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St Mark's Basilica: Golden Mosaics & Pala d'Oro
4.2
17 Ratings
Venezia
Experience the beauty of St. Mark’s Basilica and Square in Venice from a unique bird’s eye view. Marvel at the cathedral’s history and explore away from the crowds.
Experience the beauty of St. Mark’s Basilica and Square in Venice from a unique bird’s eye view. Marvel at the cathedral’s history and explore away from the crowds.
Duration:
45 minutes
Cancellation:
72 hours
Highlights
- Piazza San Marco - Join the guide at Calle Larga dell’Ascension, located behind the Correr Museum, to begin the guided tour of St. Mark’s Basilica.
- Basilica di San Marco - With the guidance of a knowledgeable local expert, explore the golden heart of St. Mark’s Basilica. Be amazed by the stunning golden mosaics that embellish the interior and…
- Piazza San Marco - Join the guide at Calle Larga dell’Ascension, located behind the Correr Museum, to begin the guided tour of St. Mark’s Basilica.
- Basilica di San Marco - With the guidance of a knowledgeable local expert, explore the golden heart of St. Mark’s Basilica. Be amazed by the stunning golden mosaics that embellish the interior and enjoy the exclusive chance to view the Pala d’Oro, a globally acclaimed Byzantine masterpiece adorned with thousands of gems and precious stones (available for those who choose the dedicated option).
What's Included
- Skip the Line access to St Mark’s Basilica main floor
- Guided tour
- Entry tickets to the Pala d’Oro (only included with the specific ‘Basilica + Pala d’Oro’ option)
- Skip the Line access to St Mark’s Basilica main floor
- Guided tour
- Entry tickets to the Pala d’Oro (only included with the specific ‘Basilica + Pala d’Oro’ option)
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Entry ticket to the Treasure
- Entry ticket and access to the Museum and the Terrace
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Entry ticket to the Treasure
- Entry ticket and access to the Museum and the Terrace
Additional Information
Step inside St Mark’s Basilica and, with the guidance of a knowledgeable local expert, gaze upwards to marvel at the shimmering golden mosaics that adorn the ceilings and domes.
Throughout the tour, explore historical masterpieces and their fascinating iconographic depictions, including the renowned golden domes, the iconostasis, the ciborium, and the…
Step inside St Mark’s Basilica and, with the guidance of a knowledgeable local expert, gaze upwards to marvel at the shimmering golden mosaics that adorn the ceilings and domes.
Throughout the tour, explore historical masterpieces and their fascinating iconographic depictions, including the renowned golden domes, the iconostasis, the ciborium, and the main altar, which houses the tomb of St Mark the Evangelist.
The Pala d’Oro visit is also an option, showcasing the world’s only complete piece of Gothic goldwork. Situated behind the high altar, this invaluable treasure is embellished with 1,900 gemstones and 260 cloisonné enamels set on gilded silver. It’s a must-see for enthusiasts of art and history.
Seize the chance to enrich your experience by booking the Pala d’Oro add-on: it is now offered as a combined visit with the standard Basilica tour.
- Please provide the full names of all travelers when booking. Failure to present a voucher with all travelers’ full names at the ticket office prior to entry may result in denied entry to the attraction.
- Each traveler must present a valid passport or ID document that matches the name provided at the time of booking for successful entry to St.Mark’s Basilica.
- In cases of religious ceremonies, exceptionally high tides or other special occasions, access to St. Mark’s Basilica may not be permitted.
- To visit St Mark’s Basilica it is necessary to dress appropriately (no shorts, vests or tops) and backpacks are not allowed for safety reasons.
- This is a collective tour, which means there might be other participants going on the tour with you.
- Please note that, due to the particular morphological structure of Venice and the logistic problems resulting from it, we cannot guarantee that the whole tour is accessible to people with limited mobility. This means that people with walking difficulties and wheelchair users could not be able to access some parts of the itinerary.
- Please make sure to arrive on time so you don’t miss out! We are unfortunately unable to offer refunds or credits for late arrivals or no-shows.
- On certain dates, most travelers staying outside of Venice who are planning to visit for the day will be required to pay +an access fee.
- Entrance fees reserved for tour operators and guides: €12.00 for St. Mark’s Basilica and €24.00 for the Basilica plus Pala d’Oro (Golden Altarpiece).
Location
Calle larga de l'Ascension
The meeting point is ten to fifteen minutes before the start of the tour at the TURIVE meeting point, located on Calle larga de l' Ascension, near the post office (Poste Italiane), behind Correr Museum
Cancellation Policy
If you cancel at least 3 full day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel within 3 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.
If you cancel at least 3 full day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel within 3 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.
