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Italy
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Veneto
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Metropolitan City of Venice
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Venice
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Tours & Activities
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Skip the Line: Best of Venice Private Tour Including San Marco Doges' Palace and Gondola Ride
6 h
Skip The Line
Private
Instant confirmation
About this activity
Meet your private guide in St. Mark's Square at the appointed time to begin your walking tour.
Begin with a skip-the-line tour of the Doge's Palace to admire the beautiful ceilings with frescoes by Tintoretto and walls adorned with paintings by Veronese. You will see the wooden slot where accusations of treason were passed to the Secret Police and of course the Bridge of Sighs. Did you know that Casanova, Venice’s famous lover and writer, was imprisoned in one of the palace's prison attics before managing to escape?
Next is the highlight of the tour; the spectacular Basilica San Marco - St. Mark's Basilica. Your guide will point out how Eastern architecture and Western design came together to create this unique church. In a special extended tour of the Basilica you will hear how St. Mark’s remains arrived in Venice illegally, and see a myriad of treasures - some made in the city and others plundered during the crusades. Of particular interest are the 11th-century mosaics, some of the few treasures that have survived the Basilica’s floods and fires over the centuries.
Continue your walking tour of Venice to see sights such as Campo San Giovanni e Paolo, Santa Maria Formosa, Fondamenta Nova, the Church of Holy Apostles, Marco Polo's House, and the Rialto Bridge. This famous marble bridge was a Venetian folly, running well over budget when built but now beloved and admired by Venice’s residents and visitors alike who like to watch as the sunlight dances on the smooth stone surface and the bridge is reflected in the river below.
Your day ends with something only Venice can offer - a private gondola ride. As you wish a fond farewell to your guide you will begin a peaceful and intimate trip along Venice’s famous canals with your very own gondolier.
Enjoy privileged access to the attractions visited, and all entry tickets are included. Immerse yourself in Venetian culture during this private tour.
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Begin with a skip-the-line tour of the Doge's Palace to admire the beautiful ceilings with frescoes by Tintoretto and walls adorned with paintings by Veronese. You will see the wooden slot where accusations of treason were passed to the Secret Police and of course the Bridge of Sighs. Did you know that Casanova, Venice’s famous lover and writer, was imprisoned in one of the palace's prison attics before managing to escape?
Next is the highlight of the tour; the spectacular Basilica San Marco - St. Mark's Basilica. Your guide will point out how Eastern architecture and Western design came together to create this unique church. In a special extended tour of the Basilica you will hear how St. Mark’s remains arrived in Venice illegally, and see a myriad of treasures - some made in the city and others plundered during the crusades. Of particular interest are the 11th-century mosaics, some of the few treasures that have survived the Basilica’s floods and fires over the centuries.
Continue your walking tour of Venice to see sights such as Campo San Giovanni e Paolo, Santa Maria Formosa, Fondamenta Nova, the Church of Holy Apostles, Marco Polo's House, and the Rialto Bridge. This famous marble bridge was a Venetian folly, running well over budget when built but now beloved and admired by Venice’s residents and visitors alike who like to watch as the sunlight dances on the smooth stone surface and the bridge is reflected in the river below.
Your day ends with something only Venice can offer - a private gondola ride. As you wish a fond farewell to your guide you will begin a peaceful and intimate trip along Venice’s famous canals with your very own gondolier.
Enjoy privileged access to the attractions visited, and all entry tickets are included. Immerse yourself in Venetian culture during this private tour.
Included
- Local guide
- Gondola Ride
- Entry/Admission - Ponte dei Sospiri
- Entry/Admission - Basilica di San Marco
- Entry/Admission - Doge's Palace
- Entry/Admission - Ponte di Rialto
- Entry/Admission - Casa di Marco Polo
- Entry/Admission - San Polo
- Entry/Admission - Campo Santa Maria Formosa
- Entry/Admission - Chiesa dei Santi Apostoli
Not included
- Gratuities
- Lunch is not included but the local guide can give you great recommendations
Additional
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- 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
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Features
Tourism
95%
Cultural
95%
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This tour was so much more than we were expecting. Our tour guide Romy was very knowledgeable and showed us the best of Venice. It was a private tour for the 4 of us and was a perfect day. The gondola ride was just the four of us and about 40 minutes long, made our Venice trip exactly what we expected. I highly suggest this tour.
A wonderful tour! Thank you to our extremely knowledgeable tour guide Christina. We visited Doge's Palace and Saint Mark's Basillica and toured the city. Our tour guide gave us great information about the city, the buildings, the people and life today. This was a all day tour, which I would highly recommend. Be prepared to walk a lot! So wear comfortable attire, however please be aware some places you are visiting may have some requirements or restrictions. Just be ready to enjoy Venice, only wish we had more time to explore.
This was a basic one day guided tour of the city of Venice. Our guide was contracted through a local tour company that was contracted by Viator. It is a challenge to get so many hands in the pie and it makes these tours expensive. However, this guide was very professional and his English was excellent. I far prefer a private guide now for any tour that I'm taking. The experience far outweighs the cost when you consider how much you spent to get to the destination in the first place. He made a great lunch recommendation, and created an excellent custom day. However, the constraints between Viator and the local tour company caused minor timing problems. I believe there is not enough work in matching what the local tour company is offering and what Viator is selling on its site. In this case, the guide was willing to make it fit the description that Viator had said which was a completely private, customized guided tour not so much what the local company had described, but this is not always the case. Be wary that you might not get what you expect in the tour description if Viator hasn't done enough foot work with the local tour provider to mesh expectations. If they email ahead of time for tour confirmation it is imperative to set expectations up front.
Truly awesome city and the tour was really good. There is so much to see in Venice that you definitely need a guide!