Skip The Line: Doge's Palace Guided Tour In Venice

Reserving with Viator does not mean that you have entry to Doge's Palace. We arrived 5 minutes before the tour time only to learn that we needed to go to a remote location to get actual tickets. In a city like Venice an address often means an approximate location. After wandering in an around an alley and asking various people in hotels and restaurants, we finally found an alley with the name. going down the alley let to an office and a printout. 45 MINUTES AFTER THE TOUR STARTED. We then went through the palace on our own. The Viator confirmation should have included a map as to where we needed to pick up tickets in advance. Viator should have provided a warning that there are hundreds of steps involved. The Palace itself is interesting but underwhelming. The trial process and the prisons were far more interesting. Bridge of Sighs from both the interior and exterior gave a true sence of what was involved.

This tour is through a third party Venice tours booth and they were very unorganized and didn’t communicate very well. The actual tour guide was very knowledgeable and made the tour experience very fun.

Hard to find check in, only one of our receivers worked, so I asked tour guide for a different one and she didn’t have any so had to share ear buds - which does Bork well. 2 other people had same problem. I texted for a new receiver and no answer, only got a rare your trip email the next day. Tours were running into each other and a boring tour guide.

Not enough time to appreciate & absorb paintings or history. Felt rushed. Radio & earbuds OK. Guide knowledgeable.

The DOGE palace was very busy but our guide brought us through expertly and was extremely knowledgeable.

The tour itself was great...though the headsets didn't work well and the tour guides set finally died. Finding the meeting spot was ridiculous. I didn't receive any instructions to sign in at the Tour Shop but instead the map dumped us in the center of the square where there were several Italian tour guides meeting with their groups. We couldn't find one in English and finally called the number on the ticket and was told to go in to the Tour shop to sign in....Luckily they were running late as we signed in one minute before the tour was supposed to depart.

We were apparently one of the last to sign up and were therefore told after meeting at the rally point, walked to the palace, met our guide who summarily told us “we f@cked up” and oversold the tour, so no tour for you!! I was told we would get a refund and I will believe it when I see it!!

A very informative and great experience. Denise was extremely knowledgeable and humorous. Skipping the line made a big difference.

Tour operator was 20 minutes late and no headphone transmitters available in English. Gave up waiting for return of tour guide and went round ourselves

The meet up arrangements were not good. We assumed we'd meet the guide near the entrance as we had just done with another tour operator (Crown Tours) for the Basilica tour, but the meeting point was quite a long walk several streets away, and not easy to find. The link they sent for the meeting point didn't take us to it so we had to ask people for directions. The meeting point was a tour shop / booth and the man in there had a bad attitude, he was busiy massaging the shoulders of his female collegue when I arrived at his counter, and ignored me for a minute or so, then was very abrupt and surly. He then led the group of us to meet the guide at the entrance to Dodge Palace, why we coudn't have met her there ourselves |I don't know. He hurried along through the crowds without checking who was with him or if we were keeping up or had lost him. He then left us with the female tour guide. We were given radio sets/ headphones but no one checked if we could hear or told us when to switch on. The sound quality was not great and the lady had quite a strong accent, however she did her best and explained things well. I would reccomend doing this tour with a different tour operator. Seeing the prison and crossing the bridge of sighs was the highlight.

Very informative. Our guide Denise was spectacular. She gave us history and kept it entertaining. Look for her!

Guide shared much history of palace. Explanations of sculptures and paintings were very good. Lots of steps … my father had a very hard time.

We have done several tours on our trip to Italy and this is the only one I really regret doing. Given the price, it felt like a total rip off. It started off with the meet up feeling chaotic and disorganized with them not having the audio equipment everyone needed. Once they finally found everything they needed (about 15 minutes after the scheduled tour start time), the guide never introduced herself or explained anything about the tour—she just started walking away with the expectation that we would follow. Once in the palace, she was extremely hard to hear because she mumbled and then would turn away from her microphone as she trailed off. Her commentary was minimal and seemed to mostly consist of “This room was important” with no further detail. It felt like we were just being moved from room to room as quickly as possible. The tour ended 15 minutes earlier than scheduled. When combined with the late start, what should have been a 75 minute tour was about 45 minutes. I’d recommend that others get timed entry tickets directly from the palace and then do the audio tour. This was way too expensive for what we got out of it.

Did not enjoy this experience. Yes, we were late to the meeting point but instead of telling us that we could not join the tour, the man at reception put the tickets into my phone and told me to hurry and meet the tour guide, the woman with blonde hair. Unfortunately, there were many tours and when I tried to message the tour guide, I did not get an answer right away. When we tried to use the tickets, they were invalid. When I finally got a message back from the tour guide, it said we were late and to go back to the meeting point to get my tickets. I just felt like we were going around in circles.

More information on art than I expected. I would learn a little more about the history before the tour.

Very pleased with being able to see the inside of the Doge Palace. The paintings on the walls, the detailed sculptures and the ceilings were amazing 👏 My only comment would to be cautious of the heat and humidity. Our tour was in July late afternoon and inside most parts of the interior had no A/C and minimal ventilation.

The tour guide rushed through the entire tour and did not engage with us at all. She barely took a pause while speaking and there was no opportunity for questions. Seemed like she just wanted to get done since we were the last tour of the day. It was very hard to digest what she was saying.

Learned quite a bit and very nice tour guide, Denise. We were a few minutes late and it was not a big deal to catch up w the tour.

Please read all details carefully. What Trip Advisor sends to you is NOT your ticket! For a guided tour, you go to a small office not far from the Doge Palace, check in, and meet your tour guide there at the time of your tour. She/he will lead you back to the Palace.

