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Venice Must-Sees: St Mark's Basilica & Doge's Palace Fast Track Tour






from £65.54
Take advantage of the skip-the-line service on this 2-hour tour that gives you the exclusive opportunity to go back in time and discover two of the most important buildings of St.Mark’s Square: the Doge’s Palace, that represented the cornerstone of the political life in the Venice for centuries, and S.Mark’s Basilica, one of the finest masterpiece of Byzantine art, enriched with marble decorations, golden glittering mosaics and other precious materials. Through this complete and detailed tour, your expert guide will let you feel immersed in the history of Venice.
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Due to the impacts of COVID-19, we are currently not taking new bookings for day tours.
In Brief
Location:
Venezia, Italy
Country:
Italy
Duration:
2 hours 15 minutes
Operates:
Daily except Sunday
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Pass By: Torre dell'Orologio, Piazza San Marco, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
clocktower from outside (meeting point)
Pass By: St. Mark's Square, Piazza San Marco, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
You will cross St. Mark's Square to get to the Doge's Palace and then to St. Mark's Basilica, both overlooking the square.
Stop At: Doge's Palace, Piazza San Marco, 1, 30124 Venice Italy
Visit a real jewel of Venetian Gothic architecture, which acted as the centre of the political power of Venice Republic.
Discover its precious rooms decorated with the masterpieces of many famous artists.
Admire the Giants' Staircase and the Golden Staircase, the Institutional Rooms and the Doge's Apartment.
Cross the world-known Bridge of Sighs and walk to the Prisons where Giacomo Casanova was also locked up.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Bridge of Sighs, Piazza San Marco, 1, 30122 Venezia VE, Italy
Cross the famous bridge which connects the Doge’s Palace to the New Prisons, where Giacomo Casanova was also locked up.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Saint Mark's Basilica, Piazza San Marco, 328, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
Visit the sumptuous cathedral of Venice and its beautiful golden mosaics and marble inlay flooring.
Admire treasures of great value, collected by the Venetians in various parts of the world, including the Golden Pall, a true masterpiece of the goldsmith's art.
Duration: 5 minutes
Pass By: St Mark's Campanile, Piazza San Marco, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
Belltower from outside
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Pass By: Torre dell'Orologio, Piazza San Marco, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
clocktower from outside (meeting point)
Pass By: St. Mark's Square, Piazza San Marco, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
You will cross St. Mark's Square to get to the Doge's Palace and then to St. Mark's Basilica, both overlooking the square.
Stop At: Doge's Palace, Piazza San Marco, 1, 30124 Venice Italy
Visit a real jewel of Venetian Gothic architecture, which acted as the centre of the political power of Venice Republic.
Discover its precious rooms decorated with the masterpieces of many famous artists.
Admire the Giants' Staircase and the Golden Staircase, the Institutional Rooms and the Doge's Apartment.
Cross the world-known Bridge of Sighs and walk to the Prisons where Giacomo Casanova was also locked up.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Bridge of Sighs, Piazza San Marco, 1, 30122 Venezia VE, Italy
Cross the famous bridge which connects the Doge’s Palace to the New Prisons, where Giacomo Casanova was also locked up.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Saint Mark's Basilica, Piazza San Marco, 328, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
Visit the sumptuous cathedral of Venice and its beautiful golden mosaics and marble inlay flooring.
Admire treasures of great value, collected by the Venetians in various parts of the world, including the Golden Pall, a true masterpiece of the goldsmith's art.
Duration: 5 minutes
Pass By: St Mark's Campanile, Piazza San Marco, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
Belltower from outside
Inclusions
- Guided tour
- Skip-the-line access to St. Mark’s Basilica
- Entry/Admission - Doge's Palace
- Entry/Admission - Bridge of Sighs
- Entry/Admission - Saint Mark's Basilica
- Guaranteed to skip the lines
Exclusions
- Gratuities
Departure Time
10:45 AM
Departure Point
Torre dell'Orologio, Piazza San Marco, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
Returns To
Saint Mark's Basilica, Piazza San Marco, 328, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
Additional Information
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Please arrive at the meeting point at least 10 minutes before the tour departure time
- At the tour departure point you will meet a representative who will check your vouchers and give you information to do the tour
- During the winter period (from November 1st to March 31st) the tour is bilingual, so explanations are provided in two languages if the audience provenience is mixed.
- No credit or refunds will be given in the case of a no show (if you don't show up at the meeting point at the time indicated on your voucher)
- This is a collective tour, which means there might be other participants going on the tour with you.
- In cases of religious ceremonies, exceptionally high tides or other special occasions, access to St. Mark's Basilica may not be permitted
- To visit St. Mark's Basilica it is necessary to dress appropriately (no shorts or vest or tops) and backpacks are not allowed for safety reasons.
- Please note that, due to the particular morphological structure of Venice and the logistic problems resulting from it, we cannot guarantee that the whole tour is accessible to people with limited mobility: This means that people with walking difficulties and wheelchair users could not be able to access some parts of the itinerary
- Languages available:
- April 1st to October 31st: English, Spanish, French, German: from Monday to Saturday Italian: Saturday. November 1st to March 31st: Bilingual tour
- (explanations are provided in two languages if the audience provenience is mixed) English: Monday to Saturday Spanish: Wednesday, Saturday French: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday German: Monday, Friday
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 100 travelers
Booking Information
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
Cancellation Terms
This trip is fully refundable up to 96 hours prior to the commencement of your trip.
Booking Terms and Conditions
When you book this trip, you need to read and accept the terms and conditions for booking our day trips in excursions.
Scoring an average traveller rating of 5 out of 5 based on the last 24 recent reviews
“
The guide was very knowledgeable in regards to the Doge's Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, and St. Mark's. Had a great time.”
Vincent T • Submitted 07 Nov 2019





