from
$130
St. Mark’s Basilica & Doge’s Palace Half-Day Tour with Gondola Ride
Experience Venice’s top 3 must-dos, back-to-back, with timed entry tickets and an expert guide
What's included
Doges, domes, and canals in one go
Expert English-speaking guide
Timed-entry ticket at St. Mark’s Basilica
Timed-entry ticket at the Doge’s Palace
Guided tour of St. Mark’s Basilica & Doge’s Palace
30-minute shared gondola ride
Guide tips
Itinerary
Skip the Line
Discover the St Marks Basilica and Doges Palace alongside an expert guide
Your tour begins in St. Mark's Square
Meet your guide in St. Mark’s Square. The exact location will be listed on your booking voucher. You guide will be holding a red "The Tour Guy" sign or flag, awaiting your arrival.
Step inside St. Mark’s Basilica
Use timed entry tickets and spend about 20 minutes inside St. Mark’s Basilica. Admire gold mosaics, domes, and marble floors while your guide explains how Venice’s seafaring empire shaped this sacred landmark.
Explore the Doge’s Palace
Steps away from the basilica, enter the Doge’s Palace. Get ready to learn all about power and politics. Use pre-reserved tickets and follow your guide through lavish chambers where Venice’s leaders ruled with unmatched ambition.
Cross the Bridge of Sighs and enter the prisons
Follow the corridor across the famous Bridge of Sighs and hear the legend behind its name. Then descend into the palace prisons and dungeon, where cramped cells reveal punishments, plots, and Casanova’s escape story.
Take a quick break before your gondola ride
After the touring the Doge's Palace, take a 20-minute break to sit down, use the restroom, or grab a quick snack nearby.
Sightsee on a shared 30-minute gondola ride
Next, prepare for your gondola ride. After exploring Venice by land, you’ll take to the water for a 25 to 30-minute gondola ride along the Grand Canal or under the Bridge of Sighs. With only a few fellow travelers aboard, it’s a perfect, peaceful finale.
Your tour ends near St. Mark’s Square
Return to St. Mark’s Square by gondola, to find yourself right where the adventure started. Having just finished a full day of timed entry, secret stories, and canal views you'll have met Venice properly!
For Reference Only. Itineraries are subject to change
Select participants and date
Start times are in the product’s local time
Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance!
Sun, 27 Sep 2026
Meeting and drop-off point
Important Details
Discover what to expect, what's included, and everything you need to know before booking.
Good to know:
Dress Code: Knees and shoulders must be covered for both men and women to enter St. Mark’s Basilica; entry may be refused otherwise. Please avoid wearing sandals, hats, shorts, skirts, or tops that expose your shoulders.
ID Requirement: A valid government-issued ID is required for entrance to St. Mark's Basilica. The name on your ticket (entered at check-out) must match the name on your ID, or you will be refused entry.
Tour Changes: All St. Mark's Basilica and Doge's Palace tours are subject to potential time change due to ticketing. Please keep the date of your tour flexible.
Accessibility: This tour involves extensive walking, standing, and climbing stairs. It is unfortunately not wheelchair accessible and not suitable for guests with mobility issues.
Weather Advisory: Doge's Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica may be closed unexpectedly and without much notice due to adverse weather events, maintenance, or safety reasons. If this occurs, you will be notified as soon as possible.
St. Mark's Basilica: Please note, the tour inside St. Mark's Basilica usually lasts around 20 minutes, as per the monument's rules and protocol.
Gondola Ride: Your gondola ride is a shared experience, with each boat accommodating up to five guests. A professional gondolier will operate the boat, but please note that this portion of the tour is not guided. The ride lasts approximately 25 to 30 minutes, including the time needed to board and disembark.
Bag Policy: Large backpacks or bags aren’t allowed inside the attractions; please leave them at your accommodation.
Check-in: Arrive 15 minutes early for check-in at the meeting point so the group can enter sites on time.
Your tour includes:
Expert English-speaking guide
Timed entry ticket and guided tour of St. Mark’s Basilica
Timed entry ticket and guided tour of Doge’s Palace
25 to 30-minute gondola ride (max 5 people shared experience)
What to bring:
Covering for knees and shoulders
Government-issued ID
Comfortable shoes
Camera
Water bottle
See what people are saying
4.96
884 Ratings
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Fabulous tour!
Daphne K.
