Kingly Venice: Doge Palace Ticket, Guided Tour & History Gallery

Tour guide did not show up, so we just went by ourselves. Also there was no line for general admission tickets so this was a total waste of money.

perfect amount of time to see & learn about the interesting history of Doge & Venice, followed by time to explore at your leisure

Our guide was knowledgable and very good at telling the Venetian story and expanding the story in response to questions.

Really nice tour and very informative guide. We booked at the last minute and it worked out great for us.

We loved our guide Matteo, he was extremely knowledgeable and very funny. He did an excellent job of explaining what we were seeing while keeping it simple and interesting!

Good though not outstanding. Do the tour to ‘skip the line’, see & learn the basics with the guide for the hour, then stay inside and go round again on your own at leisure. The tour involves 30 minutes of waiting at the meeting point to be escorted to a second meeting point, to wait for more customers, and then cross the Square to stand in line at the skip the line entry point. Then it begins. Our guide was informative though delivery was fast, flat & hard to follow, so lost a lot. Going back later to read the info boards in each room filled my gaps in hearing. Our tour was midday & the palace was crowded with tour groups & individuals. It was hard to stay up with the guide. Afterwards the whole place was much quieter & we enjoyed space & time, finally leaving at 3pm.

Guide Monica was wonderful. The organization at the start of the tour was not very good. Need to improve the meeting point.

Great tour with Marco! Super knowledgeable and made it a lot better. I would recommend messaging them for the address confirmation prior to going as when I put the address in from the email it was telling me to go somewhere else further away. The tour was quick so if you want more time you can stay at the end but I felt it was good to have a guide because there’s so much history there. I would have given it 5 stars however, there was no VR experience like the title had mentioned, not sure why, and I haven’t had a response on how this will be rectified yet considering it was included but not provided, and I’m leaving tomorrow. P.s. you get to see the prisons (I wasn’t sure when I booked as it wasn’t mentioned) however, would also recommend doing the other prison tour which is seperate to Doge’s palace.

UPDATE: 2 months later, I have still not received a complete refund for my tour tickets, and while the company commented that they are here if I have any questions, there is no email contact listed to contact them. Venice Tours SRL, if you are truly available for further questions, please provide a way an international customer can reach you! Original Review copied below: We showed up at the tour location and was told after the tour start time that our tour guide would not be showing up. They would not give me a refund on the spot and said I had to go through trip advisor, sent me on my way without a tour guide while keeping the palace tickets. When I made this request, they only refunded THIRTY PERCENT OF MY TICKET!!! I paid $290 for 5 ppl and they refunded $87. Their justification is that we still got our tickets to the palace. Well, palace tickets alone are 30 dollars each on the palace site. Let’s do some quick math: $290 total cost for 5 ppl on tour $30 X 5 palace tickets: $150 Actual refund received: $87 This means that the tour group held on to an additional $63 from my pocket. Team, I am patiently waiting for my remaining $63. If you can provide documentation justifying this paltry refund, I will take my review down.

Valentina was an excellent, engaging tour guide. The Doge’s Palace is enormous- you could probably spend half a day there but this tour really focused on the highlights.

I thought this tour was fascinating. It addition to seeing the architecture and the art, the really great thing was hearing about the government structure of the doge. I learned a lot.

Our guide Gloria was excellent. She knew the Doge’s Palace inside out. She also had a deep understanding and knowledge of Italian, Venetian and European history so really brought to life what was happening at any given time and why. Excellent Guide and Great tour! Highly recommend.

The experience, our guide, Carolina, was excellent! She explained in detail and her peaceful and calm demeanor was very soothing. The palaces were nothing short of impressive.

We had a great tour with our guide Valentina of Doge's Palace and the surrounding area. At the time of our tour start, other guests decided not to join us and we therefore ended up having a private tour. She was very knowledgeable, answered any questions we had and adjusted based on our pace and interest. Highly recommend Valentina & this tour!

Gloria was a fantastic guide. She was extremely knowledgeable and able to impart historical facts in an interesting way. She was able to impart her love of Venice throughout the tour. She was friendly, pleasant and easy to listen to. We thought the tour was outstanding value for money.

The tour guide was very informational and helpful but I feel more time was needed and it was a bit rushed. Didn't get to see everything.

Visiting the Doge's Palace was incredible! This architectural masterpiece exudes grandeur and elegance at every turn. Stepping into its richly adorned halls, we were transported back in time to the opulence of the Venetian Republic. The stunning artwork, intricate details, and the magnificent Bridge of Sighs left us in awe. Exploring the palace's chambers and secret passages was like unraveling a fascinating historical puzzle. The Doge's Palace is a must-visit destination for anyone seeking to immerse themselves in Venetian history and marvel at its majestic beauty. Don't leave Venice without visiting!

Great experience and tour guide very knowledgeable and clear Fantastic palace great views Recommend comfortable footwear

Gloria was very knowledgeable and provided a fantastic tour. She knew so much, our only wish was more time to hear it all.

