Byzantine Venice & St. Mark’s Basilica: A Cultural Tour
- 2h 30m
- Skip the line
- Free cancellation up to 72h before
- 4 languages
Highlights
A combined tour that allows you to discover the most important historical places and buildings of Venice. This tour is guided and divided into two parts. At 9.00am from a centrally located meeting point you will be lead by a professional guide through the most characteristic places around the areas of Saint Mark's Square and Castello (duration 1 hour and 30'). Then at 10.45 am we will meet again and you will visit the interiors of Saint Mark's Basilica, discovering the Byzantine history and the glittering mosaics.
Inclusions
What's included
- The tickets for the Basilica allow you to visit (within 6 months) the following sites:
- S.Luca, S. Maria del Giglio, S. Maria del Rosario vulgo Gesuati, S. Maria Formosa
- Skip the line entrance and guided tour to the Saint Marks Basilica
- Pinacoteca Manfrediniana, Madonna dell'orto - S. Alvise, S. Andrea de la Zirada, S. Antonin
- S. Giovanni in Bragora, S. Marcuola, S. Maria dei Miracoli, S. Maria del Carmelo vulgo Carmini
- Live tour commentary provided in English, French, Spanish or German
- Pre-reserved tickets for St. Mark's Basilica (€12)
- Santuario di Lucia - SS. Redentore, The Human Safety Net
- S. Simeon Piccolo, S. Sofia, S. Stae, S. Stefano, S. Trovaso
- Professional local guide
- Personal audio system and headset for tour commentary
- Guided walking tour covering the areas of Saint Mark's Square and Castello;
- S. Beneto, S. Fantin, S. Felice, S. Giacomo dell’Orio, S. Giobbe, S. Giovanni elemosinario
- S. Martino di Castello, S. Marziale, S. Pietro di Castello, S. Polo, S. Samuele, S. Sebastiano
- Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta (Torcello), Sacrestia della Basilica della Salute
What's not
- Food and drink,
- Hotel pickup and drop-off,
- Optional gratuities,
- Pala d'oro
- Museum and Loggia dei Cavalli on the 1st floor
Itinerary
The tour starts with a historical introduction of St. Marks’s Square, and its architectural delights, allowing you to discover the history of the majestic St. Mark’s Basilica, the illustrious Doge’s Palace, once the seat of the power of the Republic of Venice, and the extraordinary, renaissance clock tower.
Leaving the square, you will be guided into the residential Castello area, allowing you to discover this part of Venice in all of its elegance, through its labyrinth of narrow alleys - “calli”, many bridges, winding canals and wide picturesque squares - “campi”. You can expect to see campo Santa Maria Formosa, one of the largest squares in Venice with its church, named after its visitation of the Holy Virgin.
You will also see Campo Santi Giovanni and Paolo where you will be able to admire the famous church, the resting place of several Doges; and the equestrian monument of Bartolomeo Colleoni, an Italian mercenary Captain.
The former residence of Marco Polo, probably the most famous Venetian merchant, and the Malibran theatre are also part of the itinerary.
After returning to Saint Mark's Square at 10:45 am, an official guide will provide you with a detailed tour of the Golden Basilica, once the private chapel of the Doge of Venice, the only one of its kind in Italy, thanks to the sumptuous golden mosaics and impressive marble inlay flooring. This 2 hour and 30 minute combined tour concludes outside the Basilica, in Saint Mark's Square.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 72 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
3.6
- 541
- 444
- 318
- 218
- 112
Ratings come from 133 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- 15 min before in Calle larga de l’Ascension - 30124 (behind the Correr museum on the opposite side of the Saint Marks Basilica). Look for the TURIVE assistant next to the post office San Marco.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Group size
- Up to 20 travellers
- Operated by
- Venice Events srl
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Check-in is 15 minutes prior to booked tour start time;
- Shoulders and knees must be covered inside the Basilica;
- Backpacks are not allowed inside the Basilica;
- This tour operates rain or shine;
- Tour maybe affected in the case of high tides;
How it compares in Venice
- Its from-price is 63% below the median of the 210 city tours we list in Venice.
- Its length is typical for the group.
- By number of reviews it ranks 22 of 210.
About Venice
Venice floats on a lagoon of more than a hundred islands, a city of canals, palaces and bridges with no cars, where every walk ends somewhere unexpected.
The Grand Canal sweeps through the city in a great reversed S, lined with palaces and crossed by the Rialto Bridge. Near its mouth, Piazza San Marco gathers St Mark's Basilica with its golden mosaics, the Doge's Palace, the Bridge of Sighs and the tall brick campanile. Water buses and gondolas show the city from the angle it was built to be seen.
Top-ranked sights in Venice: St. Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco), St. Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco), Grand Canal.
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