Venice Tour: Private Guide to Basilica & Palace

Embark on a private tour of Venice’s iconic sites, Saint Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace. Enjoy skip-the-line access, personalized attention, and breathtaking views.

Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Piazza San Marco - The Doge’s Palace and Saint Mark’s Tour commences at the stunning Piazza San Marco, where participants will meet their Private Tour Guide. Embark on an exploration of two of Venice’s most renowned landmarks in this iconic and picturesque square, while discovering its architecture, history, and fascinating stories.
  • **Basilica di…
What's Included
  • Private Tour Guide
  • Exclusive Skip the Line Access to Doge’s Palace
  • Exclusive Skip the Line Access into Saint Mark’s Basilica
  • Admission to Palace Great Halls, Prisons and Weapon Collections and Bridge of Sighs
What's Not Included
  • Food and Drink
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

With this Exclusive Experience you will enjoy a comprehensive and engaging Tour of Venice’s two most famous sites, Saint Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace, and all of it in your very own Private Group with your very own Private Guide! Savor the privileges of an intimate and personalized tour, which affords you the possibility of going at your own…

Location
Colonna di San Marco
Piazzetta San Marco
The meeting point is under the winged lion's column in Saint Mark's Square, closest side to the 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
(322 Ratings)
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Flynn_s
Feb 19, 2026
A tour full of information and splendour - I would just like to say what a wonderful tour we had today. Marie-Therese was a fabulous guide who provided information about everything with a lovely sense of humour. It also didn’t matter what we asked questions about: art, history or religion she could always provide an answer. She was also great at slowing down the pace and finding seats when we needed them. I wouldn’t hesitate for a second in doing a tour with her again or recommending her to anyone else.
Review provided by Viator
Donovanh2026
Feb 15, 2026
Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica with Nico - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Nico was absolutely outstanding on our Semi-Private St. Mark’s & Doge’s Palace Tour! As a true Venetian, he brought so much authenticity and passion to every stop along the way. Inside St. Mark’s Basilica, he helped us appreciate the breathtaking mosaics, the rich symbolism throughout the church, and the incredible history behind this iconic landmark. He explained details we definitely would have missed on our own and made the stories of Venice’s past feel vivid and alive. At the Doge’s Palace, Nico walked us through the grand chambers, pointing out the stunning artwork and explaining how the Venetian Republic was governed. Crossing the famous Bridge of Sighs and hearing the stories connected to it was a highlight, his storytelling truly transported us back in time. He was engaging, knowledgeable, and incredibly generous with his time. I honestly think if we hadn’t needed to catch a train, he would have happily continued sharing more of his beautiful city with us. We couldn’t have asked for a better guide, highly, highly recommend Nico! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alan
Jan 15, 2026
Incredible Venetian history - Nico expertly guided us through the history of the basilica and doges palace showing an incredible knowledge of Venetian history
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Suresh_b
Jan 11, 2026
A tour guide was... - Our tour guide was extremely informative detailed and yet kept the tour relaxed and managed the difficult task of keeping our two teenage sons interactive as well
Review provided by Viator
Scrapbook-crazy
Jan 6, 2026
Perfect tour for overview of Venetian history & views inside the Basilica & Palace - Francesca was our guide on this very interesting and thorough tour of the Basilica and Doge's Palace. Our family of 5 were the only members of the tour. We were each given headsets to hear Francesca and they worked extremely well (other tours nearby could have been distracting or talked over her narrative without these). She was very knowledgeable, and adjusted her pace to us, allowing ample time for questions, photos, viewing (so much to see!), and for stragglers to catch up. She gave us a fantastic overview of Venetian history in this 2 1/2 hour tour, which was the perfect time allotment for our family.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michelletp770px
Dec 28, 2025
Great 1st Tour - Pamela was a fantastic guide for our first tour in Italy. She was very friendly, engaging, I really enjoyed being able to not worry about the tickets or where to wait in line. Pamela was full of interesting history facts and shared it in a tangebile way. Thank you
Review provided by Tripadvisor
560lloydt
Dec 8, 2025
Great tour of St Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace - We had a great tour with Pamela! She was very enthusiastic and passionate about giving us the full history of St Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace and how they connect with Venice’s story and identity. She really went above and beyond for us, taking the time to answer our questions (of which we had many!) and walking us through all the different architectural details of the two historical sites. We felt that we had a better understanding of Venice after our tour, all thanks to Pamela!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Eric
Nov 28, 2025
Basilica terrace and doge. - This was a great tour and Nico is a great guide. We enjoyed touring the basilica as well as the doge. We learned a lot about the history of Venus as well as the history of Venice. Would highly recommend. Very much enjoyed the terrace on the basilica.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hannahbd6169of
Nov 17, 2025
Great experience. - Sarah our guide was excellent. She catered our private tour to mobility needs and interests. She had lots of interesting anecdotes and an overall great personality. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ksweingart
Nov 12, 2025
Private tour of the Doge's palace. - We had a very positive experience with Matteo who led us through the Doge's Palace. He is extremely knowledgeable and introduced us to a government system that was unfamiliar to us. Matteo also supplemented the tour with additional historical information to give us additional context. I would highly recommend Matteo as a tour guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $219
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).