Venice St. Mark's Basilica Optional & Doge's Palace Guided Tour

Very interesting tour of San Marco 's Basilica & the Doge's Palace. Our guide Ursula, was very knowledgeable & clear. Definitely recommend.

The tour was excellent. The tour guide seemed very knowledgeable and provided a lot of information. The scenery was beautiful.

We had an informative, interesting tour of the Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica. Our tour guide was passionate about its’ history and made the tour enjoyable. Highly recommend!

Viator has pleasant and knowledgeable guides. Our guide gave us a great deal of information and made us feel welcomed as we toured these amazing places. We would not understand what we were seeing without their expertise. Thanks

Doesn’t go to St Marks tomb or on the 2nd floor balcony overlooking the square. Should at this price point

The tour was enjoyable but unfortunately we did not get in to see St Mark’s Basilica so there is no guarantee even though the tour says both. Our tour guide Giovanni was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed his deep knowledge of the palace and other places we visited.

Excellent tour of the Doges Palace and Basilica. Our guide Serena was passionate about the history and art - this did cause a slight problem where we were running out of time so the second part of the Palace tour was a little rushed. The Basilica was excellent and the guide’s knowledge shone through again. The Bluetooth earpieces worked really well. Meeting place was clear in front of the clock tower. There was also brief visit to a glass factory just round the corner, many people didn’t bother going but it was a fascinating demonstration and there was no hard sell so take the chance if you get it!

The change in vendor and time changed my entire day. Overcrowded . Tour guide was lacking in enthusiasm.

That the ticket offering is a bait and switch in that they offer St. Mark's Basillica for the requested date, then push the dates out, or wirse, as in our case, sell you tickets for something else altogether onbyiur requested dates. And, if you are not alert to this tactic, you will think you have tickets to the desired event on the desired dste, whereas you DO NOT.

Great tour, our guide was excellent. Highly recommend to see and learn about the highlights of both gems of Venice. Our teenage children kept focused throughout given the appropriate pace and our guide’s engaging commentary.

This tour was amazing. Our tour guide Kiara made the tour so interesting and pleasant. Our tour initially was rescheduled for a different hour and the tour operating company was so prompt to inform us and to confirm the new time and to answer all of our questions.

Well organized and knowledgeable guide who started on time . Tour was very interesting and provided lots of information regarding the places we toured.

Guide was very informative, you meet them at the assigned point 15 minutes before the start time. Admission to glass factory was included with the ticket. Actual tickets are not digital, those are provided by the tour company at the meeting point. Make sure to not loose the ticket during the tour. Otherwise you will need to buy new one.

It’s too long. It would be better to do the tours on your own. It would be much more enjoyable if self structured

Excellent tour! Our guide, Chiara, was the best! She was so knowledgeable and made the tour a great experience, taking the time to explain the Doge Palace and Basilica each step of the way. Glad we booked this tour and had an excellent tour guide. We understood everything we saw and were given so much interesting information we wouldn’t have had if we visited on our own - and we got to skip the lines!

Really loved the guides prior communication on WhatsApp, easy to meet, clear instructions, her knowledge in both locations was brilliant and spectacular sights! Interesting on the rise and fall of Venice its wealth, crime and justice! So worth doing both! Wanted to do the terraces too but no tours available for it and we could not buy on the day. Definitely recommend, it’s honestly AMAZING! Glass blowing was an added extra and remarkable to watch them blowing and shaping it in front of you, really closeby and amazing sets of jugs, cups, trays and chandeliers are something else, in all colours: really enjoyed it. My only gripe was we were advised no backpacks etc but one guy took one and so we all had to wait and same for those who did not follow the instructions provided. The majority should not be penalised for the small percentage, he should have been advised at the beginning so the group did not wait and lose time.

Such history and beauty needs to be seen. All Basillicas are beauty and testament of God's love,generation after generation.

This tour was lovely. Our tour guide was amazing. He did such a great job showing us around. We loved the Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s Basilica. The only reason I’m not giving 5/5 was because of the glass blowing “demonstration”. This was a sales pitch disguised as a demonstration. While yes, it was cool to watch the heavy sell was not our cup of tea. I would have preferred to just leave after St Mark’s.

It was a good tour. Tour guide was very knowledgeable and took his time telling us all the important info.

Buyer Beware: Do not book with this company. They cancelled my tour 1 week before our tour and did not offer any alternatives that worked with our travel schedule after everything else was sold out. We trusted this because it was on Tripadvisor - lesson learned the hard way. Sounds like we will be seeing everything from the outside only. 💯 do not recommend.

Worst experience, what was selected was not what we received. Use another agency

Our tour guide spoke very fast with an heavy accent and unfortunately could not understand everything she was saying. She rushed through st. Marks basilica. Doge palace was better but no breaks for questions or to make sure we could hear/understand her. Unfortunately worst tour I have ever been on

The tour guide was informed and friendly. The sights are amazing. The “glass factory tour” at the end was just a soft-sell sales trip to a glass showroom, so nothing special. If you can get the tour for less without the glass “factory” add-on, do that.

Francesca was a wonderful tour guide who had an abundance of knowledge! It was amazing to have that earpieces so you could hear in a big group. We were running a little bit late, but they called us and waited for us. We spent more time in Doge’s palace than the Basilica. We did not know that we didn’t get the glass factory tour because of the timing of our tour. By the time our tour was over, the glass factory was already closed. Doge’s Palace and Saint Marks Basilica are on top of each other, but for the glass tour we would go to Murano ourselves, and get the tour with our card.

The booked tour indicated Doge and Basilica tour. We never went into the Basilica. It was not clear that we did not have the Basilica tour as part of what we purchased. It needs to be stated very clearly this is a Doge only tour.

