Skip the Line Venice Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica Tour
Venice, Italy
- 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
View two highlights of St. Mark’s Square in Venice without waiting in the main entrance lines on this time-saving walking tour. Bypass the ticket lines at the Doge’s Palace to see its gilded rooms, and cross the Bridge of Sighs to the Palazzo Delle Prigioni Nuove as you learn about the 1,000-year history of Venice’s republic. Then, tour St. Mark’s Basilica to admire the mosaics and treasures of this Byzantine masterpiece.
- Learn about Venetian history from your guide
- Save time with included skip-the-line admission
- Hear your guide better with included headsets (for groups of 10 or more)
- Choose between morning and afternoon departures (for Spanish and English-language tours)
What's Included
- 2.5 hours tour
- Professional guide
- Guaranteed to skip the long lines
- Headsets to hear the guide clearly (for groups larger than 10 people)
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Campo S. Zaccaria, 4683g, 30122 Venezia VE, Italy
Departure Point: Campo San Zaccaria 4683/g in front of the Church of San Zaccaria
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Meet your guide at the post office near St. Mark’s Square and stroll to the Doge’s Palace, the power base of the Venetian Republic for many centuries.
Admire the exquisite Gothic exterior, and bypass the main entrance lines with your skip-the-line ticket. Pass through security, and tour the opulent rooms, adorned with masterpieces by artists like Titian and Tintoretto. As you explore, listen as your guide tells tales of Venice’s doges and their ruling councils, charting the history of the 1,000-year republic and those who shaped its fortunes.
See the stunning gold staircase as you learn its history, and follow in the steps of prisoners who once crossed the famous Bridge of Sighs to their incarceration. Hear about prisoners like Giacomo Casanova and others, and view the bleak prison itself.
Next, head for St. Mark’s Basilica, another St. Mark’s Square showpiece. Admire the ornate façade, and pass the main lines for a comprehensive tour of this Byzantine masterwork.
See the gold mosaics and marble floor inlays, and view highlights including the gold, gem-encrusted Pala d'Oro alterpiece and the icons and riches in the Treasury.
Your tour then finishes in St. Mark’s Square when your guide departs.
Admire the exquisite Gothic exterior, and bypass the main entrance lines with your skip-the-line ticket. Pass through security, and tour the opulent rooms, adorned with masterpieces by artists like Titian and Tintoretto. As you explore, listen as your guide tells tales of Venice’s doges and their ruling councils, charting the history of the 1,000-year republic and those who shaped its fortunes.
See the stunning gold staircase as you learn its history, and follow in the steps of prisoners who once crossed the famous Bridge of Sighs to their incarceration. Hear about prisoners like Giacomo Casanova and others, and view the bleak prison itself.
Next, head for St. Mark’s Basilica, another St. Mark’s Square showpiece. Admire the ornate façade, and pass the main lines for a comprehensive tour of this Byzantine masterwork.
See the gold mosaics and marble floor inlays, and view highlights including the gold, gem-encrusted Pala d'Oro alterpiece and the icons and riches in the Treasury.
Your tour then finishes in St. Mark’s Square when your guide departs.
Piazza San Marco (Pass By)
1
Basilica di San Marco
1 hour 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Palazzo Ducale
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
3
Ponte dei Sospiri
2 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Palazzo Delle Prigioni Nuove
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- 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
- Because of security checks you might experience a line to get inside the Doge Palace and St. Mark's Basilica. You will skip the line for non-reserved tickets but security check is mandatory.
- Maximum of 25 people on each tour
- 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 MACHES THE NAME PROVIDED AT THE TIME OF BOOKING FOR SUCCESSFUL ENTRY TO ST. MARK'S BASILICA.
- St Mark’s Basilica entry tickets are priced at €12 per person
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 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
4.0
based on 264 reviews
Wade_M, Apr 2026
Our guide was excellent tour and history provided interesting- some narrow stairs and climbings. Prison part was cool- must do in Venice.
Steve_Z, Nov 2025
Tour operator ignored my communication over several days and failed to allow me to join tour on day scheduled.