“
A very interesting tour and did beat the queues!
However, the meet and greet experience did not live up to expectations. The staff only just arrived in time with about 30 people wondering what was going on and whether the tour was going ahead.. The tour sign which the documentation said would be unmissable - well it was. The staff were smart but not in the uniform descibed and were obvious uncomfortable.
Much praise should go to our actual guide who was excellent.
Back packs were easily left at a collection point.”
JULIA M ASTBURY T • Submitted 14 Oct 2019





“
Visited with my daughter and granddaughter. Tour was done in an excellent manner, and was very informatiioal.”
gordon • Submitted 11 Jul 2019





“
This was a very informative tour giving the history of Venice and descriptions of all the magnificent paintings in the Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s Basilica.”
Thomas B • Submitted 03 Jul 2019





“
These are the two top spots to see in Venice and the tour was well organized, not rushed. Both places were beyond our expectations, so much artwork, beauty, and history. Our tour guide was excellent. This can be a busy place so seeing it this way is a must do to skip the lines. Highly recommend!”
joeangarola • Submitted 31 Oct 2018





“
It was a great experience. No waiting time, the process was very efficient and organized. My tour guide was very knowledgeable. I would recommend this tour!!”
Josefa M • Submitted 24 Sep 2018





“
Wonderfully educated guide and a great experience.”
bonnelle04 • Submitted 01 Sep 2018





“
Great tour, but avoid going in July if you can, too hot and too crowded.”
lyengibar • Submitted 31 Jul 2018





“
Rosanna was our guide. Very knowledgeable, great personality. No waiting in line. Very informative and enjoyable on a hot and busy day!”
sgasiorski • Submitted 29 Jul 2018





“
The guides were easy to find, separated us by language. Be aware all churches require knees covered and shoulders, not just the Vatican. I wasn't prepared and had to buy a scarf for my shoulders. You will never understand the”
Jody P • Submitted 23 Jul 2018





