Best of Venice Tour with St Mark’s Basilica and Grand Canal Boat tour
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Best of Venice Tour with St Mark’s Basilica and Grand Canal Boat tour
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Best of Venice Tour with St Mark’s Basilica and Grand Canal Boat tour

3 h
Popular
Skip The Line
Full Day
Instant confirmation
About this activity
Your comprehensive introduction to Venice begins near St Mark’s Square with a two-hour guided walking tour highlighting the city’s important monuments. Follow your guide to the famous piazza and learn the history behind its landmarks, including the Byzantine architectural heritage of St Mark's Basilica and the adjoining prisons of Doge's Palace.

Visit the famed basilica of St Mark's with skip-the-line admission, without having to stand in long queues! At the Scuola di San Marco, learn about the medieval trade schools of Venice that provided the foundations for the great mercantile empire of Venice.

Leaving the crowds behind, enter a labyrinth of narrow passageways, alleys and meandering canals punctuated by delicate bridges as you further explore the enchanting city with your guide. Explore the lively Campo Santa Maria Formosa with its outstanding Gothic palaces, and view Marco Polo's house as well as an old merchant's warehouse and the city’s most beautiful wellhead.

Complete your walking tour near the Rialto Bridge, and enjoy free time before your boat tour of the Grand Canal begins. (Depending on the season, your boat tour will start between 4:00pm and 5:00pm. Your guide will provide details of the exact meeting location and time after the walking tour.)

Next, enjoy a relaxing one-hour cruise along the Grand Canal of Venice via water taxi. Along the way you will learn the history of the stunning palaces and churches that line the famous canal, as well as hear anecdotes about the famous people who have resided on Venice's most important ‘street.’ During the second half of your boat tour, discover the minor canals of Venice and soak up the romantic atmosphere.

Please note: St Mark's Basilica is free of charge to enter and we guarantee that you'll skip any long lines as part of this tour. Venice is subject to flash floods and occasionally the Basilica is closed to the public (without notice) because of high water or festivities.
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Included
  • Professional guide
  • Walking tour (2 hours)
  • Grand Canal boat tour by motor-launch (1-hour)
  • Entry/Admission - Basilica di San Marco
Not included
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup or drop-off
  • Food and drink, unless specified
Additional
  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Tour is not suitable for people in wheelchairs or with walking difficulties as passengers are required to step down onto the boat when boarding. The variation of the level of tides can make the vessel unstable
  • Occasionally the basilica will be closed to the public (without notice) because of festivities or high water
  • It is possible to take the walking tour and boat tour separately (over a couple of days). Please specify the date for each tour 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
  • In condition of high water, St Mark’s Basilica Skip the line entrance will remain closed
  • Skip the line tickets to St Mark’s basilica are valid from 1st April until 31st October – From 1st November to 31st March due to less affluence to St Mark’s Basilica , this service is not provided by the church to all operators and individual travellers
Features
Tourism
95%
Cultural
95%
Original
20%
Reviews
4.2
3671
R
Regina Smyth
5 | 2019-09-30

I can't remember our tour guides names, but the 2 ladies did an awesome job. The tour of St. Mark's along with the walking tour through Venice was great. The boat tour on the Grand Canal really allowed me to appreciate Venice and see its beauty. Would definitely recommend this tour!

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Brandon c
5 | 2019-09-27

Nice way to see the city! Tour guide was lovely and the tour was informative and fun :) thank you!!!!

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Carolyn G
5 | 2019-09-20

This was an excellent tour. In the first part, we visited St. Mark's Basilica (wish it could have been a longer visit) and then walked around the area. Our guide was interesting and very knowledgeable. I wasn't sure about the break, but we had a snack and beverage at a nice cafe in St. Mark's Square. Then the boat ride took us through the other major parts of Venice, again with an interesting and knowledgeable guide. We had only one full day in Venice, so this was a great way to get an overview of the city.

S
Steven K
5 | 2019-09-20

Guide was awesome Group was good size with hearing device. Very informative. Well worth the price. Would do it again. Highly recommend.

