Venice

Venice 4 hrs Tour : St Mark's Basilica, Doge's Palace and Walk

Badge of ExcellenceVenice, Italy
Venice Skip the Line Doges Palace and St Marks Basilica Tours plus Venice Walking Tour

From $120.34

Price varies by group size

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

  • 4 hours
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

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Overview

This private tour helps you to check off two of Venice’s top attractions in a day, with skip-the-line entry included to save time waiting in long lines. Start by exploring Doge’s Palace with your guide, then later on, stroll through the spectacular St. Mark’s Basilica, all with fascinating commentary throughout, and a chance to see some hidden gems too.
  • Combine two best-selling Venice tours in a day
  • Skip the line at two top attractions: Doge's Palace and St Mark’s Basilica
  • Admire the extravagant interiors of St Mark’s Basilica
  • Enjoy the luxury of having your own private guide

What's Included

  • Professional English-speaking local guide
  • Guaranteed to skip the long lines to Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica
  • Headset to hear the guide clearly when there are more than 8 participants in the group
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Food and drinks

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

  • Giardini Reali
    P.za San Marco, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy

    Entrance to the Royal Gardens, on the waterfront of St Mark's Square - You'll meet Avventure Bellissime tour coordinator outside the gardens, in front of the wrought iron Gate holding a sign with the name of the tour and Avventure Bellissime logo written on it.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Skip the Line: Doge's Palace Tour (2 hours):

After meeting your guide outside the Royal Gardens in central Venice, walk to the nearby Doge’s Palace at St Mark’s Square. Admire the magnificent Gothic exterior, and then skip straight to the front of the queue so you can head inside and start exploring. Follow your guide through the palace’s ornate public rooms adorned from floor to ceiling with gilded decor and murals, including paintings by Renaissance masters Tintoretto and Veronese.

As you explore, your guide will share details about the powerful doges who ruled the Venetian Republic for centuries. Hear about their fearsome governing tactics, and then step across the famous Bridge of Sighs into the connected prison network where enemies of the republic were locked up. After you’ve emerged back into the daylight of St Mark’s Square, enjoy a break at your leisure before your next tour begins. The break varies depending on the operational schedule.

Skip the Line: Small-Group Venice Walking Tour with St Mark’s Basilica (2 hours):

Meet your tour back in St Mark’s Square and learn about the crown jewel of this piazza — the Italo-Byzantine St Mark’s Basilica. Head to the front of the line and step inside the awe-inspiring cathedral. Admire the soaring golden domes, marble mosaics and intricate murals of the lavish interior. You’ll have approximately 30 minutes inside the Basilica to explore.

Next, escape the crowds of St Mark’s Square and follow your guide through lesser-known backstreets. Learn about some of Venice’s hidden gems, such as the Gothic San Zaccaria Church or Campo Santa Maria Formosa and Hidden Venice, as your guide shares tales of the city’s colorful characters and history. Your tour concludes back at the original departure point in St Mark’s Square. 

See the 'View additional info' link below for a map of the start point for your first tour.

Piazza San Marco (Pass By)

Doge's Palace

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Scala dei Giganti di Palazzo Ducale

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Ponte dei Sospiri (Pass By)

Porta Della Carta

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Piazza San Marco

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Basilica di San Marco

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Chiesa di San Zaccaria (Pass By)

Campo Santa Maria Formosa

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Calle del Paradiso (Pass By)

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 2 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • Near public transportation
  • Most travelers can participate
  • A dress code is required to enter places of worship and selected museums. No shorts or sleeveless tops allowed. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women. You may risk refused entry if you fail to comply with these dress requirements
  • Large bags and rucksacks are not allowed inside St Mark's Basilica
  • At certain times it may not be possible to enter any of the visited churches due to religious functions taking place. These closures are beyond our control so no refunds or discounts will be issued
  • Guaranteed skip-the-line entrance to St Mark's Basilica is compulsory from April to October due to high number of visitors. St Mark’s Basilica does not offer a fast entry service to anyone in other periods considered off peak season. No refund is due when skip-the-line reservation isn't required.
  • 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
  • Small group Tour - maximum 16 people - Min 5 people
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
  • This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

