Skip-the-Line: Doge's Palace & St. Mark's Basilica Fully Guided Tour
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Venice, Italy
+25
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
The entrance lines at Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice can sometimes feel like they last forever. Bypass the annoyance of waiting in long queues by prebooking a Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica skip-the-line tour. Perfect for those with a limited time in Venice, you’ll visit both big attractions with a guide leading the way and loading you with historical information you wouldn’t hear otherwise.
- Get special, skip-the-line access to Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica
- Navigate the crowded area more efficiently with a guide
- Audio headsets are provided so you don’t miss your guide’s commentary
- Choose from a morning or afternoon tour time depending on your preference
What's Included
- English/Spanish-speaking guide (depending on option selected)
- Skip the line Access and entrance ticket to the Doge’s Palace
- Skip the Line Access to St. Mark’s Basilica
- Groups of 25 people or less
- Audio headsets when appropriate, so you can always hear your guide
- Food/Beverage
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Calle de le Rasse, 4536, 30122 Venezia VE, Italy
Meet at Calle de le Rasse, 4536, 30122 Venezia VE From St. Mark's Square, face the basilica, turn right toward the Doge’s Palace, pass the Bridge of Sighs, reach the waterfront, then walk 2 minutes and turn left onto Calle de le Rasse. The meeting point is at number 4536.
End point
- Doge's PalaceP.za San Marco, 1, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
This tour ends inside Doges' Palace.
Itinerary
Head to your meeting point in central Venice, where you'll find your City Wonders guide and group.
At Doge's Palace, save time as you bypass the line for entry and head directly inside. Your guide will take your through the palace's highlights and art, adding historical context and pointing out details you might otherwise miss. Walk through the rooms and admire the stunning frescoes.
Your tour continues through St. Mark’s Square to St. Mark’s Basilica, where you'll also save time with skip-the-line access. Opt to linger for longer at the end of the tour to see the views from the terraces at your own expense, or exit with your guide.
At Doge's Palace, save time as you bypass the line for entry and head directly inside. Your guide will take your through the palace's highlights and art, adding historical context and pointing out details you might otherwise miss. Walk through the rooms and admire the stunning frescoes.
Your tour continues through St. Mark’s Square to St. Mark’s Basilica, where you'll also save time with skip-the-line access. Opt to linger for longer at the end of the tour to see the views from the terraces at your own expense, or exit with your guide.
1
Piazza San Marco
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Palazzo Ducale
1 hour 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
Basilica di San Marco
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- 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
- Basilica tickets are priced at €12 per person. Doge's Palace tickets are priced at €30 per adult. All additional charges are considered administrative costs
- We regret that we are unable to accommodate guests with wheelchairs or any impairments requiring special assistance. We are also unable to accommodate strollers or baby carriages on our group tours.
- Please note that the itinerary for our tours may differ from the advertised order of destinations. We assure you that any changes made to the tour itinerary are carefully planned and intended to enhance your overall experience.
- The Municipality of Venice has introduced an Access Fee that applies on specific dates. To avoid any inconvenience, we recommend checking the official guidelines and completing the necessary registration through the provided link before your visit.
- Please note that entry to St. Mark’s Basilica is subject to a strict dress code. Guests must ensure that their shoulders and knees are covered. Visitors who do not comply with these requirements may be refused entry.
- 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
4.5
based on 2,375 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
THOMAS_M, Sep 2026
Great experience. History information really amazing. Our guide was really knowledgeable and full of information as well as enjoyable in his explanations of it all
Michelle_M, Sep 2026
There are many steps in Doge’s Palace. The meeting spot was a little ways from the actual Dog’s Palace
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Hi Michelle_M,
Thanks for joining us on the Doge’s Palace tour and we wish you a lovely stay in Venice!
Sadaf_S, Sep 2026
This unfortunately was not great, unlike a similar tour we had in Florence. In this case, the main issue was the tour guide. Lovely lady but really unengaging way of explaining things and focussing on too fine and uninteresting details, rather than giving a broader overview. On a couple of occasions, we found ourselves eavesdropping to other guides' explanations which made the same room in the Doge's palace so much more interesting, than what we had heard from our own guide.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Dear Sadaf_S,
Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry the tour did not meet your expectations and that the guiding style was not suited to your preferences.
