Experience the magnificence and mystery of the Doge’s Palace in Venice with this skip-the-line ticket. Head to the front of the queue with your guide, and then wander through the palace’s ornate public rooms as you learn the history of Venice’s powerful rulers. Admire magnificent interior artwork, including Renaissance masterpieces by painters Tintoretto and Veronese. Explore the palace’s darker side with a visit to the prison quarters and a walk across the notorious Bridge of Sighs.

2-hour tour of the Doge’s Palace in Venice, led by a knowledgeable guide
Skip the long lines and enjoy fast-track admission to the magnificent Venetian-Gothic palace
Explore the beautiful public chambers and see Renaissance artwork by Tintoretto and Veronese
Learn about the dogs of Venice who ruled the republic with iron fists
Walk across the Bridge of Sighs and tour the New Prisons

What's Included

Local expert English-speaking licensed guide
Skip-the-line tickets to the Doge's Palace
Headset to hear the guide clearly when there are more than 8 participants in the group

Gratuities
Food and drinks
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Giardini Reali
P.za San Marco, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
Entrance to the Royal Gardens, on the waterfront of St Mark's Square - You'll meet Avventure Bellissime tour coordinator outside the gardens, in front of the wrought iron Gate holding a sign with the name of the tour and Avventure Bellissime logo written on it.

End point

Doge's Palace
P.za San Marco, 1, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy

What To Expect

One of the architectural and cultural highlights of Venice, the Doge’s Palace was the seat of the Venetian Republic and its rulers for centuries. Meet your local guide at Venice’s Royal Gardens for a short walk to the palace in St Mark’s Square. Admire the magnificent Gothic exterior before heading to the front of the long queue with your skip-the-line ticket.

Wander through the palace’s awe-inspiring public rooms, decorated from floor to ceiling with gilded decor and elaborate murals. Admire masterpieces of Renaissance painting, including works by Tintoretto and the striking Juno Bestowing her Gifts on Venice by Veronese. As you explore, listen to your guide’s narration through provided headsets so all visitors can hear clearly.

See the Trial Chambers of the Council of Ten and learn about the powerful and secretive practices the mighty doges used to rule the Venetian Republic for centuries. Walk across the famous Bridge of Sighs that connects the palace to the adjoining New Prison complex, where convicts and enemies of the republic were confined. Walk in the footsteps of the condemned as you explore the foreboding hallways and cells of the prison. Your 2-hour tour concludes back outside the palace in the welcoming, open air of St Mark’s Square.

Doge's Palace

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Scala dei Giganti di Palazzo Ducale

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Ponte dei Sospiri (Pass By)

Porta Della Carta (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 2 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there is not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund

Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
At times, Doges Palace can close without notice. No refunds are available as these events are beyond our control.
On certain dates, most travelers staying outside of Venice who are planning to visit for the day will be required to pay a €5 access fee. For further details (including exemptions) and to learn what days this fee is applicable, please visit: https://cda.ve.it
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

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.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

452 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 452 reviews

Great tour

Jason_H, Apr 2024

Our guide Ketty was amazing! She made the tour very interesting and offered insights I don't think we would have gained with another guide. I highly recommend the tour and Ketty in particular.

Great tour guide

Michael_Z, Apr 2024

The tour was outstanding. Elena was an amazing and extremely knowledgeable guide. She answered all our questions and really focused on our interests

Poor customer service

Christine_S, Mar 2024

Could not take the trip and no refund, even partial was given. Very poor customer service. Phone operator said we would receive a refund, but tour operator refused.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Dear Client, The request for refund came at 830pm and the tour was meant to start at 9am. Although I understand your point of view, as a niche tour operator working with a team of selected guides, we need to adhere to some guidelines in order to maintain a high quality standard of our tours. Behind every tour, there are professionals that work to organize and perform the tour booked, from our operation team to our guide that have been assigned to do the tour. That is why we can be flexible as to shorten the tour or move the time of the tour but with so little hours of warning, we can not offer refunds on booked services. The cancellation policy is very leanient, allowing for a full refund at 24 hours from the starting time of the tour. We can’t make exceptions to this ; the insurance policy should take care of refunding in case of impedments in taking the tour, when things arise within the 24 hours from the start of the tour. Depending on the situation and availibility , we always try and do our best to accomodate even last minute requests from our clients that need to change the starting time or day of the tour. Yours sincerely Monica

Tour guide was a native Venetian!