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Carmen E
5 | 2019-09-17

I enjoyed this tour very much because the tour guide was very informative and it is a great way to see Venice.

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George C
5 | 2019-09-16

Ariana was terrific. Very knowledgeable and pleasant. We saw beautiful things that were explained in a way that was easy to understand. If you want to know Venice book this tour and request Ariana

c
cherryandmark
4 | 2019-09-16

I liked that this tour was combined with the water taxi tour. It seems that any tour in Venice should include a water tour. Our guide was richly informed about Venice's history. However, this was more of a history lesson than a walking tour. We were in St. Mark's Square for a good portion of the time listening. I felt that the entrance to the basilica was a bit rushed. I didn't get to really appreciate the church with such little time. Our water tour guide was well versed. It was an hour boat ride but felt like it was shorter. This is probably because we were really enjoying ourselves. Overall a good experience. Would recommend for the value.

T
Terri C
5 | 2019-09-16

Georgia, our guide, was fabulous!! Very passionate and informative. She packed in a lot. The boat ride was awesome! I would have like the opportunity to pick my own time for the boat ride though. Overall this was well worth the time any money. I’d recommend it to anyone !

G
Gary T
5 | 2019-09-05

Thoroughly enjoyed this tour. The walking tour was very informative and interesting. Our guide Christina was very knowledgeable and funny. She made efforts to keep us in the shade where possible which was great. We learned a lot of history and other interesting fun facts. We had an hour between the walking tour and our boat trip which was nice to have a break. The 5pm boat tour was fabulous and we did some off the beaten track routes plus the tourist attractions. Had a great time grazie!

J
Jennifer S
3 | 2019-08-20

Probably could have done more. Entry included 2 places, one wasn't visited. Local knowledge was very good, just could have gone further afield.

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LUCIE W
2 | 2019-08-13

The boat tour was great but the walking tour wasn't. I've never had a tour start with literally 40 minutes of the tour guide talking nonstop. She wasn't very easy to understand either, so my teenage kids were bored to tears. the walking tour was only of saint Mark's square and one tiny little plaza nearby so we didn't see all of Venice. Literally half the tour guests left before the tour was over if that tells you anything.

j
jcathersal
5 | 2019-08-05

Had a great tour with a true local. Very informative and learned a lot about the real history of Venice. Boat tour was a fun ending to a great day.

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William B
3 | 2019-08-02

I went on 20+ tours on a recent trip to Europe. This was average. Just as an FYI, this is actually two different tours with two different tour guides. --Land walking tour - Very good --Land Tour Guide - Excellent (very good English, easy to understand, very knowledgeable, polished and experienced) --Boat Tour - I "thought" this was a gondola tour. Its was not, it was a "boat" tour. Shame on me for assuming. It cruises around the canals and there is a guide telling you about the architecture.

I
Ivana C
5 | 2019-07-26

Our tour guide Barbara was excellent. She was knowledgeable and was very fascinating. She kept us well entertained and was very informative. The time passed very quickly. Thank you Barbara. The boat tour was good as well. Only small fault was the time we had to wait for the boat tour.

E
Edward L
4 | 2019-07-15

Viator does an AMAZING job at excellent prices. The city was so crowded w tourist at this time of the year. The Boat tour is a must see we thoroughly enjoyed that part. 4 stars because our guide was being very considerate to a elderly disabled woman on the tour - but it kept us from seeing so much it wasn’t fair to the rest of the group. I don’t think it was appropriate for the family to be on a walking tour.

L
Laura R
5 | 2019-07-03

We loved this tour! The two hour walking tour was so informative and just the right length of both time and distance. Stefano was our guide and he was very knowledgeable and accommodating. Highly recommend him! We did the 11:00 am walking tour and then came back for the 4:00 pm boat ride. The boat rides are via water taxis. Again, we loved the boat ride too. Honestly, it was "just right" for a Venice tour. Our group was myself and two siblings (all late 40's, early 50's), and our 80 year old mother. The walking tour used ear plugs and a transmitter, so all of us could hear Stefano just fine. Overall, the tour was perfect for all of us.

