Venice Skip lines at Doge's & St. Mark's with Exclusive Sky Walk
Recommended by 91% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Venice, Italy
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace are steeped in history, and it’s no surprise that they’re among the Venice top attractions. When you visit them, do it the right way, with a small-group, skip-the-line tour that also visits exclusive sites within the attractions, such as the palace prisons and the basilica terraces. More time free? Upgrade to a day-long tour to include a Venice walking tour and gondola ride, too.
- Waste no time in hot ticket lines with prebooked attraction tickets
- See the architectural highlights of St. Mark’s Basilica with a guide
- Visit the passageways, prisons, and noble areas of the Doge’s Palace
- Catch all the commentary in a small group, capped at 15 people
What's Included
- Licensed English speaking guide
- Access to the Prisons of the Doge’s Palace
- Palazzo Ducale visit
- St. Mark's Basilica visit with exclusive acccess to terraces (€24)
- Skip the line entrance to San Mark's Basilica
- Guided walking tour + 30mins Gondola Ride (If upgrade option purchased)
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Piazza San MarcoP.za San Marco, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
Standard tour: Meet at 1:45 PM in St. Mark’s Sq., under the lion column, in front of Doge’s Palace. Look for the white “Towns of Italy” sign. Full Day Upgrade: • 9:15 AM – Walking Tour & Gondola Ride • 1:45 PM – Doge’s Palace & Basilica Tour Same meeting point. Move independently. Be 15 min early!
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
1
Basilica di San Marco
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
2
Palazzo Ducale
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
Ponte dei Sospiri
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- Please let us know in advance any special need or impaired mobility of the clients and we will do our best to accomodate them.
- A dress code is required to enter places of worship and selected museums. No shorts or sleeveless tops allowed. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women. You may risk refused entry if you fail to comply with these dress requirements.
- We are sorry to inform you that pets are not permitted on our tours
- 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
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.5
based on 43 reviews
Renay_S, Mar 2026
Lorenzo was so friendly and knowledgeable. I really enjoyed his passion for Venice. If you love in depth history, then this is for you.
Dianne_T, Oct 2025
Excellent knowledge of the entire tour. Very enjoyable and great sense of humor throughout the tour. Would recommend this tour guide above all others
PattyinVA, Sep 2025
It was a bit challenging to find the guide at the meeting point, there were LOTS of tours meeting at the same place. But once we found the guide, we were off with a quick "skip the lines" access. The guide was very informative, giving lots of history as we went along. Be aware, there are lots of steps to get to the upper levels. It was a bit long, 3 hours of standing and walking. We did take a short break in the middle for water and bathroom visit, which was very welcome. Great way to see the Basilica and Doge's Palace for the first time!
AndyPrice, Sep 2025
Don't arrive early. Just 15 min. before.
Meet under column with lion at top.
We arrived early and wandered in the square for an hour looking for guide.
Meeting point in email just said square.
It's a big square.
It was a 3 hour tour. Lots of walking.
Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. A very good tour, somewhat tiring.
Lorraine_B, Sep 2025
This tour is wonderful whether you're spending one day or a few days in Venice. You'll see all the major historical sites of importance in this tour. At St. Mark's Basilica, the mosaic tiles that cover the floors, the walls, the domes, etc, are incredible. The trip to the terrace to see the original 4 St Mark's Horses was good and the outside terrace with the views of the.piazza are unique. The artwork on the walls and ceilings ofnthe Doge's Palace are spectacular. Our guide, Lorenzo, was fabulous. He was very knowledgeable, interesting and accommodating. He was easy to hear and understand with the headsets, which are given out prior to the tour. The meeting place was very easy to find. I would most definitely recommend this tour to anyone wanting to see the major sites of Venice. For reference, we spent 1 day/night in Venice and got to see everything we wanted on this tour and still had time to explore the alleyways of Venice, stop at the Rialto Bridge for photos and have dinner on the Grand Canal. Perfect tour for our stay!
susan_h, Sep 2025
Our tour guide, Lorenzo Guglielmi, was extremely well prepared and deeply knowable of the historical background and architecture of the Doge's Palace and the Basilica. He was very passionate about Venice's story and the events that created the beauty and grandeur of those magnificent buildings. He was also very pleasant and humorous. We enjoyed our 3 hour tour very much!
James_L, Sep 2025
A very disappointing experience. The local tour operator did not have the proper authorizations to get all 8 of the participants into the church. 4 of us stood outside for 40 mins while he called his office to resolve and finally were told we would have to abandon the tour and request a refund. We did request the refund but it was denied and after numerous communications and attempts to escalate the decision, we were never called back with any results of the escalation and never received our $450 refund. Very dissatisfied and will never use Viator again! After using them for years in multiple countries!!
