Afternoon Tour: Basilica, Doge’s Palace & Gondola Ride in Venice

Venice, Italy

2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Nothing says Venice like a visit to St. Mark’s Basilica, or a gondola ride on the canals. But most tours make people choose between one or the other. Get the best of both worlds during this express combo package—ideal for travelers with limited time to spare. Explore the gilded interior of St. Mark’s and the Doge's Palace with a guide, then simply show your voucher for a shared gondola ride down the lagoon.

Visit St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace
Headsets are provided, to hear the guide clearly
Each gondola can accommodate up to five passengers
Learn about the unique history of iconic St. Mark's Square

What's Included

Pre-reserved tickets for St. Mark's basilica (€12) and Doge's Palace (€35)
Skip the line entrance and guided tour to the Saint Marks Basilica and Doge's Palace
Live tour commentary provided in English, French, Spanish or German
Professional local guide
Personal audio system and headset for tour commentary
Classic 30 min gondola ride
The tickets for the Doge's Palace allow you to visit: Bridge of Sighs, Armory, Correr Museum
Access to the National Archaeological Museum, the monumental rooms of Marciana National Library
The tickets for the Basilica allow you to visit (within 6 months) the following sites
Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta (Torcello), Sacrestia della Basilica della Salute
Pinacoteca Manfrediniana, Madonna dell'orto - S. Alvise, S. Andrea de la Zirada, S. Antonin
S. Beneto, S. Fantin, S. Felice, S. Giacomo dell’Orio, S. Giobbe, S. Giovanni elemosinario
S. Giovanni in Bragora, S. Marcuola, S. Maria dei Miracoli, S. Maria del Carmelo vulgo Carmini
S.Luca, S. Maria del Giglio, S. Maria del Rosario vulgo Gesuati, S. Maria Formosa
S. Martino di Castello, S. Marziale, S. Pietro di Castello, S. Polo, S. Samuele, S. Sebastiano
S. Simeon Piccolo, S. Sofia, S. Stae, S. Stefano, S. Trovaso
Santuario di Lucia - SS. Redentore, The Human Safety Net

Gratuities
Gondola ride is not guided
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Pala d'oro

€12.00 per person
Museum and Loggia dei Cavalli on the 1st floor

€12.00 per person
Secret itineraries

€40.00 per person
The Hidden Treasures of the Doge

€40.00 per person

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

TU.RI.VE. Meeting Point
Calle larga de l'Ascension, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
15 min before in Calle larga de l’Ascension - 30124 (behind the Correr museum on the opposite side of the Saint Marks Basilica). Look for the TURIVE assistant next to the post office San Marco.

End point

Campo San Moisè, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
The tour ends with the gondola ride in campo San Moisè.

Operating hours
.2:45 pm

Itinerary

Find your guide at Campo San Moisè, who will be holding a sign with the name of the tour company. Embark on a city walking tour through Venice's central area, exploring the area between Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge. Make stops at the Scala del Bovolo and Teatro la Fenice.

After your walking tour, board a gondola with your party (each gondola holds up to 6 people) and let the gondolier ferry you through the city's famed canals. Spend 30 minutes gliding through the Grand Canal (Salute area) and some of the minor canals in the Fenice area.

Your 2-hour tour ends up back at its gondola departure point.

TU.RI.VE. Meeting Point (Pass By)

Piazza San Marco

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Basilica di San Marco

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Palazzo Ducale

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Ateliers

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
Most travelers can participate
Operates in most weather conditions, please dress appropriately

-> APRIL-OCTOBER Doge's Palace & Basilica departure at 14:45 (2 H 15 MIN) ->NOVEMBER-MARCH Doge's Palace at 11.45 (1 H 15 MIN) Basilica at 13.45 (1 H)
-> APRIL-OCTOBER Gondola ride departure at 17:15 (30 MIN) -> NOVEMBER-MARCH Gondola ride departure at 15.00 (30 MIN)
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 matches the name provided at the time of booking for successful entry to St. Mark’s Basilica.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 3 days in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Featured review

Debbie_N

Rosanna was fabulous. I’m not sure that I spelled her name correctly. She gave very informative and fun to listen to facts about Saint Marks as well as Doge Palace. We also got to walk across the Bridge of Sighs, which was an important part of visiting the Doge Palace for me. She let us spend whatever time we needed to take pictures or ask questions. She was very personable and friendly. We really enjoyed her! When we got done, we went back to the original meeting place as per instructions and no one was there, but within about five minutes, one of our guys showed up and took us to the gondola ride, which was again amazing! The highlight of coming to Venice! I can’t say enough wonderful things about this tour. I felt like we had a fabulous experience and the price was very reasonable.

Reviews

4.0

based on 15 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Amazing Venice

Jeff_W, Apr 2026

Fantastic guided tour, Our tour guide was brilliant, her English outstanding, her knowledge was amazing, friendly & helpful. The visit to the Doges Palace & Brisciaic was superb. Gondala ride wonderful, saw parts of Venice we had not been to. Would recommend this to everyone. Thanks for a wonderful day.

Perfecto!

Debbie_N, Apr 2026

Poorset of service from tour operators

Leonora_J, Sep 2025

Our water taxi was late but we could have made it to the tour being late coming from the mainland by about 5 minutes. However I was informed that we would not be permitted to join once the tour started. Then I asked if I could come straight there with my suitcase. That apparently is also not permitted. So, after paying a whole lot of money for something I really wanted to see, I was not able to because of silly rules, whether they are real or made up I dont know. Dont understand them if they were real. No advice, not telling me when the next tour is, nothing at all.. only no. All in all Venice was a huge disappointment, from rude public workers to the unpleasantness of locals towards “tourists” and the fact that there were no assistance or advice offered by tour operators for any small unforeseen hickup. On another tour I asked where the pick up spot was and the only answer I consistently received was “dont forget your voucher”. viator should really make more of an effort to vet these tours and make sure whet is advertised is actually correct. They are expensive enough.