Interesting and informative. Very hot but manageable.

The experience started out well at Dodge’s Palace, our guide was very knowledgeable about this location and its history. My family and I were very excited to continue the tour. Unfortunately, the guide left us behind and we got lost inside. We could not find guide anymore and we were not able to into ur the tour to St. Marks Basilica which was the reason for me booking the tour in the first place. I was very disappointed because without the tour guide we could not get in the basilica since she had our tickets. I tried to call the person who contacted me the day prior and all other phone numbers I could find, including the Viator customer service line. There was no answer or reply from anyone. We were very frustrated that point and left the area since we couldn’t even buy the tickets again because they were sold out. I feel that the service was not well provided as we couldn’t reach the end of our tour.

It’s definitely a must see we had a great guide and the places were just gorgeous inside pictures don’t do it justice.

This was an expensive excursion. They told us to meet under the ‘winged lion’ for 10am. We were there at 9:45 waiting (in the pouring rain). By 10am it was obvious we had been duped or were given wrong instructions. I told my husband to wait under the statue while I asked around the square. Eventually I found the company; under the blue clock! The representative actually started berating me because we were late. I gave it right back at her since they gave us incorrect information. The rep then told me to run to catch up to a group she pointed to in the distance. When I got to them the guide asked me where my head phone was. I was not given one. The rep does not bring extras so she told me to just stay close to her. Well she was quite a petite woman and her voice did not carry. In the meantime I’m texting my husband frantically so he can enter with us. He finally makes it. We are so upset at this point we can hardly listen to the guide so we just give up. We look in awe at the masterpieces but we miss all the explanations. My husband missed then missed about 90% of the palace as he needed to use the facilities- and there were none. Terrible terrible tour. They shuffle through many too many people for one to enjoy it. Everyone is stressed out. After the tour we looked up in the square and counted more than 4 winged lions. Even though we finally found the group, we did indeed feel duped.

So nice experience, the guide was amazing and the staff at the meeting was so nice

Excellent tour! Great guide, fascinating history, and well organized. Highly recommended.

This guided tour is an excellent way to explore two of Venice’s most famous landmarks in a short amount of time. Fast-track entry helps avoid long queues, while the knowledgeable guide brings the history, art, and architecture of both Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica to life. Well organized and informative,

An outstanding tour from beginning to end. The guide was knowledgeable, professional, and engaging, making every stop both informative and enjoyable. Everything was well-organized, punctual, and seamless. A truly memorable experience that I would highly recommend to anyone seeking a high-quality tour.

Fantastic tour! The skip-the-line access saved us a lot of time, and the guide was knowledgeable and engaging throughout. St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace are absolutely stunning, and learning about their history made the visit even more memorable. Highly recommended for anyone visiting Venice!

Very good tour guide. Good English. Good knowledge. Easy connection with all the employees of the provider.

Great tour! Thank you to our guide for the tour she was very informative and knowledgeable. Super good organised, would definitely recommend!

Super great experience, everything was great from the start to the end

Well worth the visit. Our guide taught us so much!!

Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and was very thorough. She also was attentive to questions and shared some personal stories pertaining to growing up in Venice and the perspective of Venetian life!

The guide was very knowledgeable and interesting. My only disappointment was not going out on the St Marks balcony and to see the other art on the second floor.

Am unlikely to forget this walking tour. Our guide was excellent and did her best in difficult circumstances. However, due to an administrative error the tickets that had been bought for us by the tour operator for the fast track entry to the Basilica and were handed out just before we were due to commence our tour were dated with the wrong date in October. When attempts were made to scan in our group’s tickets at the entrance to the Basilica, the tickets were rejected and we were told that replacements could not be bought. Consequently we did not get to see the inside of St Marks and no refund was offered to us. My advice is immediately check very carefully any tickets or passes given to you on the day of your tour.

A learning experience awsome art and painting vry knowledgeable guide. Really unexpected knowledge of the hostory of Venice.

We really love the tour we went to Venice just for the day an we were able to see the most important stuff, the basílica was amazing, doge palace also full of a lit of history Francesca was very nice to wait for us and be friendly with my little kid. Don't miss the glass factory is perfect to see glass murano.

Lit, definitely check it out. My family is from America but this is a nice travel destination and it was great getting back to our roots.

What was advertised is not what we received. The activity is titled: Doge palace and saint mark’s basilica guided tour fast entry. There were many options to choose from and we selected ‘skip the line tickets’. Obviously there was no tour and this was entry only and that was ok for us. When we met the guide at the arranged spot she only had tickets to saint mark’s basilica and not to the doges palace. In my opinion this is false advertising. We checked all through the fine print and no where did it say that entry was only to the basilica and not to the palace as well. The guide was very apologetic but could do nothing to help us in the moment. We have booked many tours through Viator and have been satisfied with all of them with the exception of this one.

Very boring, didn’t explain anything of importance except the name of the author who painted a picture. Ended in a glass place that our tour didnt include access to. Very rushed and disorganised

The Guide cancelled the Tour at the last minute because not enough people had signed up. Very disappointing. Could not reschedule tour because we were leaving.

Guide was wonderful and informative but not overwhelming with information. Tour included bridge of sighs. Only downside was after tour of Doges and St Marks we were taken to a glass blowing demonstration. I did not think this was included in the tour and I had already been to Murano earlier in the day. Our guide left us there without giving us a chance to tip her and I felt the glass place was trying to hard sell us expensive items.

Great experience exceeded our expectations. Alex did a fantastic job giving us a lot of history in Doge’s Palace. Felt a little rushed towards the end