How dare you charge money for waiting around 45 mins. Very disappointed. Guide was honorable. Did her best.

The tour was smooth, timely and educational. The tour guide was amazing and used her knowledge to add more to the tour. We wished we would have booked her longer but the tour was great!

Our guide Valentina was excellent and we learned so much we missed on our previous visit to Venice. The private tour allowed one-on-one questions and our pace through the Doge. Highly recommend her!

The Doge museum is amazing and the guide was very knowledgeable but this tour was supposed to start at 11:20 so we arrived at the Venice tours meeting point at that time. They took us to another point to meet the guide and there was a lot of confusion. The tour didn’t start until 12 pm. We wasted a lot of time waiting. After that, it was very hard to understand the guide. We went to other tours and the accent wasn’t a problem but this one was pretty difficult to understand.

This tour was very informative and historical. We enjoyed being able to skip the line and get in quickly. The tour did start and end late, but overall good tour.

My experience with Viator tours has always been positive, well-informed guides with a passion for their work. Their knowledge has been deep and their answers to questions thought provoking. Sadly, today was not the of the same caliber. 1. The meetup was confusing as we had to redeem our reservations at a kiosk, and we were met with a guide from VivaTicket. Is this a division of Viator? 2. When the guide hurried across the Square, many of us were lost as we couldn’t find her as it was very crowded, but there was a belated effort to gather us up again.. 3. Once inside confusion began as we were going through narrow openings,, crowded together with other visitors thus taking more time for all of us to reach the next room. We could hear the guide pointing out where to look and commenting on what was of interest but couldn’t see because we were still trying to make our way. Later, I shared with the guide the trouble many of us were having. She informed me that she had a time limit.to get us through the palace and couldn’t wait. The only conclusion I could come to is if the group is too large and we can’t see what is being described, the group should’ve been smaller. Granted it was very crowded when we went through the palace, but wouldn’t have been a better experience if she had skipped some of the stops and waited for people to all join the group before moving on? My husband and I, both history majors in college, pay for tours so we can expand our knowledge and gather a broader view of civilization. This tour was a disappointment.

I was able to learn a lot about the Venetians from our tour guide, Lorenzo. He was very knowledgeable and entertaining. The palace is huge and full of amazing art. It was also interesting to see the prisons.

Very interesting and enjoyable tour. Great option if you are short on time and don't have enough time to do the more in depth tour.

The guide was very informative and made the experience enjoyable as well as educational Even though true high waters delayed our tour it was not rushed which was appreciated

Our guide, Elena, was AMAZING! If I could give more than 5 stars I would. It is truly special to experience Venice with a guide who was born and raised here. She provided so much insight into the city’s history that went well beyond just the Doge’s Palace. She was personable and made the whole experience so intimate for our small group. Would highly recommend this tour - and highly highly recommend Elena!!

We had an exceptional experience with Gina as our guide. She came with a background of history and was so informative. She could relate the present to the past and the Venetian republic’s influence on present day government!.

The guided tour was very informative and knowledgeable. Enjoyed walking though the palace and being told the history. The way the tickets are distributed can be improved. We had access to another museum and could have visited the museum earlier that day. Instead we weren’t allowed to get our tickets until checkin for the guided tour. I’m I’ve paid for tickets I should be able to pick them up at any time. Information on ticket was also incorrect. It stated we had an earlier museum visit and when we got there the person said that it was not correct which made us wait around even more. I am giving 4 stars only due to the guide. Check in would get 2 stars.

Diana was amazing engaging and passionate. I felt like the tour could be longer maybe more inside the palace

We had the brilliant Francesco as our guide. He was fantastic! A really informative afternoon and a ‘must do’ for your stay in Venice.

To buy a queueless entrance was a great idea, we saved time to visit some other museum of the city!!

What an excellent and informative tour! We even got entry into the prisons (which wasn't anticipated). The tour guide was very knowledgeable and her English was excellent and easy to understand. Highly recommended.

Doge's Palace is a fascinating place! The paintings and the artwork,the gold gilding, amazing! Our guide was very informative and answered questions well. Glad to have someone explain the history and details of the place. I have only two complaints. One minor complaint is that the earbud headset for listening was uncomfortable in my ear (hard and too large). Fortunately, I had my own set of earbuds with me, so I used that (recommended). The other complaint/comment I have is that the whole skip-the-line thing is a bit of a misnomer. Sure, we didn't have to stand in line to buy tickets, but we still had to wait in line outside with other tour groups to get inside. In the heat (end of May and already humid - dress appropriately). Still well worth it! We didn't have time in our schedule to visit the other museums, so I can't comment on those.

I came to Venice with my husband, we both love history and even better seeing history first hand. This was not the tour for learning anything! The tour guide spoke so quickly and rarely into the mic and I believe I heard three words in the entire tour. Glad I have the ability to actually learn from the internet. Waste of money.

