events
Very informative as we knew nothing about Venice history- we added the gondola ride to the end & the kids (ages 14-23) found it interesting. They loved ending on the gondola! Audio buds were a tad large- uncomfortable & spotty at times to hear but we just stood close enough to hear her voice! Well organized team & we felt safe with them!
Hello Tanya, 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
Tour was very enjoyable. The tour guide, Micro was very informative and very entertaining. Although it was hot, it was well worth doing.
Hello Kristine, 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
the tour of st mark's was very informative and interesting. the guide was great and everything went smoothly. however the wait time between the end of the tour til the gondola was too long with no place to sit at st. mark's.
Hello, thank you for your kind and honest review. We are grateful you could join us for our tour. We hope to welcome you back again in the future. Sending kind regards, Team Venice Events
We only got a 15 minute gondola ride! We were promised more. We had to wait a long time while most of the group were riding and then got a very short ride in order to make the meeting for the walking tour. The walking tour was very good. I am asking Viator for a $30 refund per ticket.
We missed our originally scheduled tour time (thunderstorm plus Venice is very hard to navigate at times- leave your hotel early!) but we were able to get on with another tour and were so grateful! Our tour guide was a native Venetian and passionate about city history. There is a lot you miss in the narrow streets and she covered so much. We had time to do the gondola ride, which was lovely and lasted about 20 minutes. The queue for the gondola was a little hectic and we were standing in the sun for a while so bring water and a parasol if you’re visiting in the summer. Otherwise, great experience.