Christina_R, Dec 2023

Alessandro gave us a good historical context first incl the general history of Venice and why the basilica is important and features in the St Marks Square. English was good and understandable. He offered to take photos of us. He also pointed out proudly many artistic details in the palace.

Good time

Amanda_S, Oct 2023

Had a great time. The guide was very informative. We could hear her well with the headphones. Beautiful building with lots of history.

Great timeline

smokee39, Oct 2023

Our guide was absolutely fantastic … informative … caring … knowledgeable …. We love him and he made the tour for us!

Excellent tour

Alex_L, Oct 2023

Great tour and very personal as a small group experience. Our guide Francesca was first class. Missing the queue was a real bonus.

Great tour great guide

jodie_l, Oct 2023

Francesca was a delight. Not only was she very knowledgeable about the palace itself, she explained the governmental aspects of Venice of the time then spent extra time and insight on the paintings and the painters. I would highly recommend her.

So much history in beautiful surroundings

carla_v, Oct 2023

With so much history, we got a very good synopsis, which gave me a better feel for the importance of Doge's palace, its artwork, and inner workings. Our guide was so informative and made everything interesting.

Doges Palace, Bridge of Sighs, Prison Tour

Lauren_B, Oct 2023

The tour itself was fantastic! The guide was very knowledgeable about the location and did a great job taking us through the palace and prison. The only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is because the meet up point was a bit confusing and unclear. It would have been helpful, especially for those not familiar with the location, to have stated to meet at the entrance of the gardens instead of just saying “Meet at Garden,” as there were benches inside where other groups were meeting. Very confusing and caused a bit of stress until we found our group. Other than that, highly recommend!

Outstanding!

Melissa_H, Oct 2023

This tour was exceptional! Due to our travel schedule we selected the private tour and it did not disappoint. Since we had not done another tour in Venice, she gave us an overview of Venetian history so we could better understand the palace. There was plenty of time for us to ask questions and the guide had excellent suggestions on photographing the palace. She even helped us locate the “pilgrim’s entrance” to St Mark’s so we could go in and light a candle after it had closed for the day.

Beautiful architecture!...

Paetra_S, Oct 2023

Beautiful architecture! Opulent! Well presented by our tour guide. Would go again with less people.!

Can't Miss Experience!

MaryAnn_L, Oct 2023

The tour guide was amazing! She really helped us connect with Venice and its history. She gave great tips for things to see/do as well. So glad we booked this tour!

Knowledgeable

Barbara_B, Oct 2023

Our tour guide was very awesome. She answered all out questions when it came to the Doge’s palace. She was very knowledgeable.

Great experience all round.

Debbie_F, Oct 2023

Our guide was brilliant, friendly, knowledgeable and welcoming. The palace was very impressive. Definitely worth visiting while in Venice

The guide was very...

Nick_B, Oct 2023

The guide was very experienced, knowledgeable and informative which made the visit very enjoyable and interesting

Very enjoyable tour

Paul_T, Oct 2023

A very enjoyable tour with a very knowledgeable guide, probably the best guide we have had on any tour. Certainly gained a lot of insight into the history of the building and island itself

Wonderful tour of the Doge's Palace and Prison

JC_M, Oct 2023

Francesca was very friendly and extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of the history of the palace and the prisons. She was able to answer all questions posed by the group. Francesca provided an excellent tour experience!

Worth the money

faenza, Oct 2023

Great guide; informative and interesting. Having a set time to enter was easy and helped us plan our day without having to wait in lines.

Doge for a Day

Jennifer_C, Oct 2023

Our tour guide(Laura in English) was OUTSTANDING!! She was enthusiastic, spoke so clearly, engaged everyone and provided great information. This is a tour I highly recommend. The headsets in this tour were good quality to hear the guide. **I feel it would be helpful to provide a photo of meeting point along with address.

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