Response from Host, Nov 2025
you made reservation through Viator and it is clearly indicated that you can cancel or cgange up to 24 hours in advance but you have to do it through Viator
David_B, Oct 2025
Amazing and knowledgeable tour guide Denise provided much history of both the basilica and palace. Highly recommend
Deborah_D, Sep 2025
Our tour guide was fantastic and extremely knowledgeable. She was very pleasant and courteous. I would book again with her for any tour!
Janice_W, Aug 2025
This was a great tour of the Basilica & palace, our guide Denise had such a knowledge of Venice & its history that we totally enjoyed our time with her.
Austin_H, Jun 2025
The checkin process had a line that was unexpected and as a result we missed our tour. One checkin operator printing tickets - feel was h like other Viator tours, more commercial and as we expected to meet the guide in the square we actually had to get in line at the square, and in the meantime we missed the tour because the line took us 10+ minutes. If you do this tour make sure you arrive early or they will leave without you due to the line. The tour desk worked to arrange us to meet the guide for the second part but the first was missed and no refund.
Megan_L, Jun 2025
The guide never showed up, so we were unable to see the Basilica and it is sold out for weeks so we will never be able to see it.
Kathy_R, Jun 2025
The tour operator cancelled the tour without notifying us.
The directions for the meeting point were not specific. They said to meet in front of the Church of San Zaccaria, but not exactly where. They failed to mention that we were to check in at the ticket office, which was in the square. At that point, it was too late to book another tour.
Dimconway, May 2025
We were waiting in line to check in and spoke to a couple tour guides that were gathering their tour groups. They told us to check in. Then a tour associate pulled us to the front of the line when it was time to depart. We shared our online reservation details at the check in counter but they had a problem and after more than 5 minutes he gave us 4 tickets. Then a tour associate rushed us on a 5 minute walk to try and catch our group. When we got to St Marks our tour group had already entered the Basilica. Then we were denied access to St Marks because they check in counter gave us 12:30 entry tickets instead of our prepaid 11:00 tickets. We had to wait 30 minutes to enter and missed the first half of the tour. This was a very stressful and frustrating event. The tour guide was good once we caught up but the sound receivers had a lot of static which caused us to miss much of the details.
Shirley_M, Dec 2024
Arrived 2 minutes late and was told guide had left 5 minutes earlier and might be able to catch up. Never saw the group and did the tour on our own. This is the 4th Viator trip we had booked and the others we had to always wait for late arrivers sometimes up to 30 minutes.
Vincent_L, Dec 2024
Elisa was outstanding in her knowledge, enthusiasm and connecting with my daughters in their 20s.
….
Gloria_R, Oct 2024
Terrible guide, took too long to find meeting place and then guide had nervous laugh, breathing problems and rushed off basically telling us we were to finish our tour on our own
Julianne_S, Oct 2024
St Mark’s is STUNNING!! Our guide was very knowledgeable but her English was difficult to understand, especially when she was walking. On the way to the cathedral she never looked back to see if she had the group. It was hard for my 84 year husband to keep up with her. The Doges Palace was impressive too. However the two tour were far longer than advertised.
Michael_D, Oct 2024
Did not go on the tour, the local ticket agent did not give me all the required tickets, so we blocked from the tour. The local agent said it was not his problem, the tour guide did nothing to resolve the error. I the contacted Viator and was informed no money back, not their problem. I missed the tour Viator keeps the money. Will vent my concerns on line.
Mark_B, Sep 2024
Why didn't the joining instructions say "Go to the Tour Shop kiosk (with very inconspicuous Viator logo amongst others) in S Zaccaria Square to register, pick up the headset and be allotted to your tour party."? So simple to say but not explained on the ticket. The guide had huge knowledge but spoke fast in a strong accent. The headsets were problematic and the signal broke up a lot - especially in the prison!!
However, the enormous heavily-decorated rooms in the Palace are extraordinary. St Mark's is also richly decorated and beautiful with so much history. The terrace and museum display of the four horses are a must-see.
Dianne_B, Aug 2024
St. Mark's basilica was beautiful and the four horses were amazing. The Doges Palace was over the top in beauty and grandeur!
Carmen_C, Aug 2024
Again a wonderful experience! Amazing sites accompanied by the interesting narration of our knowledgeable tour guide -Rebecca- which put all we were seeing into historical context. Fabulous!!
