Our guide was fun and very knowledgeable. There is a lot to see and learn in the palace. The timing was adequate and allowed a short free time before going to the Basilica. Both are a must see in Venice to understand the history.
About Activity
What's Included
Includes
- Expert local guide with insider's knowledge
- 3-hour walking tour at a relaxed pace
- Tickets for the Correr Museum
- Admission to National Archeological Museum and Biblioteca Marciana
- Pre-reserved tickets for Doge's Palace
- Small group tour for a more personalized experience
- Pre-reserved tickets for St. Mark's basilica
Excludes
- Guided Tour of Correr Museum, National Archeological Museum, and Biblioteca Marciana
- Transportation to/from the meeting point
Departure & Return
Departure Point
- We meet in Saint Mark’s Square near the waterfront by the two large columns. Our guide will be under the one with the winged lion on top. Your guide will have a signboard that says, “Walks In Europe.”
Return
- We meet in Saint Mark’s Square near the waterfront by the two large columns. Our guide will be under the one with the winged lion on top. Your guide will have a signboard that says, “Walks In Europe.”
Itinerary
Join a 3-hour guided tour in Venice to see the major highlights of the city led by an expert guide. The tour includes two must-see sites: Doge’s Palace and Basilica of St. Mark, both with pre-reserved tickets.
Meet your expert guide in famous St. Mark’s Square and start getting to know "the Floating City" and its origins. Explore the most renowned public space in the city and, learn about its historical, social, and political importance. Learn about the Clock Tower and the Marble Lions that both play an important role in St Mark’s history.
Continue on to the Basilica of St.Mark, and enter the cathedral with your pre-reserved tickets. Take in its sheer size and the fascinating golden mosaics inside. Learn about the design of the monument, called the Church of Gold, and its status as a symbol of Venetian wealth and power. Listen to the story of the life-size Horses of St Mark’s Basilica, said to be some of Europe’s finest creations. Find out the answers to all of your questions and more as you accompany your guide on this well-planned walking tour in Venice.
Follow your guide at a relaxed pace to visit the Doge’s Palace. You'll walk straight into this opulent palazzo with our with pre-reserved tickets. Learn about the supreme authority and wealth of the ruling Venetian Doges through the ornate Gothic architecture of the palace. Ask about the talented 14th-century sculptors that worked on the palace, and enjoy stunning views across the Lagoon as you explore this world-famous landmark.
Learn why the New Prisons were built, and understand the significance of the Bridge of Sighs, another highlight of Venice. Listen to the extraordinary story of the famous Casanova and his life in Venice.
Your admission ticket to the Doges Palace also includes entry to the Correr Museum in St. Mark's Square. The building was originally designed as a residence for Napoleon, and later became the Venetian residence of the King of Italy. Generally, you can visit the Correr Museum after your tour has ended. You may also have tickets for the next morning, depending on the hour of the tour you book.
Language Offered
Additional Info
Cancellation Policy
Reviews
We truly enjoyed this tour. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and energetic. We would definitely recommend this tour
Our guide was great. She was knowledgeable and easy to understand. Locations (Doge Palace and Duomo) were terrific.
Truly a culturally enriching tour. It took us to lesser known areas of popular historical buildings and gave us a behind the scenes experience of history and art that would have been lost in a larger group or less well researched and organised visit.
It is a tour that offers insights into the history of the Doge and how St Mark’s began. My thoughts take this & the Jewish Ghetto tour and you have a fully developed understanding of Venice and its’ cultural heritage.
We had an excellent experience with Rosella Frank as our tour guide at St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace. She speaks clearly and enunciates every sentence, making it easy for everyone in the group to understand and follow along. Her explanations were engaging, informative, and brought the history and significance of these remarkable sites to life. Rosella is exceptionally knowledgeable and was able to answer every question quickly and thoroughly. Her passion for Venetian history and culture was evident throughout the tour, and she made even complex historical details interesting and memorable. If you are looking for a guide who is professional, articulate, knowledgeable, and genuinely enthusiastic about sharing her expertise, I highly recommend Rosella Frank. She made our visit to St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace an unforgettable experience.