We visited on 12th October 2018, 10.45amTrying to find our Tour Guide was nothing short of a maze of confusion.A Viator guide directed us to an Official in a blue jacket.. we had to wait in a long queue with people jumping in... eh for us Brits no. Then given tickets to meet a young lady who then pointed us to our guide. By this time we loosing the plot.. really but...Our guide was the most knowledgeable, patient and unassuming person, who really knew anything and everything about his subject and answered questions with his superior knowledge and understanding of Venice and it's history. I would have given this 5 stars easily, but the chaos beforehand was so stressful.Our guide... made up for this. He was truely 5 stars

In addition to wandering at your own pace through this gorgeous structure and marveling at the gold trim everywhere, you also get to walk across the famous Bridge of Sighs that led from the palace to the prison across the canal. If you are a photographer, this is a dream come true.

The Palace will take your breath away. Wonderful structure with beautiful rooms. The ceilings are more than you can imagine. Give yourself two hours or more and buy your tickets on line to save a lot of time.

Arrived 15 minutes early and had to wait in one queue to get tickets and then join another queue to get audio headset. Received instructions in earpiece to follow guide, which turned out to be guide for a completely different tour. Could not locate right group so ended up in long queue to get in, and walking around without a guide at all. At end, bumped into right tour guide, by chance, so at least I could return redundant audio headset.

Book your tickets in advance of your holiday as queues were so long . Warning there are a lot of steps not for someone with limited walking . So worth a visit

<p>This tour was a good value for the money. Our guide inside the Doge's Palace was very knowledgeable her English pronunciation was at times difficult to understand, but she made up for it in content, explaining key people in paintings and history. I loved walking across the Bridge of Sighs wish I could have lingered longer, though. The palace was VERY crowded, so we needed to keep moving. The Correr Museum was great to visit, as well. The other 2 were good, and worth visiting.</p>

<p>Well done! Our tour guide for the Doge Palace was remarkable! Very knowledgeable and full of energy! We throughly enjoyed our tour and wish we had added on the guided tour of the Basilica as well!</p>

<p>We booked this with great expectations but realized when we arrived for the tour that actual tickets were 16 which equals 19 USD and we paid 43.30 per ticket. Much to our dismay, everyone else that bought tickets thru other venues also got entrance to St Marks Cathedral. Very disappointing.</p>

<p>Groups for this tour should first meet in the shade during hot summer months! The meeting for this tour was stated on the ticket to Meet under the clock tower at 1030. It was shady and cool under the clock tower. We met out in the full and blazing sun NEAR the clock tower. There were many different tours and hordes of people meeting in the same place. It was confusing.</p> <p>Our very old and very short guide, Gabriel, finally showed up a bit late and we were group 34 and had channel 34 on our Vox units so we could hear him. He did a test and people could hear him and all I heard was static. Need a new earpiece he says. No - he just needed to take the microphone out of his pocket and hold it up to his mouth! Then I could hear fine! Got lots of history about St. Mark's Square and everything else. We finally went to the Doge's Palace. I think our guide was a retired art teacher. The rooms in the Doge's Palace were gorgeous and there was one immense room built to hold 900 people for hearing cases/grievances. All very interesting except for the extended art lectures. Walking over the Bridge of Sighs and seeing where people were imprisoned was very interesting. This guided tour took 1.5 hours. We were told we had up to three months to tour the three museums in St. Mark's Square on our own. I wish we'd known that ahead of time because we would have scheduled this tour our first day in Venice and not our last. The museums are Correr Museum, Archeological and Biblioteca all within the Correr Museum at the far end of St. Mark's Square. I loved all the fancy rooms of the Prince and Princess in the Correr. The Archeological Museum had a lot of statues and busts. The Bibliotecta had an exhibit of jewelry in a stunning room. We had lunch in the cafe of the Correr and had a table overlooking the square. Overall, we were pleased with the tour but are both ignorant about art so the extensive lectures about the paintings and artists were lost on us.</p>

<p>Slightly disappointing. When I went on the tour, there was a lot of other tours taking place at the same time, on occasion 3 parties trying to occupy 1 room.<br/> This resulted in not having much time or actually being able to see everything. To add to this, our guide was leaving stragglers in 1 room, whilst talking about another. A couple of times she was so far away, that my headphone started to cut out! <br/> I know that the tours are built around time, but a little patients and co-operation between parties, would of resulted in a better experience for all.</p>

Alors que nous avions réservé des coupes files pour 5 personnes, nous avons dû attendre plus de 3/4 d’heures pour avoir nos billets et pouvoir commencer la visite du palais des doges. Nous n’avons eu aucune explication de la part de Viator sur cette absence de ponctualité et ce retard considérable pour un tour déjà réservé et payé.

Beautiful palace to visit with lots of history. Interesting collection of weapons and impressive passage through the Bridge of Sighs.