St. Mark’s Basilica & Doge’s Palace Half-Day Tour with Gondola Ride
Explore St. Mark's Square's most iconic attractions with skip-the-line tickets and an expert guide
The excitement of planning a visit to Venice can become a challenge due to crowds and long waits. Our expert guides grant you privileged entrance, allowing you to skip the lines at St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace. Next, it's time to relax as your guide will then lead you to the serene waters of the Grand Canal on a classic gondola ride, capturing the essence of this enchanting city in just a few hours. Without the hassle, our guides get you where you need to be with time to spare.
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Select participants and date
Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance!
Skip the line tickets
Passionate English-speaking guide
Gondola Ride
St. Mark's Basilica
Doge's Palace
Bridge of Sighs
Wheelchair accessible
Meet your guide at St. Mark's Square
Your tour begins with a warm welcome from your guide in one of the world’s most beautiful squares, conveniently located in central Venice.
St. Mark Basilica
With skip-the-line tickets, head straight inside the historic basilica, whose magnificent domes and lavish gold mosaics are sure to impress.
Doge's Palace
Thanks to fast-track entry, step into the opulent 14th-century palace where the Doge of Venice, the highest authority, once lived and ruled.
Grand Ballroom
Gaze up at the towering ceilings and detailed frescoes by Veronese and Tintoretto in the Grand Ballroom, the former seat of Venice's council.
Golden Staircase
Deemed the most valuable staircase ever built, the Golden Staircase leads to the palace’s third floor, where Venice was ruled for centuries.
For Reference Only. Itineraries are subject to change
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4.96
605 Ratings
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Patrick Brenckle
July 07, 2025
Feven Tekie
July 06, 2025
Excellent Tour !! We loved it !
Angela Cameron
July 05, 2025
It was a great tour! Nico was exceptional. He gave just the right amount of info to keep us interested and engaged the entire tour! He was one of the best tour guides we had this entire trip! My whole family loved it !! Thank you!
Great introduction to Venice
Jennifer Sabo
July 05, 2025
Definitely recommend this tour as an introduction to Venice. Really interesting history of the Doge’s Palace. Our guide was easy to find, spoke excellent English, was engaging, and considerate of everyone’s needs (for restroom breaks, use of elevators, etc.). He used a microphone and we had headsets, so it was very easy to hear. The gondola ride at the end rounded out the tour nicely.
Wonderful experience
Teri Madill
July 04, 2025
The tour of Doge's Palace was great and the tour guide kept us moving and well informed of the history behind the palace and the prison. When we were brought to the gondola it was a relatively quick and quiet ride. I'm gad we booked this experience while trying to capture as much in a day as possible.
Cortney Bristow
July 03, 2025
Good overview of the sites
Lois Bedwell
July 02, 2025
We had no trouble finding the tour guides. The guides were very knowledgeable and kept everyone together, even though it was very crowded. I didn’t realize there were other areas to see so I would say this is a basic tour. We did not get to see the second floor of Saint Marks or the altar. And other areas of doge Palace that could be available by tour. It is not this tour‘s fault I’m sure I didn’t check well enough. This is a great option for no waiting in line and an overview of the sites.
Nicole Glawson
July 02, 2025
Great tour!
Trish Byron
June 29, 2025
The tour was great and the tour guide was fantastic. She made the tour very interesting with her commentary and information on the sites.
Excellent experience with fantastic guide!
Jill Page
June 27, 2025
Nico was a wonderful tour guide and made our experience wonderful. He was clearly so proud of the Venetian history and his attention to detail was much appreciated.
John. Karner
June 27, 2025
Jason Crawford
June 27, 2025
Loved this tour!
Janie Nelson
June 26, 2025
This was my favorite tour in Venice! Fileppo was an outstanding tour guide! So knowledgeable and we learned so much! Hughly recommend this tour!
Katherine Grandon
June 26, 2025
John Walsh
June 22, 2025
Marco was great guide. He injected humor into all of his commentary. Very knowledgeable about Venice!
Amazing!
Denise Barrett
June 20, 2025
Fillipo was fantastic! He knew so much and I was so impressed with everything we were able to see. It was so much better with him than being on our own. Our fist time to Venice and it can be overwhelming. Our guide was so great. Our group was even split because of how we booked our tour, and the guides were so kind and helped us stay together. Definitely recommend this tour! Don’t go to these places on your own!
Kenneth Krause
June 20, 2025
Annie Bullock
June 20, 2025
Venice’s Top 3
Yvonne Bello
June 20, 2025
These places are fabulous, but I highly recommend visiting these sights under this tour, it’s not only great to skip the lines, but the wealth of knowledge that our guide had fully enhanced this experience. Natalia’s knowledge and background far exceeded our expectations. She was inclusive and the tour was interactive- keeping the attention of all participants who varied in age. She did this flawlessly. She spent more time with us and I could easily see she knew more than other tours that were going on around us. You can wander around these sites on your own for sure, but you’ll be missing so much of the detail that is needed to fully grasp what you’re looking at. Natalia is hands down, one of the best tour guides I’ve ever encountered; knowledgeable, personable, fun, and engaging. Perfectly paced. We will remember the sites, but more than that- we’ll remember the details Natalia pointed out.
Sherri Lawson
June 19, 2025
Grazia was our guide and she was fantastic! Very knowledgeable and answered all of our questions. The tour itself was a must do for us as it covered most everything we wanted to see in Venice. Gondola ride was fun too! Recommend!
Travel highlight
TENICE GHOLSON
June 19, 2025
Great way to immerse yourself into the art, history and culture of Venice. Michaela did a fantastic job of providing insights and making the experience enjoyable. Highly recommend.
Great tour with Marco
Tracey Ferguson
June 18, 2025
We had a great experience touring Doges palace and St Mark’s Basilica with Marco. He was very knowledgeable and personable too. He kept us moving but explained so much along the way. Wonderful to tour with him. Afterwards he dropped us off for the gondola ride with another Expat guide. Gondola ride was cool too. Everything was well organized and efficient. Great use of our time.
Great tour with a skillful guide
Toni Chapman
June 17, 2025
This was a great tour. All 3 segments were incredible. Filipe was informative, personable, and very caring about making sure the group moved at a good pace. It was a very warm day and he tried to keep us out of the sun. The palace and basilica were beautiful. Suggestion based on other tours we’ve taken: Post a picture of the meeting point so that unlabeled locations are easier to find. The columns are a great landmark once you know where they are, but the my are not named and depending on where you enter the square, they aren’t immediately visible.
Kingsuk Chakrabarty
June 17, 2025
Great Tour Guide Makes Great Tour
Paul Chan
June 17, 2025
Our tour guide Barbara was fantastic. She gave a great tour of St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace - full of interesting history and fun facts with some humor thrown in. Everyone in our group - from kids to middle-aged adults enjoyed the tour. Taking the tour also avoided the long li es, which was also key.