C
Chris H
4 | 2019-07-03

Not a very long tour on land or water portion, but a very good balance of both. Great for getting the basic layout of the main island and covering some quick history and insight. Really enjoyed getting some info and perspective on the "locals" and how much of the city apartments have been taken over by Air BnB to the dissatisfaction of the Venice residents.

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Nancy K
4 | 2019-07-03

We really liked this tour....very informative and beautiful!! My big complaint is that we could not find where we needed to go to find where it started. I was worried we were going to miss it because your information for where to find it was not good - we finally found someone else also looking for you and together we figured it out - otherwise, once we found it, we loved it!!

J
Joann c
4 | 2019-07-03

The skip the line worked! We really skipped the line in St Mark’s cathedral. But My favorite part is the boat trip. It brought us to places we would not have been able to reach if it were just us exploring on our own. The boat trip is beautiful. Don’t miss it. The st Mark’s walking tour wasn’t a big deal. You could read most of what was being said in a brochure and because of the huge size of the church, you wouldn’t know where the tour guide is pointing or referring to. But the boat trip is something you shouldn’t miss. Going through each house and identifying its history is fantastic.

k
kanthir
4 | 2019-07-03

we were on a girls' trip for a week. we were late for the first part of the tour therefore missed the basilica, however by we asked around and found our guide to join the rest of the tour. he was very good and provided much information. the 2nd part with the boat tour was wonderful. the biggest negative was trying to find the meeting place. frankly, i will never book a tour that doesn't offer hotel pickup/drop off again. it makes a world of difference and worth the extra $.

g
gdreyer14
5 | 2019-07-03

An excellent mix of seeing the top tourist area, St. Mark's square and basilica, as well as some lesser known areas. Our guide was very informative and knowledgeable. Ending the tour with the boat ride on the Grand Canal and other smaller canals around the main island was a great way to finish the day.

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PATRICIA K
4 | 2019-07-03

Very nice walking tour. Knowledgeable guide. Saw alot of the sites skipping the long lines! A little confusing on where to meet...

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Denise R
5 | 2019-04-22

Our tour guide for Venice was terrific. Very knowledgeable and informative. Really enjoyed getting know the history of Venice.

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Arnold L
5 | 2019-04-02

We enjoyed the tour of the cathedral and the surrounding areas. The boat part was also good since she had us sit outside on the boat where we had a very good view.

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Ronald G
4 | 2018-11-26

We expected that visiting the Doge's Palace was included on this tour but found out it is not. The rest of it (walking tour and boat ride) was excellent, but I think we could have saved money by booking both of those separately.

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Rusiru Nisayuru E
1 | 2018-11-07

We could not locate the tour guide. Therefore, we reached the tour agent office. They started scolding us for coming there without even asking what was our issue. We will not recommend this tour. We have used many other viator tours which definitely exceeded our expectations. However, definitely not this one.

K
Kimberly S
5 | 2018-10-31

We saw so much of Venice in one day thanks to this tour. The boat is a really great part of the tour, don't miss that. And wear sunscreen and a hat, it is sunny on much of the tour. Great guides!

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Edward G
4 | 2018-10-29

We enjoyed the walking portion of the tour and especially the visit to St. Mark’s. Our guide provided a good overview of this amazing city, including both the main piazza and a walk through the streets of Venice. But, the highlight was the water taxi tour in the afternoon. I want to take the boat again!

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Peter B
4 | 2018-10-26

A great day with knowledgeable guides.skipping queuesand meant We saw lots and boat trip in particular very enjoyable.

j
jaayres33
4 | 2018-09-24

This tour was informative however we felt that it was a bit long and drawn out without really learning much information about the city. Our guides were very passionate and proud of their city! This is a good option for those who have never been to Venice and only have a day to spend in the city.

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