We appreciate your comments and will share them with the relevant team to help us improve.
Anthony_W, Sep 2026
This was a good experience and means of learning about the history of the city. The context was fantastic. I recommend going early in the day and allocating an extra 30 minutes for orientation before the tour begins.
Andrew_S, Sep 2026
We thought this tour was great; it was great to see these places/ skip the line, was very informative, and we felt like it was an appropriate amount of time without feeling like it was too much. Our guide Valentina was great and very knowledgeable!
Kellee_H, Sep 2026
We did the Doge’s Palace and St. Marks Basilica tour in Venice with City Wonders and they were great! It was a little hard to find the meeting place, but once we did, the tour was great and the tour guide was wonderful.
diana_H, Sep 2026
Lovely experience. Funny and knowledgeable tour guide. We wore ear pieces through the entire tour which allowed us to hear our tour guide clearly even if we stayed a little behind. Both doges palace and the basilica are stunning. My 80 year old mom was so happy we did this tour.
Suzanne_F, Sep 2026
Lucia (Luci) was very thorough. She explained in detail all of the important information. She also made sure we were all together as a large group.
ANNE_M, Sep 2026
Excellent tour with a very knowledgeable guide. Rita was lovely and shared great stories throughout the tour.
Mikarla_P, Sep 2026
Zoe was wonderful, spoke great English and had a great sense of humour. We loved exploring these beautiful historic areas and highly recommend this skip the queue option.
Gavin_N, Sep 2026
Phillipo was an amazing guide so much knowledge of the history of Venice & was born here. The tour of St Mark's Basillica & the Doge's Palace was incredible a must do.
Renee_C, Sep 2026
Not good -rather superficial information from our guide. she was very nice but I could have done without her.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear that the tour did not meet your expectations. While we’re glad you found the guide pleasant, we understand that you were looking for more detailed and engaging information. We appreciate your comments and will share them with our team.
Vicki_S, Sep 2026
At 15 minutes prior to my arrival tour time of 2:30pm, I was told they the tour operator had changed the time for tour to 2pm! I was welcome to try to catch up to them, but they could not give me any hearing devices. Supposedly, they notified me via text message. I did not receive any text. My last text came in day before tour on 8/21@ 7am confirming scheduled tour for 8/22 @ 2:30 pm and to be there 15 minutes prior. There was no tour! Trying to get a refund. I do not know what number they messaged me to change time, but it was not mine and would have been possible, I just had no clue!
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Hi Vicki,
I'm sorry for the last minute change, we have tried to reach you to inform you, but as you could not join the tour we offered a free reschedule or full refund.
If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to reach out. We are here to assist you.
Rain_T, Sep 2026
Beware that if you run into circumstances that are out of your control no refund is offered, only a “reschedule.” Public water bus would not let us enter, making us inevitably 15 minutes late. There, we booked same day tickets through St. Marks website for WAY CHEAPER by ourselves. While there was no guide, we enjoyed without. You could always YouTube a audio guide if you deem necessary. The company directed me to Viator, and Viator directed me to the company. Overall frustrating and confusing.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Dear Viator Support Team,
We believe this review should be removed because it contains content that is not relevant to the actual experience provided by our company and includes promotional/commercial commentary about alternative purchasing options.
Most importantly, the customer acknowledges that they were unable to arrive at the meeting point on time due to an issue with the public water bus.
The review subsequently promotes purchasing tickets independently through the St. Mark's website, and recommends using YouTube as an alternative to a professional guided tour. These statements are essentially promoting alternative commercial services/products rather than reviewing the experience they actually received from our company.
The customer also did not participate in the guided tour, meaning the review does not accurately evaluate the tour, guide, itinerary, or service that was provided to participating customers.
We therefore respectfully request that Viator review this content under its review guidelines and remove the review.
Thank you for reviewing this request.
Rjamesvp, Sep 2026
Very informative and a wonderful tour seeing amazing buildings with rich history. Our guide, Zoe, was super nice and helped us have an amazing experience.
Robert_H, Sep 2026
We really enjoyed our tour with Valentina!