Total rip off. I paid a lot if money and was denied entry to most important part if tour. Guide keader was if no assistance. Guide , in my opinion was rude to others as well. The earphone used to hear guidexwas also not operating correct.
Our guide Michaela was fantastic! Such a great tour with interesting facts and stories. Definitely recommend.
Sandra was super informative throughout our tour. She is a wealth of knowledge and provided so many details. We all enjoyed the experience and would highly recommend her as a guide.
Claudia was fantastic- knowledgeable and entertaining so that you were tuned into her presentation. There was a lot of information presented but Claudia who kept you entertained and aware of the multiple details. It was well worth the money!
Sandra was so knowledgeable and made the tour unforgettable. I learned so much during the tour. My friends also enjoyed the tour.
Full tour of both destinations - Anna was very informative - a detailed and very enjoyable tour - I would highly recommend this. Excellent value. Anna made full use of our time in both locations - Basilica closed once we'd left! thankyou
Lisa (Liza?) was an excellent guide, and there was so much to see. Three locations, so much history and beauty. Loved the behind the scenes of Bridge of Sighs.
Aliza was very informative and pleasant. The small group was very nice compared to a larger group. More personal.
Well worth doing. The Doge Palace is incredible and you need a guide to understand and appreciate it.
This is an Art History tour. A lot of details regarding the artwork. We were only in the Basilica ten minutes.
Great experience with Claire. Very knowledgeable about Doge's and St Mark's history. Also great that she has a knack for remembering all members of our groups names.
Our guide Claire was truly exceptional- she made the tour great fun as well as very information
Clare was our guide and was a lot of fun as well as knowledgeable about St Mark’s and the Doges Palace. She had all of our names memorized before the tour started. We were 7 adult family members. I have some mobility issues and she made sure I was able to use the elevator. The headphones worked well for our small group tour to hear well.
Excellent guide, very personable and knowledgeable, native of Venice. She gave a thorough and extremely interesting tour of Doge's Palace, which was fascinating, comprising the bulk of the tour. Following Doge's Palace, we had 20-30 minutes in St. Mark's Basilica with our guide. St. Mark's was beautful and impressive. Just the right amount of time to dedicate to these two key sites while in Venice (2-3 hours). Highly recommend!
Excellent and fun tour. Very informative. Claire was our guide and she was fantastic! She loves Venice and it shows. She was so much fun. Highly recommend.
It crams a LOT of information in a short period but it has to go thru years of history so it is expected. Our guide was Clara and she had to have the most energy I’ve ever seen so she made the experience worth it! She kept it very exciting and could remember the names of the entire 20 persons group!
Our guide was very knowledgeable and informative. She asked if anyone had questions and took the time to answer them completely. She was very considerate of some in our group that had some mobility issues and often asked if they were ok. I would recommend the guide (I can’t remember her name now) wholeheartedly.
This was an excellent tour. The meeting place was easy to find. Our guide was knowledgeable and passionate, and shared very interesting information with our group. My husband and I learned a lot from her and would definitely recommend to others.
Fantastic tour guide (I’m sorry, I don’t remember his name - see photos). Very knowledgeable, respectful of other tour groups, great sense of humor - not too long, not too short. A perfect tour!!!
Great tour, highly recommend. Knowledgeable guide and it was very interesting. Highly recommend this experience.
Our guide Claudia was terrific! She was extremely knowledgeable, enthusiastic and spoke English very well.
We had an incredible experience on our small group tour of the Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica yesterday! Our guide was wonderfully friendly, approachable, and extremely knowledgeable, sharing captivating stories and fascinating historical facts throughout the tour. The pace was perfectly comfortable, with well-timed breaks along the way so we never felt rushed or fatigued. Touring in a small group made a huge difference as well. I highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Venice
The tour was great! Very informative, and our guide was amazing! Worth the price. You won't be disappointed.