Eileen_L, Jul 2025
Lorenzo was a fantastic, knowledgeable, and passionate tour guide. Touring St. Marks and the Doges Palace without him would have been a huge mistake. MOST IMPORTANT ..... bare shoulders are not permitted and men must have shorts to the knees and women's knees covered. Unfortunately three ladies did not and had to go to a street vendor to purchase large scarfs to wrap around their waist/legs. St. Marks church was filled with ladies wearing scarf skirts OR Venice tee shirt tops. Towns of Italy should add this bit of information in their reminder email which is sent the day prior. Now onto the tour. The tour walks at a nice pace. There are many steps up to the 2nd floor of the church and Doges Palace. For those with stair issues there are elevators that need to be arranged on the spot with a employee of the Church or Palace. You do get separated from your tour but can easily find them again. This tour is a must if you go to Venice. Finally, do not follow google maps for your meeting place. It is wrong. Towns of Italy will send you an email the day prior with the specific, easy to find, meeting area. Highly recommend Lorenzo and Towns of Italy.
Danielle_R, Jun 2025
Absolutely stunning!! So glad this tour included the walk to the top of St. Mark’s - definitely worth it! Nice length, 3 hours, which covered the basilica and Doge’s place.
Chris_A, May 2025
Small group of 10 is great. Plenty of time to ask questions. Stairs were an issue for one older participant.
Robert_M, May 2024
One of the most insightful toys we’ve had. Our guide was so informative and friendly. Be prepared for lots of steps but what you expect with buildings this old.
Zachary_M, Sep 2023
This was a good tour and worth the extra to skip the lines. However, everyone on the tour had a different package the bought. One had three hours, ours was two, another was four. Also it seemed like there was supposed to be more stuff on the tour that we skipped.
Heather_S, Jun 2023
I highly recommend this tour if you are an art lover. Our guide, Lorenzo, was very interesting and informative. He was animated and made the tour interesting and fun. The artwork in the palace and church are truly breathtaking. A must-see if you are visiting Venice.
Charles_P, May 2023
Great experience and a very knowledgeable and entertaining guide. Would definitely recommend this small group tour.
Shane_S, May 2023
Ottavia was the best guide, informative, detailed, humorous and thoughtful when answering questions. We have done many tours over the last month and this one was the best.
Sarae_C, Jul 2022
I learned so much about the Venetian Republic and the history of Venice. Our guide Ericka was amazing. On the last portion of the tour we walked around Venice and Ericka answered all our questions about past and local life in Venice. The best tour ever!
Greta_G, May 2022
This company seriously Lacks customer support. They are concerned about getting paid. I would highly recommend looking for another option.
Valerie_P, Apr 2022
Unfortunately, we had an emergency come up and we were unable to make our scheduled tour time in Venice. We did not call in time to cancel the tour before hand because we were at the hospital in Venice. The tour company considered it a no show and will not refund our money. We were at the hospital in Venice with my daughter and I didn’t know how or who to contact about the trip. I didn’t know how long we would be in the emergency room. We were there over 4 hours and they refused to refund our money. I would not recommend using Viator or Florencetown the local tour operator in the future.
Sincerely
Valerie Pass
Response from Host, Apr 2022
Dear Valerie,
we tried to reach you on the day of the tour because you were not showing up to the meeting point, and after the tour departure you just informed us that you weren't able to join the experience.
We do have a heart and it is with you in this emergency, which we hope is now solved.
We are aware that health in the first place, and lost vacation time as well, have no price.
This is the main reason we always suggest our customers to purchase travel insurance, which luckily is included in most overseas packages, to offer some financial relief in case of unfortunate and not infrequent travel obstacles. Let us please suggest you to check your inscurance company, as these cases are usually covered by them.
On the other hand, we had a guide waiting for you on that day, and as a responsible and serious company, we paid the guide for the time she had reserved for our tour, nonetheless.
You are probably aware that the worldwide tourism industry, especially the art and historical cities in Italy, have been on their knees for the last 2 years, due to the pandemic. We have struggled to survive and few companies, like ours, are still here to give each tourism professionist a chance to keep doing what they love and are great at.
We are still here among a thousand difficulties but with the greatest enthusiasm and passion, and with an indestructible optimism for the future.
This is why it is extremely difficult for us, in these times, to grant exceptions to our cancellation policy, which is already the most customer-oriented of all the tourism industry: no other tourism sector allows such a short-notice full-refund cancellation (until 24 hours before the start of the tour): not the airline companies, not the hotel companies.
Showing such rancor as you did, writing even two negative reviews against us, when you surely know you were not entitled to a refund and you can still have the money back from your insurance company, means you probably are not quite understanding the situation.
Nonetheless, we are sincerely sorry for your issue and wish you a safe return back home.
Best regards
Michelle_S, Mar 2022
Excellent tour! Tour guide was amazing and money well spent to understand the political structure and Religious stories in the mosaics of the chapel. This is a must while in Venice.
Jonathan_L, Sep 2019
Lots to see and learn on this tour that featured the palace that at one time was the home of the Medici family in the earlier years of their rise to power, with many great works of art adorning their incredible home. The surrounding neighborhoods were also part of the trip. Our guide was knowledgeable and enthusiastic and was able to admirably convey the flavor of Florence during the Renaissance era.
From $130.32
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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