Customer Ratings
4.2
(17 Ratings)
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Diane_a
Apr 17, 2025
Enjoyable, fact-filled, interesting side stories tour. - You are on your feet the whole time, so wear comfy shoes. There is one very steep, long staircase up and then down. Don't go around a religious holiday because access is limited and the crowds gather in smaller areas.
Our guide was very knowledgeable and polite. She was interesting and animated which made her enjoyable to listen to.
Review provided by Viator
Kmaria1202
Mar 18, 2025
Sunday morning is the time to visit! - The St Mark’s museum is the best place to view the amazing mosaics of the Basilica. Add the fabulous terrace overlooking the square and the lagoon, and it’s a can’t-miss. Oh yeah — and the exhibitions themselves are limited but interesting!
Pro Tip: go on a Sunday morning when the basilica is closed to tourists but the museum is open and the choir might be practicing. Simply heavenly!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jessie_r
Mar 13, 2022
Great Views and Info! - Great tour with excellent views. We were very pleased to find a tour that took us to the terrace of the basilica but we didn’t have to endure Doge’s Palace (had been before and was not my cup of tea). Elisabetta was excellent!
Review provided by Viator
Gemma
Jul 7, 2017
Would definantly recommend as seeing... - <p>Would definantly recommend as seeing the queues to get in where huge we skipped all this and you get the added bonus of being able to go right up the top and see great views of st marks square.</p>
Review provided by Viator
Auctionguys
Jun 26, 2022
Easy, cheap, inside view of St Mark’s without the crowd - For some strange reason Tripadvisor won’t allow me to post a review simply of St. Mark’s Basilica but that’s what this is.
If you want to visit the Basilica (and you should) you have several choices.
1. Attend a service, which will be long and held in Italian (not unreasonably) Upside: it’s free! Downsides: you’ll need to find out the times of each service and you won’t be allowed to use a mobile or camera.
2. Buy expensive tickets online well in advance.
3. Join a long queue on the day and be prepared to wait and wait and wait, with no shelter from the sun
4. Roll up at any time when St Mark’s is open, buy a ticket for €7 for the Basilica Museum only (no queue), climb about sixty steps and you’ll find yourself inside the church with brilliant views of the mosaics on the ceiling of St Mark’s and an external terrace above the front door from which you have the very best views of the Campinale, the Piazza, and the Grand Canal. You can see and hear the music, hymns and sermons being played out down below and what’s more the Museum includes the four original bronze horses that (when I first visited the city) took pride of place on the roof before being replaced with replicas in the 1970s. The originals may well be Roman and originally from present-day Istanbul. This way of seeing St Mark’s is unique, relatively inexpensive, convenient, cool, and quiet. What’s not to like?
Guess which option I recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ruth
Aug 20, 2017
Worth booking this tour to avoid the... - <p>Worth booking this tour to avoid the long queues and view the basilica and Square from different angles. Informative guide explained things we wouldn't have known about the history and construction of the building, etc.</p>
Review provided by Viator
Shirley
Aug 12, 2017
Delighted i booked this tour as i... - <p>Delighted i booked this tour as i dont think you would get the real feel of the Basilica on your own,Our guide was a local who loved her job and you could feel the love she had for venice, We learned alot about the histort here also you can stay on after the tour is over and take a while on your own and to get some beauitful photos</p>
Review provided by Viator
Jacqui_c
Jul 18, 2023
Not as good as other tours - Seeing the basilica was amazing but felt that the guide was a bit unwell and wasn’t at her best hard to understand some of what she was saying
Think perhaps it would have been better just to pop in ourselves
Review provided by Viator
Rusmagi
May 20, 2018
Attention to the closure of luggage storage - We had booked the tour at 4.15pm, which started a little late due to slowness related to the crowding that day. The visit ended at the closing time of the Basilica (17) which unfortunately coincides with the closing time of the luggage storage. We had to return the next day to retrieve our backpack.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Donna
Jul 2, 2025
False advertising. - The woman at the meeting point was extremely rude. Refused to answer questions - just thrust our radios at us and glared and said “No!” when my child asked for a lanyard for the radio.
We paid for a tour of the Basilica, museum, and terrace and were told we could spend as much time as we wanted in San Marco’s. Instead, we were rushed through the Basilica and did not get to see the museum or the terrace even though our voucher included them and clearly stated that is what we paid for. There were at least four other people on the tour who had the same problem. The tour guide - who was a lovely woman - tried to call the office and they told her “too bad, the rules changed.” Yet I see that still today they are selling the same tour (including the terrace and museum) and they certainly didn’t bother to let us know that the rules had changed so we could make other arrangements. It was a VERY expensive tour for our family of four, we have limited time in Venice, and we are extremely disappointed.
The one saving grace is that the tour guide was very good for the short time we had with her and the Basilica itself is stunning and very interesting.
However, I must say - do yourself a favor and avoid this company.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
