Venice In a Day St Mark's Doges Palace Gondola Ride and City Tour
- 4–6 hours
- Skip the line
- Free cancellation up to 72h before
- Guided in English
Highlights
First time in Venice? Maximize your time in the city with a full-day itinerary that ticks off all the most memorable attractions. Stroll across the Rialto Bridge and browse the lively Rialto fish market, then hop aboard a traditional gondola for a romantic cruise along the Grand Canal. Next, access St. Mark’s Basilica and gaze in awe at the stunning gold mosaics. Finally, enjoy skip-the-line entrance to the grandiose Doge’s Palace. The 8:30am tour is limited to 20 people and includes a lunch break on your own, while the 8:15am tour does not include a lunch break (shorter duration of 4 hours) and a maximum of 25 people in your group.
Inclusions
What's included
- Rialto Fish Market
- Gondola Ride (Venice Express Half Day Option excluded)
- Local English-speaking guide
- Pre-reserved ticket to the Doge's Palace (25€)
- New Prisons
- Rialto Bridge
- Guided Walk of the back streets of Venice
- Skip-the-line ticket for St. Mark's Basilica (12€)
- Bridge of Sighs
- House of Marco Polo ( exterior)
What's not
- Hotel Pick-Up/Drop-Off
- Gratuities
Itinerary
Your tour starts at ground level with a guided walking tour of the city's most famous and most interesting sights. See the Rialto Bridge and learn about Venice's food culture at the Rialto Fish Market. Along the way hear tales of famous Venetians like Marco Polo as well as how Venice came to be—and how it survived against the odds. (1 hour if Express option selected)
Sightseeing & Photo Stop
Sightseeing & Photo Stop
As your walking tour ends, take a gondola ride and cruise along the Grand Canal and into the quieter back canals of the city with a maximum of 5 people per vessel. Note: The gondola ride is not included in the Express option.
Pause for a break. While it's not included in the tour, your guide will share plenty of great recommendations on where to grab a coffee and a snack. Note: No break will be provided if 8:15am Venice In a Day option or Express option selected.
After a short break for a snack on your own, reconvene at St. Mark's Square. Your tour includes pre-reserved skip-the-line tickets to enter St. Mark's Basilica to explore its stunning history, architecture, and art with your guide. Get up close to the beautiful gold mosaics with special first-floor access.
Then it's on to Venice's other top sight—the Doge's Palace. Skip the line with pre-reserved tickets and enjoy the benefit of having an expert local guide as you navigate council rooms, audience halls, and masterpieces by Veronese and Tintoretto.
Sightseeing & Photo Stop
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 72 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
4.8
- 54,336
- 4344
- 3117
- 235
- 182
Ratings come from 4,914 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Showing reviews written in English.
5Highly Recommend!
G was a great tour guide! He’s lived here for years, had great knowledge and local insight, and knew how to navigate the sites and the crowds. Been on lots of tours like this and G and the tour is as good as you’ll find.
5Moses, was awesome! Very...
Moses, was awesome! Very knowledgeable! We enjoyed the walking tour even though we got caught in a downpour and a little thunder storm, it had mostly stopped by the time we took the Gondola boat ride which was fun seeing Venice from the water at a slow pace. The the Doge Palace is beautiful and the Mosaics in St. Marc’s Basilica are beautiful. Highly recommend this tour if you are only in Venice for a short time.
5Great tour of Venice
Guide Giuliano was super knowledgeable and was great during the whole process!
5Amazing Tour
Valentina S. was an amazing tour guide who clearly loves her city! She has probably given this tour hundreds of times but is enthusiastic as as if it’s her first time! It was amazing to see the main attractions of Venice with just enough history to keep you informed but not overwhelmed.
5Venice in a day
Fantastic guide, Valentina S. Is very knowledgeable. We all loved it
5Venice in a day tour
This was a perfect way to see some of the major sights of Venice along with some off the beaten path things that you normally might miss. Juliano was AMAZING! He was knowledgeable, polite, funny and made us feel safe and looked after. Highly recommend!
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Please arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of your tour, your guide will be holding a green Walks sign. This tour meets outside the entrance of the Church of San Giacometto at Campo San Giacomo di Rialto 255, 30125 Venezia VE, Italy.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Group size
- Up to 25 travellers
- Operated by
- Walks - Italy & Spain
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Unfortunately due to the nature of this tour it is not suitable for guests with mobility impairments or with wheelchairs, or strollers.
- If access is restricted due to private events inside St. Mark's Basilica and/or Doge's Palace, we cannot be held responsible. This is a situation beyond our control. No refund will be issued.
- In case of unforeseen circumstances such as bad weather (heavy rain, strong wind, high tide) conditions that prevent the gondola ride from taking place or any operational or safety reasons beyond our control it may be substituted for another experience, but no refund will be provided.
- Due to the religious nature of sites on this tour, all individuals (regardless of gender) must cover their shoulders and knees. It is acceptable to bring extra coverings to put on just before entering a holy site. Walks cannot be responsible for anyone denied entry.
- All guests must supply their full name that matches a valid ID at the time of the booking. Should you fail to provide these, your reservation will be canceled. Name changes are not permitted.
- Venice Express Option: Gondola is not included.
How it compares in Venice
- Its from-price is 40% below the median of the 210 city tours we list in Venice.
- It is longer than most of them.
- By number of reviews it ranks 1 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.
Special offers in Venice
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
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