VIP Secret Itineraries Doges Palace Tour with St. Marks Basilica


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From $104.00

67 reviews   (4.64)

Price varies by group size

Lowest Price Guarantee

Pricing Info: Per Person

Duration: 3 hours

Departs: Venice, Venice

Ticket Type: Mobile or paper ticket accepted

Free cancellation

Up to 24 hours in advance.

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Overview

A visit to Venice wouldn’t be the same without delving into its long and fascinating history as the world’s oldest republic. We take you beyond the traditional route, going behind the scenes of the Doge’s Palace to explore the secret archives, offices, torture chambers, and the palace attic, home to top-security prison cells, including that of the famed Casanova!

Gain exclusive VIP Access to the secret itineraries of the Doge’s Palace, a hidden labyrinth of secret archives, offices, torture chambers and top-security prison cells.

The only tour in Venice that visits all these sites and explores the backstage of the Doge’s Palace with a small group.

Your expert guide reveals Venice’s dark secrets, fascinating stories, and entertaining anecdotes.

Enjoy skip-the-line access to St. Mark’s Cathedral and admire 4,000 square meters of mosaics in St. Mark’s while you hear the improbable story of its construction and how it came to house all its treasures.


What's Included

Expert tour guide

Headsets

Skip-the-Line Tickets to St. Mark’s Basilica

Small groups of 20 or fewer

Special access to the Doge’s Palace Secret itineraries

Tickets & reservation fees

What's Not Included

Gratuities

Hotel Pick-Up/Drop-Off


Traveler Information

  • CHILD: Age: 7 - 14
  • ADULT: Age: 15 - 99

Additional Info

  • Due to Doge's Palace regulations, children under the age of 6 are not permitted inside the secret itineraries and therefore cannot take this tour.
  • Face masks required for guides in public areas
  • Gear/equipment sanitised between use
  • Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
  • Please remember that St. Mark's Basilica is a holy place and for your visit there attire must be appropriate: both men and women are asked to wear clothing that covers at least the shoulders and knees. Your tour guide and sales agent cannot be held respon
  • Regular temperature checks for staff
  • Social distancing enforced throughout experience
  • Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
  • Backpacks are prohibited inside of St. Mark's Basilica.
  • Face masks provided for travellers
  • Face masks required for travellers in public areas
  • Guides required to regularly wash hands
  • Paid stay-at-home policy for staff with symptoms
  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
  • Transportation vehicles regularly sanitised

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

What To Expect

Doge's Palace
-Casanova’s prison cell
-Torture chamber
-Secret archives
-Hall of the Great Council
-Courtrooms, the Doges’ Apartments
-Sala della Scrutinio
-Palace Armory
-New Prisons

1 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Palazzo delle Prigioni
Doge's Palace Prison

• Admission Ticket Free

Piazza San Marco
-St. Mark’s Basilica
-Bridge of Sighs
-Bell Tower
-Clock Tower
-Procuratorie
-Columns of St. Mark and St. Theodore

1 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Basilica di San Marco
Saint Mark's Basilica including Pala d'Oro altar

• Admission Ticket Free

Torre dell'Orologio
St Mark's Clocktower

• Admission Ticket Free

Campanile di San Marco
St Mark's Bell Tower

• Admission Ticket Free

Procuratie Vecchie
Procuratie of St. Marks

• Admission Ticket Free

Ponte dei Sospiri
Bridge of Sighs

• Admission Ticket Free

Colonna di San Marco e San Teodoro
Columns of San Marco and San Todaro

• Admission Ticket Free


Reviews

Loved it!
NicoleTheTravelerRN, 30-10-2022
What a cool tour! Our tour guide was awesome and did a great job explaining the history of the Doges Palace and St Marks Basilica. I liked the hidden doors and stories of Casanova as a prisoner. We had two kids in our group and she did a fantastic job involving them in the tour.
Amazing tour, most important thing to see in Venice. Don't miss
MIchael_B, 28-10-2022
We picked this particular Doge/San Marco tour just by luck (one of three tours with "walks" during our month in Italy and personally felt they were the best company Viator used) Skip the line worked exactly as advertised, HIGHLY recommend skip the line for every tour. Evan with many skip the line tours besides yours, it saves hours. As it turned out the 0915 start time was very important. We toured Doge Palace first. We spent over 2 hours there. The guide, iole, was great, informative, funny and knowledgable. After finishing Doge there was a 15 minute restroom/drink break before heading to San Marcos. We entered the Basilica at approx. 1210. The cathedral was small in comparison to the dozens we had visited but MAGNIFICENT. The entire cathedral was completely bathed in light illuminating the glassworks. Turns out that by law, the lighting can only be on from 1130-1230 every day, hence the importance of start time and Doge tour first. Highly recommend this tour and with "Walks". One important note.. every tour we did in Rome/Florence/Venice gives you poor information/directions for meeting point. This is an Italy thing not a Viator thing (we did a few tours on our own and it was far worse) We made sure to find the exact location the day before and never missed a beat. BEWARE you will be left if your not on time/cant find location. Plan in advance. Arrive early or don't whine later. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GET HOLD OF ANYONE BY PHONE AT LAST MINUTE.
Highly recommend
lylabeans33, 26-10-2022
Fantastic tour, a large part of it is away from the crowds. Great stories all about Casanova’s escape! Definitely learns something new. Highly recommend. Tour guide very charming and funny.
Nico made the Tour!
Roseanne_P, 24-09-2022
Nico was our awesome tour guide. Extremely knowledgeable and super fun. He turned an incredible experience into an experience of a lifetime not to be missed. His retelling of history was engaging and vivid. He made you envision and feel what life was really like during the 14th and 15th century. This tour took you to see what the ordinary tours don’t show you. Don’t miss it, and I hope you get Nico because he just put it over the top! Enjoy
Would Recommend Normal Tour Instead
Anant G, 29-09-2022
We had a great tour guide, but I found the secret itineraries tour to actually be less interesting than the normal tour. If you're interested in seeing old desks that bureaucrats used to sign orders and fairly standard dungeons then this is great, but otherwise I'd do a normal tour of the Doge's palace where you spend more time in the main rooms with the art.




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