Response from Host, Sep 2025

Thank you for your kind message, as per the booking , conditions are very clear as these are tours which have high request and volume of guests and needs to be purchased in advance with the Basilica. Conditions are clear stating that if guests are late or can not show up on time it will be impossible to accomodate another time, as the reservations for entrance need to be sent 2 days in advance to the staff at the Basilica with all names. Unfortunately, all details and booking conditions are stated at the time of booking and can be reviewed again prior to the tour. We had explained this kindly to you as well a few hours prior to the tour, which you kindly understood. Thank you so much for your kind understanding and we hope to welcome you back in our city. Sending kindest regards, Venice Events

Family friendly & so informative!

Tanya_H, Jul 2025

Very informative as we knew nothing about Venice history- we added the gondola ride to the end & the kids (ages 14-23) found it interesting. They loved ending on the gondola! Audio buds were a tad large- uncomfortable & spotty at times to hear but we just stood close enough to hear her voice! Well organized team & we felt safe with them!

Response from Host, Jul 2025

Hello Tanya, Thank you for your kind and thoughtful review. You kind feedback helps us improve our tours and experiences. We look forward to welcome you back in Venice. Sending kind regards, Team Venice Events

Tour was very enjoyable. ...

Kristine_F, Jun 2025

Tour was very enjoyable. The tour guide, Micro was very informative and very entertaining. Although it was hot, it was well worth doing.

Response from Host, Jul 2025

Hello Kristine, Thank you for your kind and thoughtful review. You kind feedback helps us improve our tours and experiences. We look forward to welcome you back in Venice. Sending kind regards, Team Venice Events

venice is very beautiful

Marjorie_V, Aug 2024

the tour of st mark's was very informative and interesting. the guide was great and everything went smoothly. however the wait time between the end of the tour til the gondola was too long with no place to sit at st. mark's.

Response from Host, Sep 2024

Hello, thank you for your kind and honest review. We are grateful you could join us for our tour. We hope to welcome you back again in the future. Sending kind regards, Team Venice Events

Asking for $30 refund per ticket for short Gondola ride

Linda_L, Oct 2023

We only got a 15 minute gondola ride! We were promised more. We had to wait a long time while most of the group were riding and then got a very short ride in order to make the meeting for the walking tour. The walking tour was very good. I am asking Viator for a $30 refund per ticket.

Professional and courteous tour company

Stephanie_E, Jul 2023

We missed our originally scheduled tour time (thunderstorm plus Venice is very hard to navigate at times- leave your hotel early!) but we were able to get on with another tour and were so grateful! Our tour guide was a native Venetian and passionate about city history. There is a lot you miss in the narrow streets and she covered so much. We had time to do the gondola ride, which was lovely and lasted about 20 minutes. The queue for the gondola was a little hectic and we were standing in the sun for a while so bring water and a parasol if you’re visiting in the summer. Otherwise, great experience.

Not good for the money spent.

Cynthia_M, Jul 2023

The gondola ride was nice but they just take you around, no discussion about anything, very assembly-line like (and you can get a gondola ride on your own for significantly chaper). However, the walking tour was not good. We expected a walking tour of ~ 1.5- 2 hours and the guide spent the first 20 minutes checking out the radios. Then, we saw no highlights of Venice at all. It was like she just wanted to take us to see three sisterns and a theatre that had burned down a couple of times in a non-descript part of the area near where the tour office was for 50 minutes. She spent more time telling us over and over about how we had to stay to the side so anyone (other than us) could get by, where she was going to turn and how we had to be back for the gondola (why the tour was so short). It felt like maybe this tour operator got paid by the city to keep tourists out of the way.The walking tour part wasn't a tour at all but a complete waste of time and money.

We had a great adventure...

George_E, Jun 2023

We had a great adventure with our gondola and later with Donatella, who we are highly recommending. We saw a lot of secret sightseeings around Venice and also had a lot of information concerning the relationship of Verona to our country.

Gondola ride the highlight

Gill_L, May 2023

The gondola ride was good. The walking tour was good in the way you saw things you wouldn’t see otherwise although at times it was rather boring and hard to understand the guide as he mumbled

Response from Host, May 2023

Thanks for sharing your review with us!

Beautiful Venice

Manuela_S, Oct 2022

We enjoyed the Gondola Ride and the walking tour very much. The guide was very informative and walked us through very interesting alleys and kept us attentive.

Response from Host, Nov 2022

Thank you very much for your review, we really appreciated :-)

Worth it!

Hunter_R, Oct 2022

Gondola ride was actually really good. Loved the smaller canals and a little of the grand canal. Walking tour was a bit fast paced but overall good experience :)

Walking Tour and the Gondola Ride

Roam07773589735, Jun 2019

The gondola ride was amazing with plenty of picture opportunities! It was relaxing, with opportunities to talk to locals if you know Italian. For the walking tour, it was very boring. The guide talked mainly about architecture, which I have no interest in.

Visita perfecta para dos DIAS en Venecia

JuanPablo_P, Apr 2022

Martina, la guía, excepcional. Español perfecto y explicaciones justas, interesantes y prácticas. El paseo en góndola de 30 minutos se queda corto, pero eso depende de lo que cada uno quiera contratar.

Likely to Sell Out