Absolutely excellent tour! Denise was very informative and The Doge was exquisite. Well worth the time!

This was a fun and informative tour. Our guide was friendly and very knowledgable. My 12 year old daughter also enjoyed it a lot!

This was a wonderful tour. Our guide Antonio was the BEST! Very knowledgeable, very friendly and truly loves his work! Would recommend this to anyone!!!

The guide gave very interesting explanations. I have been to the Doge’s Palace several times and learned quite a bit of new information.

We had a wonderful time in Venice and loved almost everything the city had to offer — unfortunately, this tour was the one experience that fell short. The confusion started with the meeting point. We arrived at 3:40 for a 3:45 meeting time at a large square away from Doge’s Palace. The only visible setup was a small stall labeled “Get Your Guide,” not Viator, so we didn’t think it was the correct location. When we approached, we heard the guide speaking to a Spanish-language group, so we assumed it wasn’t ours. We stood directly in front of the stall and even messaged the guide through the app but received no response. When I finally asked at the “Get Your Guide” stall whether they knew where the Viator group was meeting, we were scolded and told we were late and that our guide had already left — referring to the Spanish-speaking guide! We then had to run to find him, only to be told we were actually waiting for the English-speaking guide. After all of that, we waited another 15 minutes. The tour itself was led by a pleasant enough guide, but the experience felt more like a 4th-grade school field trip than the guided tours we typically enjoy. I was hoping for richer storytelling, human-interest details, and deeper context alongside the historical facts. Doge’s Palace itself is absolutely beautiful and worth visiting, but I would not recommend this particular tour experience.

Book the morning or early tour. The last tour leaves you with a time compromise in that the palace closes at 5 pm. That will leave you with no time to explore. Our guide was very informative and gave us plenty of background about the history of the palace

We have been to Venice many, many times, yet this was our first time visiting the Dogges palace......it is a must do experience! Really enjoyable and with an excellent guide (Donna) thank you!

It's an excellent overview and packed with information. Although I had to lag behind on steps the guide was very good and I could hear her descriptions as I caught up.

The Doge’s Palace is such a massive and awe-inspiring place that you could easily be overwhelmed. Luckily, this tour perfectly breaks up the rooms, artworks, and history of this magnificent palace into accessible segments. Could not recommend our tour and guide, Antonio, enough to everyone!!! So cool to hear from an expert on what life was like, how the high courts were conducted, and Venice’s standing throughout history. 10/10 would recommend!!

Too long of a walk from meeting place to Palazzo. Had to listen to guide speaking in ear about non consequential stuff before even getting into the museum. Gave up on tour and just went through museum ourselves at own pace.

Very informative tour — guide took just the right amount of time across wide array of topics / sights covered. Really enjoyed and learned a lot.

The communication with the agency was very good, the agent was very helpful when my reservation had to be rescheduled. The guide for the Palace of the Doge was excellent. The visit went very smoothly.

Our guide was great but for the money could have done it with just the headset! The guide was very interactive with the children which was great and answered questions. An amazing place and well worth the visit. A must do in Venice.

The meeting location was too far away from the site. The phone service had a language barrier and no local could pinpoint the meeting location even with the address. We walked the area several times. When we called we couldn’t get our money back.

Guide was knowledgeable and accommodating. She made sure we got to the elevator since we have limited mobility.

Easy and quick booking and, importantly, easy and quick access to the palace, with very knowledgable guide who put the history in context, and willingly answered everyone's questions. Felt almost like a private tour, as not large crowds of tourists on our particular visit (Monday lunchtime). Very memorable and enjoyable. Thank you.

Denise was very informative and engaging. We saw the public rooms, courtyards and across the bridge of sighs into the jails.

We learned so much from Daniella or Denise ( can’t remember) very friendly and helpful. Our tour was small only 5 Of us so lots of time for questions

Helpful for history and context. Honestly Venice doesn’t have the history as the rest of Italy does. The guide was professional and spoke great English though.

Denise was a great tour guide and very accommodating for our family! She took the time to explain everything well. The meeting point was easy to find as well. I recommend!

Excellent guide - friendly, informative and great company. Really brought the history to life for us. Tailored it to suit our interest and knowledge. Highly recommend.

The meeting point was a little odd in that it was not near the attraction and a little tricky on locating it. We found it after a couple of tries and the staff was helpful in catching us up to the tour which had already started. Alls well that ends well!

Our guide was very good. However we had to meet away from the doges palace and walk to it which seemed silly. Should have just met at the doges palace.

Denise was amazing--so knowledgeable and interesting. She kept our attention, was very fun and informative and we were super happy with the experience.

This is a very crowded tour. And for only 40 euros more I could have had a private tour. You could not hear the guide for over half the tour.

Our tour guide was friendly, personable, and knowledgeable. She gave a very thorough, entertaining, and unforgettable tour!

We were late for the tour and the team helped shepard us from the office to the tour guide. Extremely helpful and enthusiastic guide!

Horrible. The tour operator left myself and daughter behind at the security check while our backpacks were being checked and disappeared with the tour group. Nowhere to be found. No way to get in touch. We paid $150 for a guided tour and did it receive it. Complete waste of money. Do not book this. We had to walk through ourselves without any information. Finally found her 45 minutes later and told her. She did not care. We then just exited the palace.

Excellent guide at Doge Palace. Articulate and knowledgable about art and history of Venice and the Palace

This was a great overview of the palace and also included crossing the bridge of sighs and the dungeons. Our guide had lots of knowledge and was happy to answer questions. Definitely make sure you go inside the palace on your trip to admire more than from the outside!