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Reviews

4.5
221 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travelers.
Showing 1-10 of 221 reviews
Private Tour in Venice
ThomasL, Oct 2023
The guide for this private tour provide us with a wealth of information that brought what we saw in context. The tour guide made sure to tailor the experience.
A good tour and a good introduction to Venice
philip_d, Sep 2023
The tour of the Doges Palace was fascinating, made all the better by our guide Adrianne. Her extensive knowledge of the history of Venice and the paintings brought the trip to life. Also, the walking tour was excellent as well. The visit to St Mark’s Basilica was disappointing. We did not “jump the queue” and did not stay long
Private tours are great way to go.
David_S, Aug 2023
Guide was very informative, interesting, intelligent, and well spoken. She provided lots of information and was able to easily answer all of our questions. Her flexibility and knowledge were appreciated.
Educational and fun tour
Mark_F, Aug 2023
Edi was a wonderful tour guide who really made this experience a lot of fun. She had a great personality and kept our teen entertained with stories from the past. She pointed out lots of interesting tidbits about the art we saw and explained what each thing meant. We got lots of good suggestions as well for how to spend the rest of our time here. My son enjoyed they way she spoke to him like an adult and included him in the discussions and tried to tell him stories he would enjoy. Definitely a great tour. However, one thing this company does NOT tell you is that to get into the basilica, women need to have their shoulders and knees covered so we had to spend money to but some cheap scarves at a stall outside. I wish we’d known ahead of time so my wife could have dressed accordingly and not had to buy extra.
Fantastic!
ashandley, Jul 2023
A private tour, not the cheapest, but worth it. Our tour guide, Ariana, was brilliant and very knowledgeable about the history of everything. Great experience. We thought 3 hours would have been better as by that point we had done the Dodge & St Marks without rushing, and by the the last hour our feet had had it! Skipping the lines is worth it too. Make sure your knees and shoulders are covered for the church part of the tour!
Buonissimo!
David_P, May 2023
Our guide, Arianna Lovato, was superb. Not only charming and friendly, but also very knowledgeable. We almost felt like Venetians ourselves as we finished our tour. Would highly recommend both her and Viator!
Incredible Experience
Claude_E, May 2023
Adrianna was an outstanding tour guide who was very knowledgeable and communicated her knowledge well. She was very personal and considerate Sri customize our experience as we needed. I would highly recommend her for this tour.
Awesome Half-day in Venezia!
Joselito_C, Apr 2023
The tour was made more special by our tour guide, Cristina. She was very knowledgeable and was extremely engaging!
Feel the love of Venice
David_S, Mar 2023
This experience was amazing!! I really got to feel Venice! My tour guide was fun and she really knows everything, we went through History and present days, all 4 hours were a completely and wonderful adventure
Awesome guide - Marina!
Linda_N, Nov 2022
Our guide, Marina, from Avventure Bellissime was awesome. She was punctual, friendly, and extremely knowledgeable. We learned so much from her. We would highly recommend her to others.
Great tour
john_r, Aug 2022
We had the best guide ever, very passionate about her work but Worked with us to make it the best ever. The place we visited where rich in history but we got to get a feel of the people of Venice. Thank you Christina. P
Birthday in Venice
rui_m, Jul 2022
Excellent tour, knowledgeable guide and skipping the queue a must on a hot day. We learnt so much about the cities beginnings, architecture, customs and commerce. Ciao Rui
Viator didn't come through
Larry_S, Jul 2022
The tour itself was fine -but the viator confirmed time was not accurate. I called the actual Guide agency - fortunately- to confirm our time and was told that Viator had made an error. They could not provide a guide for us at the time we wanted and had been promised, but we could do it at a different time with one guide for the first half and another for the second half. This change meant that we could not do the Murano glass tour offered by our hotel. So the guides were very good and the sights marvelous, but no thanks to Viator.
Response from Host, Jul 2022
Dear Client, I'm sorry for the troubles with your booking but I'm glad we've managed to find a solution for your Venice Tour. It is always advisable to call ahead to confirm excursions as not only human beings but also technology at times fails to work. Calling ahead to reconfirm allows to have the chance to find solutions in case of problems with reservations. Fortunately these issues happen rarely. Yours sincerely , Monica
Great introduction to Venice
ALFREDO_Z, Jul 2022
Very knowledgeable and passionate local guide. Provides a great introduction to Venice. Guide brings you to less well-known neighborhoods so you see a side of Venice not many people see.
Great tour. Very informative and the perfect length.
LISA_F, Jul 2022
Great tour and tour guide. Lots of walking but manageable. Very informative. All the perfect highlights.
Excellent tour guide and...
Karen_C, Jul 2022
Excellent tour guide and content. Enjoyed the walking part round the city and the Basilica. Doges Palace add on was also excellent.
HorribleHorrible waste in beginning , but tour was good at 11:00 am time
Daniel_M, Jul 2022
We went to the departure site early but no tour guide showed. We texted tour guide but I answer. We called but phone message said that it was closed. Walked to tour office but not at address. I booked another tour for 11am. My partner was so frustrated that he refused. It was hot and we were already chested out of several hours of tour time. When the tour operator came she was from the same company. She said that there was no tour for 9am. I had booked another ancient city tour for a few hours after this but couldn’t make it since the 11 am tour from Viator went past that time. We wasted a lot of money and time as well as discomfort! The tour guide called her company and they told her that I will have to call Viator and get money refunded for all the tours since it was their fault for having wrong time. I’ll report back about outcome.
Response from Host, Jul 2022
Dear Client , I'm sorry to read that you had a bad experience with the logistics of our morning tour. I understand you had a voucher showing 9am departure , and that was the wrong departure time - Probably the message was not seen on time but as for our phone number not working, this is unlikely. We would have told you to show up at 11am without you in need to buy another ticket. Anyhow if you can give me some more details to track back your reservation, I see what I can do. Kind Regards, Monica
Fantastic Venice tour!
Kristin_A, Jun 2022
Beautiful Basilica, Palace & city! We learned so much and our guide was excellent! I highly recommend this tour.
Very Informative!
Steve_B, May 2022
Laura our guide was great and had very good English. She shared the history of Venice as you walk through the area. I only wished we would have been able to remain in the Basilica so we could have seen more.
Got half of what we paid for
Angela_N, Apr 2022
Our tour guide was fun and knowledgeable. However, the tour seemed rushed especially once we got to St. Marks Basilica. We were never given our tour or even tickets to Dodges Palace. We picked this tour mainly because of the chance to view these wondrous sites. Very disappointing.
Response from Host, Apr 2022
Dear Client, The tour you bought included 2 hrs tour of Venice with skip the line tickets to St Mark's basilica ( time allowed inside is 10 minutes) and a tour of the doges palace in the afternoon with skip the line tickets included. I don't quite understand when you say that you were not given tickets to the doges palace as tickets as customery on tours are given to the guide. Perhaps you did not show up to take the doges palace tour , this is the only reason I can think of based on your comment. Yours sincerely, Monica
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