Our Best of Venice Walking Tour and Doge’s Palace tour is perfect for visitors with only a limited time in Venice, who want to get a true taste of the city. In just a few hours we take you to the most famous sites of the city, seeing the Rialto Bridge and venturing inside St, Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace.
We’ll also visit some quieter spots among the winding streets and piazzas of Venice, where you can get a feel for what it is to live in this floating city. Our tour starts at one of Venice’s must-see sights, the Rialto Bridge. Then it’s through the winding streets and over the tiny bridges of Venice as we delve into the heart of the city.[readmore]Accompanied by an expert, English-speaking guide, you’ll visit Marco Polo’s house and hear about the Venetian son who went to sea one day and came back with stories of China. Learn about the history of the culture of Venice, from its beginning as an uninhabitable marsh, to one of the world’s most popular visitor destinations.
As you walk, you’ll encounter the lively piazzas of Campo SS Giovanni e Paolo and Campo Santa Maria Formosa, where Byzantine influences, Renaissance buildings and modern structures tell the eclectic story of the city’s development.
Next we admire the Bridge of Sighs before coming to the heart of Venice – St. Mark’s Square, once pronounced the “finest drawing room in all of Europe” by Napoleon. With Skip the Line Access we’ll get straight inside St. Mark’s Basilica, saving precious vacation time that would otherwise have been wasted in line.
Special access means we’ll steal some extra time inside the basilica when we climb up to the first-floor terraces. Rarely included on guided tours, the terraces offer beautiful views over the piazza, photo opportunities and some downtime to soak up everything you have learned on your walking tour.
One of the highlights of our tour comes at the end when we visit the Doge’s Palace. Once home to the Duke of Venice and the city’s courts, it is the center of Venetian history – and as one of the world’s oldest republics, that’s quite a history. We’ll explore all the best sights of the palace open to the public, from spectacular works produced on demand by artistic masters Tintoretto and Veronese, to the evidence of the genius checks and balances that made the republic so successful.
With your guide on hand to lead you through the most important rooms, to explain magnificent frescoes and to tell you the tales behind every nook and cranny, your visit to the Doge’s Palace will be the perfect way to wrap up your tour through the history and culture of Venice. Small group sizes of 20 people or less and headsets on group tours means your tour will be intimate and your guide easy to hear and interact with. Join us for an introduction to Venice, that shows you the very best of the Floating City.
Lee masPlease be at the meeting point 15 minutes before departure. Guests arriving after departure cannot be accommodated, and missed tours or tickets cannot be refunded
We strongly suggest that you avoid bringing large purses, bags, or backpacks on your tour
This tour involves a fair amount of walking, comfortable shoes are recommended
Entrance into religious sites requires a strict dress code. Knees and shoulders must be covered for both men and women
We recommend that customers who are not familiar with Venice give themselves ample time to find meeting points
We recommend bringing a hat, sunscreen and a bottle of water in warm weather
We regret that we are unable to accommodate guests with wheelchairs or any impairments requiring special assistance