Guided Tours

Venice Icons: St. Mark’s Basilica & Doge’s Palace Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

Name: Venice Icons: St. Mark’s Basilica & Doge’s Palace Skip-the-Line Guided Tour
Start: 2025-01-16T11:15:00
End: 2025-01-16T12:45:00
Location: Venice

A female guide giving directions to a tourist in front of St. Mark’s Basilica

Courtyard of Doge's Palace in Venice with tourists exploring the historic architecture.

Doge Palace chambers interior with ornate ceilings and historical artifacts in Venice.

Explore two of Venice's most iconic attractions with priority access; St. Mark's Basilica and Doge's Palace led by a professional guide.

Highlights

Waltz into the Doge's Palace and St Mark's Basilica with your fast-track entry tickets, allowing you to skip the infamous queues.
Enjoy a 1.5 to 3-hour guided tour with an exemplary guide narrating interesting facts, important fragments of history, and gripping tales.
From the intricacy of the biblical sculptures of St. Mark's Basilica to the scary hallows and dingy prisons of Doge's Palace, this experience has it all.
Carry the exploratory spirit to museums of St. Mark's Square with access to the Royal Palace Museum and National Archeological Museum.
Fun fact: The National Archaeological Museum houses intriguing artifacts, like an ancient Roman toilet seat made of marble and Egyptian mummies!

Inclusions

Guided tour of St. Mark's Basilica & Doge's Palace with skip-the-line entry
Expert English, Italian, German, Spanish, or French-speaking guide
Headsets for groups of 10+ people

Access to:

Correr Museum
Marciana Library
National Archeological Museum
Access to the Pala d'Oro (as per option selected)

Exclusions

Access to the Old Prisons of Piombi and Pozzi

cancellation policy

You can cancel these tickets up to 24 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.

Reviews

4.3

2.5K ratings

5/5

1.6K

4/5

597

3/5

135

2/5

1/5

158

Guillaume

5/5

Jan, 2025

We picked up our tickets at the right place, and our guide was perfect, very kind and took the time to explain everything to us.

View original review in French

Ashton

5/5

Nov, 2024

We had a wonderful tour with Fransico!! He was very knowledgeable, friendly, and showed us the highlights of St Marks and Doge Palace. I would recommend this tour to anyone trying to see these iconic features of Venice!!

Dhaval

5/5

Nov, 2024

Ellena - our guide - was very informative and the way she took us through the history of Venice was simply amazing. Her command on facts and her way of story telling made the entire experience very enriching.

Lin

5/5

Nov, 2024

Me and husband would 1000%. Recommend our tourguide. She is passionate about the history and background of the premise and shared eith us some Venice history. Her stories are interesting and her explanation is clear.

Doris

3/5

Oct, 2024

No problem with finding the guide and she was personable. But, she rambled. Although the tour lasted the prescribed time, we felt rushed.

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Your experience

With this tour, you will get to visit two of the most emblematic attractions of Venice; St. Mark's Basilica and Doge's Palace with priority access and a tour guide.

Politics of Doge's Palace

The Doge's Palace is located in St Mark's Square and is one of the most fascinating and culturally rich monuments in Venice. Having been the seat of political and administrative power of the Venice Republic from its birth to its end, the Palazzo Ducale is a statement of the splendor of Venice. While you are here, devote all your attention to your guide as the halls and corridors of this building carry stories that will enthrall you no bound.

Explore St. Mark's Basilica

After the palace, walk into Venice’s most majestic cathedral; St Mark’s Basilica. Lay your eyes on masterpieces of Byzantine art, colorful marble installations, and shimmering gold mosaic art. Squinting your eyes when you enter the Basilica is only natural, thanks to the shimmering mosaics made with 24-carat gold leaves fused onto the back of the glass to exhibit divine light. Your tour guide is likely to conduct a session wherein you sit comfortably in a certain part of the church and he explains the biblical importance and peculiarities of this ancient basilica. Watch out for tales you may never have heard of before!

Know before you go

What's not allowed

For security reasons sacks, bags, or knapsacks are not allowed inside both Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica. You can deposit your belongings for free at Doge's Palace.

St. Mark's Basilica

Strict dress code: All guests must wear clothing that covers their shoulders and knees to enter the basilica.
Keep your camera tucked away – photography is strictly not allowed at the venue.

Doge's Palace

Shutterbugs, take note: Flash photography, tripods, selfie sticks, and any type of commercial photography is a no-go inside the venue.

Accessibility

Both venues are wheelchair and pram/stroller accessible.

St. Mark's Basilica

A ramp is available at the Porta del Fiori (Door of Flowers) entrance on the left-hand side of the basilica.
The Museum on the upper floor of the basilica is served by both a lift and stair lifts.

Doge's Palace

Please note that the Secret Itineraries, Prisons and Armory are not wheelchair accessible.

My tickets

Your voucher will be emailed to you instantly.
Please display the voucher on your mobile phone with a valid photo ID at the meeting point.
Please arrive at the meeting point 15 minutes before the scheduled time of your tour to avoid any delays.