Venice in a Day: Walking tour, Basilica, Doge's Palace & Gondola
Description
Venice in a day tour is a combination city tour, of 4 of our most popular tours taken in Venice and the best way to spend your time in Venice. Starting in Saint Mark’s square, this atmospheric walking tour will then whisk you away from the crowded streets into the treasure filled pockets of the Castello area. A qualified guide will walk you through the hidden squares, winding canals and historical buildings providing you with a perfect introduction to the origins, symbols, traditions, architecture, and life in current day Venice. The tour then continues with the guided visit inside the Doge's Palace and the Saint Marks Basilica. The walking tour ends in Saint Mark's square at 1.00 pm At this time you will have approx 2 hours free to stroll around the area or to have lunch (not included) The last appointment of your package is the 30 min classic gondola ride at 3:00 pm or 5.15 pm (verify the availability on your date).
Tour Options
Itinerary
Meet your guide in front of the Clock tower (not the bell tower!). Starting in Saint Mark’s square, this atmospheric walking tour will then whisk you away from the crowded streets into the treasure filled pockets of the Castello area. A qualified guide will walk you through the hidden squares, winding canals and historical buildings providing you with a perfect introduction to the origins, symbols, traditions, architecture, and life in current day Venice. The tour starts with a historical introduction of St. Marks’s Square, and its architectural delights.
Leaving the square, you will be guided into the residential Castello area, allowing you to discover this part of Venice in all of its elegance, through its labyrinth of narrow alleys - “calli”, many bridges, winding canals and wide picturesque squares - “campi”. Discover campo Santa Maria Formosa and campo San Giovanni & Paolo with its Basilica the place where the doges of Venice were buried. The former residence of Marco Polo, probably the most famous Venetian merchant, and the Malibran theatre are also part of the itinerary. At the end of your walking tour, come back with your local guide in Saint Mark's square passing through the Mercerie, the shopping connection street between Rialto and San Marco.
The tour then continues with the guided visit inside the Doge's Palace. Be intrigued by the fascinating history of La Serenissima and enter with your skip the line ticket into the Doge’s Palace, crossing the Bridge of Sighs and visiting its prisons cells. The Palace is a magnificent combination of Byzantine, Gothic and Renaissance architecture, in the heart of Venice. Once the residence of the Doge, the elected ruler of the city, and his counsellors, it became the centre of the Venetian Empire and the seat of the Government. The Doge's Palace was opened as a museum in 1923.
Follow your guide visiting the Saint Marks Basilica, which majestically symbolizes the lagoon and enshrines the city’s history and Saints relics. With its awe – inspiring gold mosaics our talented guide will walk you through the church. The walking tour ends in Saint Mark's square at 1.00 pm At this time you will have approx 2 hours free to stroll around the area or to have lunch (not included)
The last appointment of your package is the gondola ride at 3:00 pm or 5.15 (please verify the availability on your date). Meet the assistant in front of the Saint Mark's post office (behind the Correr musuem) Your shared 30 minutes round trip starts on the Grand Canal and then through the smaller canals. It is the perfect way to appreciate the beauty, charm and colour of this unique city built on water. Feel part of an ancient Venetian tradition and experience Venice as the locals have for more than a thousand years.
At the end of the tour, keep your Doge's Palace ticket to visit on your own (the same day or the following day) the Museo Correr, Museo Archeologico Nazionale and Monumental Rooms of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in Saint Mark's square, opposite side of the Saint Mark's Basilica.
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
- Please arrive at each meeting point 15 minutes before the departure of the tour
- Large bags and rucksacks are NOT allowed inside the Basilica or Doge's Palace
- Knees and shoulders MUST be covered inside the Basilica
- On occasion, Saint Mark's Basilica may be closed due to public holidays, religious ceremonies, private events or high water and the local service provider is not always informed in advance
- For children document required
- All the late arrivals or no show are NO REFUND!
- 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(139)
I truly feel this is one of the most romantic cities in Europe. Everywhere you look, there’s beautiful architecture, and they still keep many traditions alive — even horse riding in the town center. There are many museums and statues, and you can learn something special in every corner of the city. I highly recommend visiting this place.
Hello, We thank you for the wonderful review and are very happy to hear that you enjoyed the activity. Thank you for choosing one of our tours, and we hope to welcome you again in Venice in the future. Kindest regards, Venice Events team
The itinerary was great but there were not enough breaks. The guide was knowledgeable but unfriendly. The organizers were unorganized. Most of them knew nothing about the gondola ride. We were supposed to get lunch recommendations. We did not get any. I would not do this tour with you again.
Hello, Thank you for your kind review and feedback. Your feedback helps us improve our services for dear guests. Our Team works with local suppliers to make sure they offer the best experiences. However, sometimes those suppliers can be random with which guide or gondolier we will have. We will speak with our supplier. Thank you for you kind understanding. Sending kind regards, Team Venice Events
Nice experience, as for the guides they were very good and delivered us quality details about the places visited. The tickets cut thread a real plus, to avoid 1 h of queuing, we summarized we got our money's worth and highly recommend it!!! One downside, the gondola ride is of no interest since we all leave at the same time and it clogs in the small canals, it looks like it’s on the ring road but on the water... but hey, the dog palace, the basilica, the San Marco district and the Correre museum were really worth it ❤️
Such a good tour! If you are limited on time in Venice, this is the tour for you. Slip the line at the dove's Palace and St Mark's Basillica plus a wander around the hidden parts.of Venice. Our guide Roberta was knowledgeable and funny, as well as really interesting and passionate about her city. All topped off with a fab gondola ride. Well worth the money and highly recommended!
it’s only after visiting Venice, one realises as to why it is called as 'City of Architecture & Romance'. Built on more than 100 small islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea, it has no roads, just lanes, canals – including the Grand Canal thorough-out, with No noise of Cars & Mainly Ferry & Gandolas as source of Travel! Just a Peaceful Romantic Atmosphere all along.......
Our guide was ver knowledgeable and shared a lot of information. The pace was fast and covered a lot of ground. Would have been better with a few rest stops during the first 3.5 hours.
Venice is 1000 years old in the 21 century. Very unique. Timeless beauty . Wonderful memories. Safe travels.
It was all super organized. We got everything explained and would not have to stand in line , just great I'd like to do it again Can only recommend
We did get to see a lot of Venice and got tickets to the two big items, but the skip the line wasn’t so much skip the line as other tours; the places didn’t seem to care about the tour queue. Also, our guide was not very energetic or engaging, so even though the the places to see were impressive, it felt like a high school class tour with Ferris’ teacher.
Really amazing full day in Venice. We started the day with a gondola ride after that we had a guided visit of the Saint Mark's Church and Doge's Palace and in the afternoon a sightseeing tour of Venice. It was simply amazing.
dear guest thanks for this feedback, we hope to have you back in the next future
