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Venice Day Tour: Doge's Palace, Basilica, and Gondola Ride

4.4 / 5

111 reviews

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    Venice Day Tour: Doge's Palace, Basilica, and Gondola Ride

    4.4

    111 reviews

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    From US$ 163.65 US$ 130.92 per person

    Discover the wonders of Venice with an expert tour guide. Visit Doge’s Palace and Saint Mark’s Basilica, enjoy a romantic gondola ride along the Grand Canal and its minor waterways.

    About this activity

    Free cancellation
    Cancel up to 24 hours in advance to receive a full refund
    Covid-19 precautions
    Special health and safety measures apply. Learn more
    Mobile ticketing
    Use your phone or print your voucher
    Duration 3 hours
    Check availability to see starting times.
    Skip the ticket line
    Instant confirmation
    Live tour guide
    English, Spanish, German, French, Italian

    Experience

    Highlights
    • Discover the magnificent halls of power at the Doge's Palace
    • Ride a gondola down the romantic waterways and on the Grand Canal
    • Admire the golden mosaics of Saint Mark's Basilica and its stunning treasury
    • Receive a bonus app including a digital map and audio guide
    Full description
    Enjoy a guided tour of Doge’s Palace to discover its splendid rooms and countless masterpieces. Explore the halls of power where the Doge ruled the ancient Republic of Venice. Cross the Bridge of Sighs to reach the palace prisons, where many important figures were imprisoned.  Next head to Saint Mark’s Basilica, also known as the Golden Basilica because of its magnificent mosaics adorned with pure gold. Learn the history and meaning of the many artworks decorating the church. Admire the treasury, a magnificent centuries-old collection of relics and precious items. Visit the Basilica's terrace with a copy of the famous horses, the quadriga of St. Mark. From this spectacular location admire the most beautiful view of the heart of Venice: St Mark’s Square. Discover St. Mark’s Museum and admire objects of various kinds and origins belonging to the Basilica. Later in the afternoon, take a romantic gondola ride along the charming waterways of Venice. Paddle along to the impressive Grand Canal. See the houses of Mozart and Desdemona, La Fenice Theatre, Rio de le Ostreghe, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection Palace, a breathtaking overview of Saint Mark’s basin, and more. Your tour also includes a bonus app, featuring a digital map and audio guide. Use the app to explore the city at your own pace, and listen to fascinating narration as you admire 200 of the city's attractions including La Fenice Theater, Rialto Bridge, and more.
    Includes
    • Skip-the-line entrance ticket (valid also to visit the Museums in Saint Mark's Square: Museo Correr, Museo Nazionale Archologico, and Biblioteca Marciana)
    • Guided tour of the Doge's Palace and Saint Mark's Basilica
    • Visit to the Basilica terrace and St. Mark's Museum
    • Access to the Bridge of Sighs and Piombi Prisons
    • Shared 30-minute gondola ride with live commentary
    • Download code for mobile commentary on the gondola
    • App with an audio guide and digital map to use in your own time
    • Hotel pickup and drop-off
    • Guided tour of Museo Correr, Museo Nazionale Archologico, and Biblioteca Marciana
    Not suitable for
    • Wheelchair users
    Covid-19 precautions

    You must book this activity online because the ticket office is closed

    Safety measures in place
    • All areas that customers touch are frequently cleaned
    • You must keep social distance while in vehicles
    • The number of visitors is limited to reduce crowds
    Traveler requirements
    • You must bring your own headphones
    • You are required to bring and wear a mask
    • All participants who are 12 years and older must present a Green Pass that is valid in the EU and has a verifiable QR code. Valid Green Passes can be obtained by uploading either proof of vaccination, proof of a Covid-19 infection within the last 6 months, a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before the activity starts, or a negative antigen test taken no more than 48 hours before the activity starts to the Green Pass or Covid Certificate apps
    • All participants must also bring a valid government-issued photo ID (e.g. passport, driver's license, etc)

    Select participants and date

    Participants

    Date

    Prepare for the activity

    Meeting point

    10:30 AM: For the Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica meet by the white building with the blue clock face on St. Mark's Square. The local partner's representative will be holding a sign with "tour" written on it. 3:45 PM: For the gondola ride, meet in front of the entrance to the Museo Correr, St. Mark’s Square. The local partner's representative will be holding a sign with "gondola tour" written on it. Customers are advised not to go to the bell tower.

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    Important information

    Not allowed

    • Pets
    • Smoking
    • Luggage or large bags

    Know before you go

    •  Unfortunately, this tour is not fully accessible for wheelchair users or people with walking disabilities.
    • In the case of exceptionally poor weather and high or low tides, the gondola ride will be canceled. The gondola fee will be refunded.
    • During the gondola ride participants will listen to the guide with help of the audio guide.
    • Live commentary on the gondola will be in Italian and English. Other languages are available on the app.
    • In the case of unplanned church services, or during days of exceptionally high tide, access to Saint Mark's Basilica may not be possible. In this case, you may be offered an alternate tour, or choose to take the tour another day.
    • You will receive an email after booking with the codes to download the gondola commentary.
    • There is a time gap between the Doge's Palace and Saint Mark's Basilica guided tour, and the gondola ride, which begins at 4:00 PM.
    • Due to security reasons, luggage and big bags are not allowed inside the Basilica.
    Customer reviews

    Overall rating

    4.4 /5

    based on 111 reviews

    Review summary

    • Guide
      4.5/5
    • Transportation
      3.5/5
    • Value for money
      4.2/5
    • Safety
      4.7/5

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    Our guide Monica was fantastic. This package with the basilica was the only guides tour we did in italy and it was so nice to have the context while seeing the spaces. Also getting to skip the line was awesome. All this wrapped up in a few hours. Worth every penny

    October 6, 2021

    A
    Anonymous – Canada Verified GetYourGuide customer

    Helpful?

    Lots of walking up and down stairs. Some of the areas that we walked were uneven surfaces or rough stones, so it was a little stressful trying not to fall and the stairs were a little strenuous, but I am 80 years old and have foot problems so I was very careful. The guide was excellent and the group was small enough that questions could be asked. The gondola ride was okay, but nothing special (no commentary or singing from the oarsman) All in all, it was well worth the money.

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    October 29, 2019

    A
    Anonymous – United States Verified GetYourGuide customer

    Helpful?

    The guided tours in the Doge's Palace and in the basilica were great. We had a preferred entrance and only had to wait 10 minutes (instead of 1 hour). Our guide had a microphone with transfer to our headphones. So we could follow all the stories, even if we were not directly in the vicinity of the guide. The ladies should note that in the basilica the shoulders and the knees should be covered, otherwise they may not enter the basilica. Gondola ride - not recommended, mass transit. We had to wait an hour for a gondola to be assigned to us. There were 6 people placed. The gondolier was very rude. The gondola ride lasted only 15 minutes.

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    September 14, 2019

    A
    Anonymous – Germany Verified GetYourGuide customer

    Helpful?

    Organized by
    VENICE TOURS S.R.L.

    Product ID: 201361