St Mark’s Basilica small-group guided tour with optional Gondola
Recommended by 91% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Venice, Italy
- 45 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Explore our promoted experiences
Overview
Waiting in long ticket lines can be tiring—especially if it’s at one of Venice’s most visited attractions—St. Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco). Save yourself the trouble by choosing this prebooked entry ticket with handy priority access. With your guide and group, head straight inside to discover the historic building's magnificent architecture, and as you explore, learn about its storied past.
- This concise tour is perfect for those short on time in the city
- Check off the church's highlights with the help of your guide
- Save precious vacation time with priority access and prebooked entry
- Upgrade to include a gondola ride through the iconic canals
What's Included
- Local licensed tour guide
- Skip-the-line ticket to the Saint Mark's Basilica
- Gondola Ride (if option selected)
- Hotel pick up and drop-off
- Gondola Ride (if not selected)
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- P.za San Marco, 145, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
Your guide will be in Piazza San Marco at number 145. The exact location is under the arcade, under the blue clock tower. Next to the meeting place you'll see a money change. The guide will be at the meeting point holding a yellow sign with "TOUR" written on it.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Operating hours.2:00 pm
Itinerary
1
Piazza San Marco
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Basilica di San Marco
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
Ponte dei Sospiri
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- This Tour runs rain or shine.
- Minors must be accompanied by an adult
- This tour is guaranteed with a minimum number of 2 participants
- Please remember that you have to follow a precise dress code for the Basilica entrance: shoulders, knees and thighs need to be covered so please avoid short dresses, tank tops, shorts and hats (for men). It is not allowed to enter with large bags, animals, weapons, lighters and scissors
- Please note that in case of adverse weather conditions (eg. bad storms, unexpected extreme events), or unforeseen circumstances (eg. monuments sudden closures, train/flight cancellations or delays) we do not guarantee a full refund. The company will examine each case and act accordingly.
- 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.
- 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.
- The ticket price paid by the operator amounts to a total of €12.00 per person. The difference from the listed price includes a certified live guide and an optional gondola ride.
- Please note that some parts of the tour may not be easily accessible for people with reduced mobility (or any kind of disability), if you are unsure of the details, feel free to contact us.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.6
based on 128 reviews
Charles_H, Apr 2026
Peaceful gondola experience. The St Marks tour wasn’t as good unfortunately. Tough accent on the guide, plus crowds, made it a strain to understand. Plus there was little context given on St Marks (went right into architecture and symbolism, vs the history and background of the basilica). It was fine, just not great for the money.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Thank you for taking the time for sharing your feedback. We’re sorry to hear that the St Mark’s tour did not fully meet your expectations. We truly appreciate your comments and will take them into consideration as we continue working to improve the experience for future guests.
Deborah_N, Oct 2025
St. Mark’s Basilica is breathtaking both outside and inside. The Byzantine influence on the architecture and mosaic art was a surprise and makes sense now that I understand the history of St Mark the Evangelist and his connections to Constantinople . Stunning mosaics dominate the artwork. This small group tour with Rita was wonderful . She is incredibly knowledgeable about the history, art, architecture, and religious traditions associated with the Basilica. She pointed out particularly important things to photograph & gave us time to do so. I highly recommend the small group tour with Rita.
THERESA_F, Oct 2025
A small group tour is the way to go. The guide was informative and kept the information interesting.
Rachel_C, Oct 2025
Great experience, nice short tour with easy access to the church. Excellent for a day trip to Venice.
Paula_G, Sep 2025
Tatiana was so friendly and knowledgeable! The basicillicavtour was first rate but we did not have access to the altar or upper floors as some tours around us did.
Jason_K, Aug 2025
Viator is no longer an option for me. 10 minutes early to the meeting point, no guide, no refund. Absolutely ruined our Venice experience and it was too late to book anything else. Thankfully Visa will help return our money.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Hi Jason, we are sorry that you were unable to join the tour. The experience did take place as scheduled, with our guide present at the designated meeting point and 12 other participants joining regularly. For this reason, and in accordance with our refund policy, we are unfortunately not able to issue a refund.
Virginia_H, Jul 2025
Missed the tour. It was at Basilica Priority entrance. Couldn't find that. Looked for 20 minutes. Nobody knew where it was. Phone reception was awful and our phones didn't work well. 15 minutes after tour started we found small print saying to go to ATM and look for yellow flag. We never even could find the ATM. Lost 88 euros. Ugh!
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Hi Virginia! We’re very sorry to hear about your experience and understand how frustrating it must have been not to join the tour.
Unfortunately, we didn’t receive any call or message from you at the time of the meeting. We always recommend arriving early and reaching out if there are any difficulties — this helps us ensure that all guests are able to participate. Our meeting point is clearly stated in the confirmation email, along with detailed instructions to find the guide (holding a yellow sign, not a flag).
As there were other guests booked, the guide had to start the tour at the scheduled time and couldn’t leave the group to search for missing participants.
We appreciate your feedback and will continue working to make meeting instructions even more visible and clear.
Bryan_L, Jul 2025
Well informed guide through a beautiful church. Wasn't a long tour, but very fruitful. Great use of time.
Francesca_H, Jul 2025
It is exactly what it says on the tin. Informative, a good amount of time for us and you did miss the queues. Great experience!
Melissa_T, Jul 2025
We had a wonderful tour with our guide. Everything was easy and informative. I love meeting locals and it was a treat to have our guide be a resident of Venice. Thank you!!
