Private Night Tour of Doge's Palace and St Mark's Basilica for Exclusive Access
5.0
31 Ratings
Venezia
Experience the exclusive Private Night Tour of Doge's Palace and St Mark's Basilica for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore these iconic landmarks after hours. Discover the rich history, opulent rooms, and hidden stories with a private guide. Be mesmerized by the stunning light show and sacred art in the basilica. Book now!
Duration:
3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Piazza San Marco - Your Private Night Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Tour starts in one of the most beautiful and famous squares in all of Venice – St Mark’s Square – which has stood through wars, flooding, changes in governments for over a millennium. As you admire the square’s romantic, historic and powerful atmosphere, your guide will give you a good idea of the timelines and history of this famous piazza before, as you make your way inside the Doge’s Palace.
What's Included
- Exclusive after-hours access to St Mark’s
- Expert local tour guide
- Visit to Pala d’Oro and St Mark’s crypt
- In-depth tour of Doge’s Palace, including prisons and apartments
- Experience a light show of Golden Mosaics in St Mark’s Basilica
What's Not Included
- Food and Drink
- Gratuities
Additional Information
This Exclusive Evening Tour of Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s allows you a rare opportunity to experience two of the city’s most renowned landmarks. Your adventure begins at St Mark’s square, where the extensive history of this famed square will unfold before you as you head towards the Doge’s Palace. Your personal guide will enthrall you with tales of notorious inmates once imprisoned in the palace dungeons while you explore the rich rooms, prisons, courts, and halls of the Doge’s Palace. From there, you will venture into St. Mark’s post-closing hours - that’s right! This tour bestows upon you the unique privilege of After Hours access, shared only by your group and your tour guide!!
Upon stepping into the basilica, you will be enthralled by a brilliant light display illuminating the holy art and mosaics that decorate the golden mosaic ceilings. Your journey will also take you to the Pala d’Oro altar, and into the crypt where the remains of St Mark lie.
We promise, this will be an unforgettable experience!
- On certain dates, most travelers staying outside of Venice who are planning to visit for the day will be required to pay a €5 access fee. For further details (including exemptions) and to learn what days this fee is applicable, please visit: https://cda.ve.it
Location
St. Mark's Square
The meeting point is under the winged lion's column in Saint Mark's Square, closest side to Grand Canal. Your guide will be holding a LivTours sign.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(31 Ratings)
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Skalondon
Mar 30, 2024
Private Tour St Mark’s at Night - Go - We don’t often do tours but after coming to Venice for more than 30 years we decided to visit St Mark’s. We didn’t fancy the crowds there now are during the day so chose this.
Ottavia was our guide. There was one other private tour and two group tours and the other tours didn’t impact our tour.
The tour started with a tour of the square where Ottavia gave a bit of history on the square, Venice and the architecture. Some we knew some we didn’t. Then it was into the basilica for an hour. Yes you had to wait at mosaics pointed out to all tours or the Pala d’Oro but it never felt like waiting in a queue as Ottavia gave some history or pointed out something of interest.
During the tour all the lights were turned out and then relit one by one. You see the Pala d’Oro - generally only revealed for mass and the crypt which has a system to clear water and is used for services during tourist visits. A first for us.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Journey16387134170
Mar 29, 2024
Thank you Grazia! - We had a lovely time with Grazia on our first tour (of 5) with LivTours and I can't recommend enough! We learned so much about the history and values of Venice at Doge's Palace. And it was amazing to be able to see St Mark's Basilica in private at night with little other groups/people, a stark difference from how busy and crowded the square was during the day. Thank you to Grazia for sharing funny anecdotes along the way as well, especially about the Bridge of Sighs. Would 100% recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shiqiiris
Nov 17, 2023
One of a kind experience - The experience was amazing! We basically had a private tour as there was only me and my husband. We were hiven all the attention and felt confortavle to ask questions. Our tour guide Sabrina was very experienced and friendly. She taught us so much about the Doge Palace and the Cathedral. The after hour experience was incredible as we have never been to a similar tour. The tour agency was very responsible to update us the reporting time changes due to the opening hours changes.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Trek22617552163
Oct 10, 2023
Exceptional tour with Nico! Private night time Doges Palace & St Mark’s - Nico was such a wonderful tour guide! He is extremely knowledgeable & taught us so much. Very great & engaging personality. We are so happy to have met Nico & would recommend to our friends. His has an amazing depth of historical knowledge & expertise. Thank you so much Nico & Livtours! Grazie mille!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sidney_c
Oct 4, 2023
Perfectly peaceful tour! - Grace or Grazia was a fantastic guide for our night tour of Dodge’s Palace and St Mark’s basilica. We enjoyed our private tour and with very few other groups visiting at the same time we were able to take our time and truly soak in everything without large crowds of people. Grazia was warm and friendly and very knowledgeable about all of the history and made our tour entertaining and fun. I cannot recommend the night tour of St Mark’s Basillica enough, it is the best way to see it! I recommend this tour and especially Grazia to show you these wonders of Venice!
Review provided by Viator
Brad
Sep 25, 2023
Great private tour - Octavia is a marvelous guide who customized our tour based upon what we had previously seen.
Wish we had known we’d get a 1.75hr break before after dark portion of the tour. We ate prior to the tour thinking the tour would go from meeting time on through dark.
In reality the break was the best time to grab a bite.
The highlights of the tour for me were San Marco crypt, and just when the lights were beginning to be turned on inside San Marco.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Patriciapn3914od
Sep 10, 2023
Nighttime Beauty of Venice - Niko was a wonderful tour guide and showed us the beauty and history of Venice throughout the tour of Doge Palace and St Marks. It was so special, grand and informative.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
A2196czbriank
Sep 4, 2023
Amazing Tour! - So much detail, Tour guide was exceptionally! Pointed out so many things I would have missed at first glance. Lots of history
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Danaylor
Aug 15, 2023
Glistening evening - Our guide Octavia was fantastic. She shared so many historical facets of the Basilica and Palace and wove the pieces together so we could follow the thread of the church and the different murals
Going into the. Church after hours where they turned on the lights was magical. The beauty of the gold glistening throughout the ceiling was breathtaking. Truly enjoyed the tour
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Meredith
Aug 11, 2023
Comprehensive engaging tour of Venice highlights - Ottavia was very personable and knowledgeable. We had a wonderful and informative tour and learned so much about the art and history of the Doge’s Palace and the Basilica. So many hidden gems. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