Sandra was guide. She was fantastic. Very knowledgeable, friendly and walked at a nice pace. This tour is a walking tour and they mean it! Would absolutely recommend.
Be sure to know the meeting spot for the start of the tour and be prepared to walk several flights of stairs. There is only 2 places to stop and rest/sit and 2 locations with public toilets (both will be very busy). Tour is worth taking and our guide Clair was the BEST! High energy, memorized all names of everyone in the group and made the history part of the tour fun.
It was a great experience. Very informative. Sarah was great. Highly recommend. Great to skip the lines.
Our tour started and ended on time which was helpful given we had other time constraints. Our guide was extremely experienced in the history of both the Doge Palace and the Basilica making the tour very informative.
The tour was fabulous and our guide, Ana, was very good and very knowledgeable. I would highly recommend this tour.
Anna was an excellent guide. Knowledgeable and passionate about all things Venice. Her background in theology brought the Basilica to life. Grazie mille.
Fabulous tour. Not too long and plenty of historical statistics. Matteo was AMAZING! So knowledgeable and has a cute sense of humor! We LOVED this tour! We honestly feel like we got a great sense of appreciation for these two beautiful sites. Matteo made the day extra special. Do not hesitate to buy this tour!!!
Our guide was very knowledgeable and detailed: you can definitely learn a lot about the history of the church and doge’s palace. It also allowed us to enter the church at all; the official site had sold out. Just a note that we didn’t realize how much standing while listening was involved in the tour, and we were a bit sore/tired throughout 😅
It is a longer tour but very well worth it. Our tour guide Alex was phenomenal. Very detailed explanation of the palace and basilica. He was funny and knowledgeable
Our guide was the best! Unfortunately, our 2pm time was cancelled to 9am. When we arrived for 9am no guide. Then informed the tour was at 10am. Having such an amazing guide made up for it.
Zoe was a great guide, very knowledgeable about Venetian history. The tour was a highlight of Venice
Sandra was wonderful! Knowledgeable and easy to understand. Unfortunately, the basilica was closed and we feel like half of the cost should have been refunded but instead, she took the group to the Rialto Bridge. Just not the same.
This was a wonderful, entertaining and extremely informative tour. Clair was our guide and her energy, knowledge and humor made the tour an exceptional experience. The support staff was also excellent at answering questions and ensuring we were updated on any changes. I highly recommend this tour as well as Walks in Europe.
Fantastic tour led by Mikaela— outstanding historical information and put timeline in place and context for items we saw. Highly recommend her as a guide and the tour we took!
Claire was wonderful. Really engaged with the group. Made sure everyone heard everything and kept us all together. Skipped the main line. Learned way more than if we’d had gone on our own. Made for a memorable experience.
Very interesting tour of the Doges Palace, learned a lot about the history of Venice. Then a visit to St Marks Basilica at the quiet time just before closing so not too many visitors there. Cristina was a great guide, very friendly and knowledgable.
Clara was an excellent tour guide! She is so well versed on the history of Venice. And she is full of energy!
Excellent tour. The tour guide, Clair, was outstanding!
Zoe was an excellent guide, managing to navigate many subjects with knowledge and humor. It is difficult to explain everything in the Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica in a 2 1/2 hour tour, but she did a superb job. Both sites are "musts" on a short visit to Venice. The tour group wasn't too big, perhaps 15, and the sound quality of the ear buds was very good. Not a good tour was young children or uninterested teenagers.
Tour guide was extremely knowledgeable. Tour was a bit long while in the palace. Would have liked more time in the cathedral.
Our guide was wonderful. The tour was very informative and she did great answering all our questions
Monday through Friday 9 am to 7 pm EST
Reach us by phone
Reach us by email