“
We booked this tour in advance of arriving in Venice, having seen all the reviews on Viator. It was well organised and ran smoothly.
Our English speaking tour guide was very knowledgable and made the tour very interesting and at the right pace so we had enough time to explore and take photos. The Palace was very grand and the artwork and craftmanship was amazing, so much better to see in person than in the photos.
The Palace was not as busy as we thought it would be given the queues outside, the tour groups moved along at a steady pace so that they were never in the smaller rooms at the same time.
After the palace we moved onto St Mark's Basilica, there was another queue to get in but as we were in a tour group this was a lot shorter than the public queue. It really was worth getting the tour guide as we got all of the history on the beautiful mosaic ceilings and the jewel encrusted Golden Pall.
There really is no other way to see both of these famous sights in Venice.”
harpreet-thandi • Submitted 22 Jul 2018





“
Jun 29, 2018
Enjoyed the tour.”
sunnyzhao2017 • Submitted 29 Jun 2018





“
Incredible tour! Our tour guide was awesome and made this period of time come to life! We were there during Christmas time - very crowded, so skip the line tickets with a tour guide is definitely the way to go!”
Lisa • Submitted 29 May 2018





“
FANTASTIC! This tour is a must to gain a grand understanding of the development of Venice, from the early days of evading the barbarians to present day. The guide was quite informative! She took us on a journey into the past surrounded by overwhelming art and architecture. She kept us involved and in awe of the history of these two beautiful buildings. I was very impressed with her knowledge. The skip the line portion of the ticket is a MUST. we were able to go right into the buildings with very little of a wait. She was ensured were into the Basilica before they shut off the lights at about 11:30, that way we could view the ceiling mosaics more clearly. We were more than pleased with our experience and this tour!”
Robert L • Submitted 21 May 2018





“
I would Definitely recommend this tourI took this tour in December 2917. Gina was our tour guide, voluptuous Italian woman with red hair who was the best tour guide I have ever had - and I've travelled a lot. She was intelligent, knowledgable and extremely funny.”
Anne W • Submitted 20 Apr 2018





“
Great tour and lovely tour guide but the viator representative was quite rude. When we asked where to wait we were ignored.”
Kathryn O • Submitted 06 Apr 2018





“
Very good tour. Skip the Line is the only way to go.”
RoxAnn R • Submitted 01 Apr 2018





“
The tour guide was very enthusiastic and knowledge. They have some places to sit so you don’t have to stand the whole time. Definitely best to have skip the line.”
Stephanie K • Submitted 31 Mar 2018





“
Great experience in a short period of time. I'm sorry I don't remember our tour guide's name as this was early in lour trip. She was great and very funny. I would book this tour again. There is so much to know about Venice that only a guide will tell you.”
anikads88 • Submitted 12 Mar 2018





“
This tour was amazing!! Our guide was so knowledgable and enthusiastic about relaying the information. We would definitely book with this tour again!!”
Talia B • Submitted 22 Feb 2018





“
Fun tour on a rainy day. Please wear comfortable walking shoes and be ready to walk up and down stairs!”
Susan B • Submitted 21 Feb 2018





“
Very personal and informative tour. We learned why the Bridge of Sighs has its name. And something else I didn't expect from a history tour, was to begin to understand the importance of recording time in Venice. There were clocks and other devices that kept track of events and days and symbols. Look around when you go. You'll see lots of dials! Our guide was a proficient English speaker and took time to answer questions and respond to observations. Also, our fellow travelers were good company.”
pbradley0523 • Submitted 20 Feb 2018





“
Definitely worth it for being able to skip both lines. I loved this tour and seeing these places was just amazing. Our tour leader was very knowledgeable and her English was easy to understand. I would recommend this tour to a friend.”
ldurham7 • Submitted 29 Jan 2018





“
Great way to see this without waiting in line. Very informative”
Mrs E A • Submitted 24 Jan 2018





In Brief
Location:
Venezia, Italy
Country:
Italy
Duration:
2 hours 15 minutes
Operates:
Daily except Sunday
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