Merin_D, Jul 2024
We had mixed reviews on this tour. I need to preface by saying it was incredibly hot and I loved the passion of the guide. However, it was very difficult to understand her as her accent, though beautiful, was very strong. A bunch of people on the tour left because they couldn’t understand the guide and didn’t like all of the detailed information. We stuck it out but it was difficult because we both felt like we missed a lot of info. Going with a guide was very helpful though because it allowed us to skip the lines. This tour was very long and I would recommend breaking it up. Unfortunately we did race through the rooms in Doges palace (one of my favorite palaces in the world as this was my second time there) which made me feel like I wanted to go back again with a different guide.
Amanda_C, Jul 2024
Meeting Point easy to find. Our guide Donata was exceptional! She was able to answer many detailed questions about the palace and Basilica and was very attentive to our group's needs
Jacob_K, Jul 2024
I have never written a review although I have used many private tour experiences in multiple cities and countries. In Italy alone I have had multiple. This review is about a private family tour for Doge Palace and St Marks Basilica. I also want to mention I tried to deal with both Viator and the Vendor, Very Venice Tours but neither were willing to speak with me. I had this tour with my family and was beyond disappointed. The guide was very nice but had a great deal of difficulty with speaking English, especially with a younger audience. Frequently whispering when no one was around in large building made the visits both wasteful but also disappointing. The content provided was weak and not suitable for a family. Multiple family guides were around us at times and we found ourselves wishing over and over we were with them instead of our guide. Once the tour ended we redid both locations ourselves and were able through the internet and YouTube piece the information together. Sadly we wasted an exorbitant amount of money and time beforehand. Repeated attempts to speak to the tour operator VERY VIVA VENICE TOURS ignored sadly.
Patricia_S, Jul 2024
The experience was wonderful although we actually missed our tour as we had difficulty locating the "Tour Store". The representatives encouraged us to see the palace and St. Mark's on our own which allowed us plenty of time to explore the two sites. There are many people and tour groups in the square so finding locations and navigating the water ways is a challenge until one does it once or twice. Being at Doge's in the evening is wonderful with the muted colors and few people present. Would recommend as there is so much to see that one can have sensory overload which a guide would help to minimize. It is important to know you have to leave the square to sign in at a Tour Store that is off the square.
Ramona_B, Jul 2024
Great tour guide! We enjoyed seeing the beautiful architecture and the details of all these historical places in Italy. We were in awe of the beauty.
Cynthia_M, Jul 2024
Good, but a bit too much information. Things began to be repetitious and lost interest. Nice guide though.
Fareed_A, Jul 2024
Guide was very informative and tailored it to our time allowance. Covered all the major highlights and the right amount of details.
Andrew_L, Jul 2024
She was so sweet and provided a lot of information that I wouldn’t have found elsewhere without her. She also provided insight into how to spend the rest of our day in Venice and gave recommendations on how to stay dry when it rained but still see Venice!
Kathy_A, Jun 2024
great places to see -- a must-do if in Venice. Our guide, was ok -- she moved very quickly, not sure if she knew how many people were in her group -- she also could have talked along the walk to the Basilica, providing info of what we were seeing or simply checking in that everyone was following.
Robin_V, Jun 2024
The guide was nice but when we left St. Mark's Basilica he went so fast and we had slow people in front of us down the stairs so coming out into the square we lost him. He never held up his # sign and with 100's of people we didn't know which way he went. We had to do Doge's palace on our own. If I wanted to do a self tour, I could have paid less $
Caryn_B, Jun 2024
Seeing the inside of the basilica and the palace was the best part of the tour. However we felt we were intruding on a private tour as the guide directed all her comments to one family who asked numerous questions and she would then go on about other topics. The tour was gradually being delayed and we left before tour was over.
Liz_C, Jun 2024
Tour guide was great. She was very informative and helpful. Issue was the confusion regarding the transition from one tour to the next. Total tour time was much longer than planned.
Steve_T, May 2024
Very interesting places to see.
Our biggest problem was the English.
A very nice guide who had a lot of knowledge, but his accent was very thick so we couldn't really understand anything he said. Not his fault he tried hard even tried to slow his talking down. It was a lot of money spent without getting any info.. apart from that what we saw was amazing just didn't get any info on it
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per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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