Her passion for the history and art interpretations in the Cathedral and the Doge Palace was outstanding!
She had wonderful stories and also little tidbits about current Venetian life.
We highly recommend this tour- very comprehensive in the perfect amount of time!
Karen_W, Sep 2026
Our guide Anna was knowledgeable, funny, and very organized. We learned so much from her in a relatively short time. Sometimes, taking tours with headsets in large crowds can make it hard to hear your guide's voice, which unfortunately happened occasionally to us, but it did not dampen our experience!
Susan_L, Sep 2026
Itinerary was changed. Not hosts fault but communication was difficult.
Our guide Zoe must be a teacher. We loved learning about everything but she would ask questions and WAIT for an answer. If the answer was not forthcoming she’d seemed annoyed. Come on! We’re hot, tired and there’s no place to rest!! All the benches are roped off. Great take - just chill.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Dear Susan,
Thank you for sharing your feedback.
We’re pleased to hear that you enjoyed learning about Venice and appreciated Zoe’s knowledge and passion for the history.
While itinerary changes may occasionally be necessary for operational reasons, we’re glad that Zoe was able to make the experience informative and engaging. We’ll also share your comments with her and our team, as guest feedback helps us continue improving the experience.
We hope to welcome you again on another City Wonders tour!
Kelly_H, Sep 2026
The Skip the Line Doge Palace and St Mark’s two hour tour was great. The tour guide Zoey was informative and knowledgeable.
Alexandre_K, Sep 2026
Monica was a very knowledgeable, interesting, interactive and attentive guide. We really enjoyed an excursion with her. Thank you very much!
Calvin_B, Sep 2026
This was our second time doing this tour, and it was ok but visitor did not clearly communicate the dress code for the church, but is happy to sell you coverups at the last minute. I felt this was intentional, as none of the reminder emails had the info. Ladies need pants or long skirt and. Covered shoulders.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Hi Calvin,
Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear you felt the dress code information was not clearly communicated.
We would like to clarify that the dress code is provided in the “Know Before You Go” section on the website and under the Important Notes on the tour voucher, which states: “Entrance into churches requires a strict dress code. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women. City Wonders cannot be held responsible for refused entry due to improper dress.”
We encourage all guests to review these details before the tour to ensure a smooth experience.
Cherie_P, Aug 2026
Maybe not worth it.
Really nice tour guide but hard to understand because of the earpieces they used, substandard. And too many people on the tour, 24 is too much for a small group.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Dear Cherie_P,
Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry the audio equipment and group size affected your experience. We’re glad you enjoyed the guide and appreciate your comments, which will help us improve our tours.
Melvin_M, Aug 2026
Very detailed explanation of the paintings in the Doge Palace by our guide Anna. St Marks and Bridge of Sighs / Prison was very interesting. Well worth the trip.
Luis_A, Aug 2026
Best to go on a guided tour to understand the history and better appreciate the highlights of the place.
Brittney_T, Aug 2026
Abigail was the perfect guide for our Doge’s Palace tour! She was incredibly knowledgeable and explained everything in a way that was interesting and easy to follow. Her sense of humor made exploring in the summer heat so much more enjoyable, and we really appreciated all of her recommendations and little tips along the way. She made the history come to life without ever making the tour feel overwhelming. Such a great experience and we would absolutely recommend touring with Abigail!
CJ_O, Aug 2026
Rita our English speaking guide, was friendly, knowledgeable and informative! Great experience. Thank you!
Jaime_K, Aug 2026
Our guide, Joy, was phenomenal and gave us excellent insight into the Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica! We were brought in and had all our questions asked. Thank you!
Nicole_M, Aug 2026
If you can take the venice heat. Great tour. Rita was very knowledgeable. I highly recommend 👌 ☺️ 👍
Ronald_S, Aug 2026
This was a good tour of the palace, prison and basilica. It was great to directly enter the sites without worry about lines and to get interesting info throughout. Michaela did a good job informing us and managing the group amidst crowds.
Jennifer_S, Aug 2026
Michela is an amazing guide. Her knowledge about the basilica and palace is impressive and helped us learn so much about both locations.
From $87.67
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Skip-the-Line: Doge's Palace & St. Mark's Basilica Fully Guided Tour
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