Madeline_M, Jul 2025
The tour was of good quality but the pace felt slow and the price was quite high compared to our subjective value of the experience
Thelma_K, Jul 2025
We had a great tour of St Marks basilica with Eliza. It was the perfect tour for a family as the information was interesting and easy to take in. There was a lovely pace to the tour and the tour guide was easy to find. I’d really recommend this tour. Eliza was a fantastic tour guide. It took 40 mins and there was no waiting.
Gregory_S, Jul 2025
Though the tour started a bit late, the tour guide did her best to show and explain the beauty of this cathedral. Enjoyed the access to the terrace as well.
Steven_R, Jun 2025
So great to skip the long line at St marks! But even better was the tour guide. Very knowledgeable and helpful. Traveling with 4 kids ages 11-15 yrs and they all enjoyed it. Just long enough and not too long. Fully recommend!
Richard_T, Jun 2025
Knowledgable and friendly guide, good pace through the space, attentive to the questions of the group. We booked because we couldn't get the individual tickets, but were glad we did because the tour was very nice.
Barbara_m, Jun 2025
When we were there the lift was not working - we were disappointed that we could not go to Terrace. The church , downstairs, was stunning
Karthik_R, Jun 2025
The Basilica is beautiful. Our guide Susy was very engaging and provided a lot of great information on the history about the basilica
Barbara_B, Jun 2025
Very nice tour. Ear buds a bit difficult to keep adjusted. If you get the terrace view tour just be aware there are very steep stairs to climb. Friendly and informative guide. Would definitely recommend.
Bret_L, May 2025
Excellent tour. Appropriate length and substance. And it sure beats waiting in line if you didn’t plan ahead to visit the Basilica.
Rebecca_C, May 2025
Great tour, just the right time and speed to see everything. The trip to the Terrace is a must for a whole view of the famous square and surroundings. Seamless booking and a friendly welcome!
Leigh_G, May 2025
Easy to find the guide at the meeting point. Great explanation of the Basilica, church, and mosaics in the museum. Fantastic view from the terrace (and some shaded seating). Stairs to go up to the museum and terrace are steep, but we had no trouble. Tour guide was very friendly and answered all questions.
Hope_T, May 2025
Susy was an amazing tour guide! She shared a chockfull of information in an entertaining way and kept it short and sweet (helpful for our jetlagged family!) We highly recommend this tour and especially our tour guide.
Cassandra_M, May 2025
Great experience - learned a ton, but the information also wasn’t overwhelming either! Our guide was AMAZING. Opportunities for photos. Definitely recommend.
Nicola_C, May 2025
Our guide Lara was excellent. Her extensive knowledge ensured an interesting and informative tour delivered with humour.
Maureen_N, May 2025
Tour guide was excellent! Our group had lots of questions and she answered them all. Very knowledgeable about the basilica and Venice in general. And it was so nice to skip the very long line and walk right in! Totally worth it for that alone!
Maryanne_W, May 2025
Best way to see St. Mark’s Basilica. No long line to get in and Francesca was very effective navigating us through the interior. Impressive venue, wonderful tour!
TIFFANY_B, Apr 2025
Lots of knowledge shared, great to see the original horses upstairs and to visit the balcony. Would recommend.
Kenneth_P, Apr 2025
Susy was absolutely the sweetest and kindest and most fascinating tour guide I’ve ever had. She made us laugh with her storytelling. She brought the church to life, giving us the history of the church as well as the symbolism one could find inside and outside. At only one hour, the time will fly!
William_P, Nov 2024
St Mark's is a stunningly beautiful basilica and our tour guide did a wonderful job explaining the history, architecture, and theology that combined to create this amazing monument. Seeing the square from the terrace and looking at all the gold mosaics were highlights.
Lourdes_S, Nov 2024
Knowledgeable and very nice tour guide! She gave so much information that made us appreciate everything we saw!
From
-16%
$59.12
per personWas $70.38
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
Compare Similar Experiences
Current
Special Offer
St Mark’s Basilica small-group guided tour with optional Gondola
128
1 hour 30 minutes
Free Cancellation
From
$70.38
$59.12
Customers Who Bought This Tour Also Bought
Explore Similar Things to Do
- Water Tours
- Half-day Tours
- Walking Tours
- Historical Tours
- Cruises & Sailing
- Tours, Sightseeing & Cruises
- Private and Luxury
- On the Ground
- Cultural Tours
- Venice
- Half-day Tours - Treviso
- Walking Tours - Treviso
- Historical Tours - Treviso
- Water Tours - Padua
- Half-day Tours - Padua
- Walking Tours - Padua
- Historical Tours - Padua
Attractions in Venice, Italy
- Casinò di Venezia Tours & Tickets
- Burano Tours & Tickets
- Cannaregio Tours & Tickets
- Villa Foscari (La Malcontenta) Tours & Tickets
- Duomo di Murano (Basilica dei Santi Maria e Donato) Tours & Tickets
- Venice Lido (Lido di Venezia) Tours & Tickets
- Giardini della Biennale Tours & Tickets
- Campo Santa Maria Formosa Tours & Tickets
- Grand Canal Tours & Tickets
- Rialto Fish Market (Mercato di Rialto) Tours & Tickets
- Venice Santa Lucia Station (Stazione di Venezia Santa Lucia) Tours & Tickets
- Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua (Basilica di Sant'Antonio di Padova) Tours & Tickets
- Church of San Vidal (Chiesa di San Vidal) Tours & Tickets
- Museo del Vetro Tours & Tickets
- Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute Tours & Tickets
- St. Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco) Tours & Tickets
More attractions near Venice, Italy