September 26, 2026
Our tour guide Marco was wonderful. We learned so much at the basilica and Doge’s Palace. The tour was well-paced and Marco provided a wealth of information and was also very funny! The gondola ride at the end was a perfect way to end a perfect afternoon in Venice. Highly recommend!
Great tour
Melissa G.
September 26, 2026
Highly recommend Sylvia!
Saint Marks and Doja Palace
Ann R.
September 26, 2026
Our tour guide, Roberta – Robbie – was fabulous!
Good Tour Guide
Tina B.
September 25, 2026
Sylvia our tour guide was great. The Doge breaks probably need to be a bit longer since the line at the toilets were very long. (At least the second break needed to be longer). Headphones were a good idea to hear tour guide. Loved the Gondola ride!
St. Mark's & Doge's Palace Tour
Leslie M.
September 23, 2026
Marco was a great guide and very knowledgeable about these two areas.
Half day tour in Venice
IRENE S.
September 23, 2026
Our tour guide, Marco was great and very funny. He explained everything in a light and informative way. Great job. I would not do the Gondola ride again. Please let your guest know we will share the ride. I would have preferred a single ride with my husband. 2nd we actually had to sit apart which was terrible. Not great for pictures to take on a romantic Gondolla. Do better. Let people know before we book.
JOHN T.
September 22, 2026
St marks & doge & gondola
daren A.
September 22, 2026
Great tour…. You see it all…
St marks’s basilica and Doge tour
Carol G.
September 21, 2026
This tour was fantastic - our guide Eliza was very interesting and we truly appreciated her commenta and the pace of the tour - Thank you Eliza for making this a remarkable tour!
Awesome Tour Guide
Leslie B.
September 20, 2026
The Basilica and Doges Palace tour was awesome and the guide was fabulous. Marco was humorous and provided so much information to the history of each place.
Heidi H.
September 20, 2026
Excellent tour with very knowledgeable guides. Marco and Cecilia were both outstanding.
Knowledgeable Guide & Funny
Jodi R.
September 18, 2026
Local guide that had a lot of history for us. So interesting! He'd crack a few funny jokes and made sure we got our bathroom breaks while entertaining those who didn't have to go.
Judi T.
September 18, 2026
Your guide Was knowledgeable and interesting.
JIANRONG J.
September 17, 2026
Great tour
DAVID D.
September 15, 2026
Our guides grew up in the area so they knew their history well.
Doge museum is worth the hype
Roger G.
September 14, 2026
Our guide (I did not catch her name) gave the group a top notch tour of the rooms and items in the palace. She was a plethora of interesting information. I thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, it was probably the most interesting and enjoyable tour of our two week vacation. St Mark’s was great and I have to admit even the gondola ride was great. Just enough time. If you are in Venice for a short time, make the most of it and sign up for this tour. On a side note, our cruise shipped docked in Chioggia, which was a 105 minute trip one way. Keep that in mind. This tour will give you a grace period of about five minutes to get to the meet up spot.
Dawn Q.
September 13, 2026
Doge and basillica 1/2 dat
Mary S.
September 13, 2026
St marks basilica & doge palace
Barbara F.
September 12, 2026
Informative, good value
Phillipa was INCREDIBLE!!
Deborah B.
September 12, 2026
Doges Palace - Phillipa shared and pointed out tremendous detail , history and knowledge in every single room of the Palace. This tour was top notch and money well spent to experience Venetian history and art. We also got a gondola ride for about 25 minutes with Leonardo. Leonardo was a very sweet young man that navigated those turns like he has been doing it for decades!
Dick B.
Douglas B.
September 12, 2026
Our guide, Marco, was fantastic. He has a great knowledge of the history of Venice, the Basilica, and the Doge's Palace combined with a great sense of humor. The tour was excellent in every respect.
Great tour!
Michelle C.
September 10, 2026
Our guide, Grazie ( Grace) was amazing! Informative, kind, sense of humor. She kept group moving at nice pace.
JOSEPHINE L.
September 10, 2026
. Mark’s Basilica & Doge’s Palace Half-Day tour was excellent. Hearing about the history of Venice was interesting. Our guide Marc was knowledgeable with a good sense of humor.
Francis Conway
Francis C.
September 07, 2026
Great tour with lots of historical information.
Loved the tour
Laura L.
September 06, 2026
Marco was an exceptional guide Made the amazing experience even better !