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Venice Highlights: St. Mark's Basilica, Doges Palace, and Gondola Ride Adventure
4.6
858 Ratings
Venezia
Experience the best of Venice in just 3.5 hours with a tour of St. Mark’s Basilica, Doges Palace, and a gondola ride. Skip the lines and explore the highlights before enjoying the rest of your day in Venice.
Experience the best of Venice in just 3.5 hours with a tour of St. Mark’s Basilica, Doges Palace, and a gondola ride. Skip the lines and explore the highlights before enjoying the rest of your day in Venice.
Duration:
3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
-
Basilica di San Marco - Bypass the lengthy ticket queues and enjoy approximately 20 minutes inside St. Mark’s Basilica. Marvel at the golden mosaics, domes, and marble floors as your guide explains the influence of Venice’s maritime empire on this sacred site.
Please be aware that passing through the security line is still required, and there might…
- Basilica di San Marco - Bypass the lengthy ticket queues and enjoy approximately 20 minutes inside St. Mark’s Basilica. Marvel at the golden mosaics, domes, and marble floors as your guide explains the influence of Venice’s maritime empire on this sacred site.
Please be aware that passing through the security line is still required, and there might be a brief wait.
- Doge’s Palace - While exploring the Doge’s Palace, learn about the intriguing history of the Venetian Republic under the governance of elected magistrates. This tour not only highlights the palace’s ornate interior but also delves into the city’s historical crime and legal systems. Appreciate classic Venetian art and visit key attractions within Doge’s Palace, such as the Grand Staircase and the Bridge of Sighs.
- Piazza San Marco - After your guided tour of the Doge’s Palace, your guide will point out additional highlights around St. Mark’s Square, including the magnificent bell tower (exterior view) and the surrounding porticos. Enjoy a 20-minute break to grab a snack and unwind.
- Venice - Now, it’s time to engage in a quintessential Venetian experience. Step aboard your gondola boat, entrusted to a skilled gondolier, and take in the beauty of Venice from the water. Fun fact: in the Venetian dialect, “gondolier” means “rowing master.” Glide through the scenic canals in a gondola that accommodates up to 5 participants.
What's Included
- Professional art historian guide
- Timed-entry ticket for St. Mark’s Basilica (€12)
- Time entry and tour of the Doges Palace
- Small-group size, maximum 25 participants
- 30-minute gondola ride (max 5 guests)
- Professional art historian guide
- Timed-entry ticket for St. Mark’s Basilica (€12)
- Time entry and tour of the Doges Palace
- Small-group size, maximum 25 participants
- 30-minute gondola ride (max 5 guests)
What's Not Included
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional Information
This tour combines Venice’s two most significant landmarks with timed-entry tickets, allowing visitors to explore St. Mark’s Basilica and Doge’s Palace in just half a day without the hassle of waiting in lines. An expert English-speaking guide provides insightful context, covering everything from the basilica’s stunning mosaics to the palace’s rich…
This tour combines Venice’s two most significant landmarks with timed-entry tickets, allowing visitors to explore St. Mark’s Basilica and Doge’s Palace in just half a day without the hassle of waiting in lines. An expert English-speaking guide provides insightful context, covering everything from the basilica’s stunning mosaics to the palace’s rich political history and intriguing prison passages. The tour concludes with a 30-minute shared gondola ride, offering a quintessential canal experience to complement the sightseeing.
- Since we will be entering a church, please make sure that your shoulders and knees are covered. Also, please refrain from bringing big back packs or bags, because they are not always allowed inside.
- All guests must supply their full name and date of birth that matches a valid ID at the time of the booking. Please note that a photo ID is required to visit the St. Mark’s Basilica. Name changes are not permitted.
Location
Colonna di San Todaro
Piazza San Marco
Please Arrive 15 Minutes Early. Between the two big columns in St. Mark’s Square (columns of San Marco and San Teodoro) located on the south side of the square, near the canal. Your guide will be holding a "The Tour Guy" sign.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.6
(858 Ratings)
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Guidosz7326lq
Jan 27, 2026
Tour to Murano and Burano - Tour with Sylvia was amazing and educational. Enjoyed her upbeat personality, charisma, and communication. She is simply, amazing!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jacqueline_m
Jan 23, 2026
Great learning experience - The Best of Venice tour of St. Mark’s Basilica, the Doge’s Palace, and the gondola ride was very good. Marco, our tour guide, clearly was highly educated, well spoken, and incredibly informative, with a way of explaining Venetian history that really clicked with us.
Marco was engaging, and easy to listen to. This tour was well organized and offered a great balance of history. We learned a lot and enjoyed every moment.
Review provided by Viator
Glennh819
Jan 22, 2026
Amazing tour - Fillipo was an amazing guide. He answered all of our silly questions and very knowledgeable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dafal2022
Jan 21, 2026
Amazing - Philipo is an amazing and experienced guide. Everthing is flawwless. Perfect for people visiting Venice. Thanks Philipo!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michaela_r
Jan 21, 2026
Excellent would highly recommend - Wonderful tour and tour guide. We learned so much in just one day. This is the best tour when you have limited time and want to see and learn as much as you can. The tour guide was very knowledgeable, friendly and spoke excellent English.
Review provided by Viator
David_b
Jan 17, 2026
Excellent tour of the true highlights of Venice - Our guide was very knowledgeable and he helped make the most out of a small group tour that doesn’t do too much traveling from place to place which sometimes I think is harder than the tours where you are constantly hopping between locations and buildings, when you have to make two or three building buildings fill the day wisely you’ve got a really add extra interest to everything and that was done very well.
Review provided by Viator
Kristopher_f
Jan 8, 2026
In depth tour with historical highlights of Doges Palace and St. Mark's Basilica. - This is an in depth tour of Doges Palace and St. Mark's Basilica. Plan to have lunch or a coffee before or after, as you'll need to sit and take in the beautiful surroundings!
Review provided by Viator
C6190ddjackk
Jan 10, 2026
Great Tour and guides - Tour was great. Interesting parts of Venice were included not on our list of things to do. The price of admission was well worth it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Awilda_o
Jan 6, 2026
Informational tour - It was convenient that we could enter to both places without issues, to the Doge's Palace and Basilica St Mark's. And the gondola ride was nice. The tour guide was very informative. She knew a lot of history.
Review provided by Viator
Maria_e
Jan 11, 2026
We Scheduled this tour... - We Scheduled this tour months ago. 4days prior to the tour we received a message saying that the tour is cancelled due to limited participants, but they can offer a different tour the same day. We agreed to that and they sent a NEW ticket/voucher reflecting the new price but NOT THE NEW TIME. Time that says on our ticket is 9:30 and we got there at 9:20. We were told that our tour started at 9am.
Review provided by Viator
