St Mark's Basilica: Discover Hidden Treasures and Optional Doge's Palace Tour After-Hours

Discover hidden treasures in St Mark’s Basilica on an after-hours tour, with the option to visit Doge’s Palace. Explore the basilica’s mosaics and crypt, and upgrade for a late entry tour of the palace’s council rooms and frescos.

Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Piazza San Marco - Piazza San Marco
  • Basilica di San Marco - Basilica di San Marco, Veneto
    Inside, take a deep breath. You’re experiencing St. Mark’s Basilica as almost nobody else does, or ever has ever been able to (aside from the Doge himself)—empty! No standing elbow-to-elbow with other tourists, no seeing the church as if through a strobe…
What's Included
  • Professional guide
  • Doge’s Palace tickets (only if option with Doge Palace purchased at time of booking)
  • Small groups of 25 people or fewer
  • After-hours St. Mark’s Basilica tickets
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional Information

Explore St Mark’s Basilica without the crowds on an after-hours tour, and enjoy an optional visit to Doge’s Palace (if selected at the time of booking). Inside St Mark’s Basilica, admire treasured mosaics and a Byzantine altarpiece, and then follow your guide into the crypt where St Mark himself is believed to rest. Upgrade for late access to the Doge’s…

Location
Museo Correr
Piazza San Marco
Please arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of your tour, your guide will be holding a green Walks sign. This tour meets at Correr Museum in Piazza San Marco 52. Your guide will be waiting under the portico just outside the entrance of the museum.
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.7
(1240 Ratings)
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Kate_s
Oct 7, 2024
Great Tour! - Amazing to see the Basilica without crowds, could certainly enjoy it peacefully. Our guide was fun and knowledgeable about the Basilica, and the tour was slightly delayed starting, so she even gave us a tour of the square to fill the time in! It was nice to know that a portion of our ticket price was going towards restoration projects also.
Review provided by Viator
Carleen_h
Oct 6, 2024
This tour was a wonderful... - This tour was a wonderful introduction to Venice's history and the patron saint, St. Mark, on our first night in Venice. To see the Basillica and its ornately domed exterior and it's gold gilded ceilings lit up at night was a mezmorizing experience. To be able to see the Basilica and St. Mark's Square, without the crowds, only heightened this special tour. Romy, our tour guide, was the icing on the cake. As an artist herself, she was captivating in sharing her historical and artistic knowledge of the Basillica's background and intricacies. There were many highlights to the tour but seeing the the Pala d'Oro was extroadinary. 1.5 hours well spent and well worth the admission!
Review provided by Viator
Jenni_n
Oct 5, 2024
Perfect way to visit these top tourist attractions. - The after hours tour was a wonderful way to experience the Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica. The guide, who grew up in Venice. was very fun, friendly, and full of great stories about Venice's history. We really enjoyer her. Going into St. Mark's and then sitting in total darkness while they slowly brought up the lights was magical; an experience you won't get during the day with tons of people visiting. There were just a few groups during the tour and they spaced them well so you could actually get photos without people.
Review provided by Viator
Nellie
Oct 3, 2024
Insightful tour - The history of Venice and the beauty of the Basilica, thank you Laura we really enjoyed your company.
Review provided by Viator
Hannah_w
Oct 3, 2024
If you book anything in Venice, book this - Do this. Just do it. It’s just you and your tour group going through the whole palace and San Marco alone. Everything is stunning and you can actually enjoy it without the crowds. Romy was our tour guide and she was brilliant and funny. She did a great job setting up the information before we got to the place where it impacted. Storytelling at its finest. And patient with questions. There is a special light show in San Marco that straight up made me cry as it revealed the beauty of the mosaics. Beware it is a lot of walking, but such a beautiful walk.
Review provided by Viator
Brenda_j
Oct 3, 2024
It was an incredible... - It was an incredible experience. The after hours and no crowds was amazing. Our guide Romy was very knowledgeable and professional. The address on the viator site is incorrect. I was lucky to walk over and check out the museum entrance. The lady organizing the groups was aware of this. She just blamed Google maps. I was surprised nothing had been done to make sure people weren’t waiting at the address given on the tour voucher. It was not a Google map mistake.
Review provided by Viator
Dean_s
Oct 3, 2024
Words cannot describe how amazing this experience is - This is a Must do ! This experience if you seriously want to see the Doge’s Palace and St Marks, the ability to be guided through these two major must see sites with a private guide away from the masses was awesome! Seeing the volumes of crowds trying to visit the sites during the day just re-emphasizes why this tour was so special. Sitting quietly in the darkened St Marks Basilica while the lights are switched on one at a time was incredibly special. The passion and delivery of the incredible knowledge by Susan our guide was very inspiring. If you are serious about visiting these sights you need to go on this tour
Review provided by Viator
Tim
Oct 3, 2024
Exceptional Tour - Laura provided a comprehensive and well-balanced tour of the Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica After Dark. She provided historical context for the buildings and helped us to understand the significance of artwork, symbols, and architecture. I strongly recommend this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rrout
Oct 1, 2024
St Marks in splendour! - Wow. This was a great tour if St Mark’s. Visiting a night with a small group. We had a brief tour with historical insights in St Mark’s Square. Then entering the Church in darkness, after taking a place to sit the lights were slowly turned on, revealing the amazing golden mosaics of Christ, the Angel and holy Saints. So magnificent! Heavenly! We then tortured the building and especially the Crypt, which can only be visited on this night tour. In the Crypt is the original Venice tomb of St Mark. We saw the Pala d’or and passed around entire Church. No crowds, no noise. Our tour guide was Roberta who was excellent. A great way to really experience St Marks and it’s holy places within.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Camilla_g
Oct 4, 2024
After hours San Marco Basilica - Enjoyed seeing the screen up close and being able to sit and walk around but thought it was overpriced for what it offered. The guide was very knowledgeable and spent a lot of time discussing thd symbolism of the icons .Portions of the Badiica still remained dark. Think it looks better on a sunny day if you can get in
Review provided by Viator
From $91
up to 9 guests
1 Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).