Venice In a Day: Explore Basilica San Marco, Doges Palace & Unforgettable Gondola Ride

Experience the best of Venice in just one day! Explore the iconic Basilica San Marco, visit the majestic Doges Palace, and take a romantic gondola ride along the Grand Canal. Limited to 20 people for a personalized experience.

Duration: 6 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Ponte di Rialto - Begin the tour at ground level with a guided walk through the city’s most renowned and captivating attractions. Discover the Rialto Bridge and delve into Venice’s culinary traditions at the Rialto Fish Market. Along the journey, hear stories of notable Venetians like Marco Polo and learn about Venice’s origins and its remarkable…
What's Included
  • Gondola Ride
  • Skip-the-line ticket for St. Mark’s Basilica
  • Local English-speaking guide
  • Pre-reserved ticket to the Doge’s Palace
  • Expertly guided walking tour
  • Headset
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel Pick-Up/Drop-Off
  • Lunch
Additional Information

First time in Venice? Maximize your time in the city with a full-day itinerary that ticks off all the most memorable attractions. Stroll across the Rialto Bridge and browse the lively Rialto fish market, then hop aboard a traditional gondola for a romantic cruise along the Grand Canal. Next, access St. Mark’s Basilica and gaze in awe at the stunning…

Location
Campo S. Giacomo di Rialto, 255
Campo San Giacomo di Rialto
Please arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of your tour, your guide will be holding a green Walks sign. This tour meets outside the entrance of the Church of San Giacometto at Campo San Giacomo di Rialto 255, 30125 Venezia VE, Italy.
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.8
(2694 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Tzewei_w
Dec 18, 2024
The city walking tour was... - The city walking tour was very good as the guide Matteo introduced us to the interesting history of the city. The gondola ride that followed winded through the narrow side canals of Venice, bringing many of Matteo's historical tales to life. After lunch was the tour of the Doge palace and the Basilica. Matteo's narrative, again brought these two places to life. Very enjoyable tour.
Review provided by Viator
Samir_m
Dec 18, 2024
Great tour and our tour... - Great tour and our tour guide, Elena, was fantastic. She was very knowledgeable and made it into a great experience.
Review provided by Viator
Peter_l
Dec 17, 2024
Fantastic Tour! - Great tour and the best way to see Venice in a day.....only thing better was our Tour Guide Iola who was one of the best, super knowledgeable and entertaining as well!!!
Review provided by Viator
Cheryl_o
Dec 16, 2024
A Gem of a tour in Venice - An extensive and detailed tour of the main sights in Venice. Our guide , Martina, was amazing… full of factual information about the Doges palace, Basilica of St Marks with little gems of detail. She was very knowledgeable and a perfect guide . She made the tour so interesting with enough breaks during the whole day tour. Highly recommend and would book again with Viator! Always a quality tour!! The gondola ride was well worth it too with the history behind the gondoliers. Fully inclusive in the trip too!! No visit to Venice is complete without this tour. Cheryl/Adele England
Review provided by Viator
Clbfnp
Dec 14, 2024
It’s a long day, prepare... - It’s a long day, prepare for tired feet but totally worth it. We squeezed in a lot of sight seeing that we wouldn’t have been able to otherwise with Martina’s expert guidance. She was sweet and so very knowledgeable. Found a great little spot for lunch on our own and enjoyed our group’s adventures! Worth every cent!
Review provided by Viator
Carl_b
Dec 12, 2024
Highly recommend - Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended. Mose V was terrific and very knowledgeable. He took his time and answered all questions. He brought Venice to life
Review provided by Viator
Kayemoose
Dec 10, 2024
Must do tour Venice - If you’re only in Venice for a few days this is the tour to take. Our guide was absolutely wonderful! Her knowledge of the city and history was impressive, she could answer anything asked. We hit all of the highlights of the city and even an impressive 30 min gondola ride was included! Our guide offered recommendations for restaurants and other must see things to do at the end of the tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Eben_y
Dec 9, 2024
You do get to hit the highlights of. Venice in a day - Well paced and the addition of the headset was a nice touch. This way even when we needed to separate from the group to take our own pictures we did not miss any of the tour. Going in the off tourist season in December was a nice idea even though it was still incredibly busy. This is a walking tour which went for about 6 hours. There is a lot to cover and see. Bring your best walking shoes. We were so tired at the end and we both agreed it was the best stopping point. Loved it and will do this again. Mose was our tour guide and the two lady coordinators who arranged the gondola ride were all extremely helpful and worked well together.
Review provided by Viator
Corina_b
Dec 9, 2024
Loved it! - This was such a fun tour!! Informational and fun to see all the historical sites and learn the history of Venice.
Review provided by Viator
Alexandercb1561ul
Dec 10, 2024
Bland and Disappointing, a Huge Letdown - My wife and I came to Venice for our honeymoon, and we wanted to be able to see the city and learn things about it from a knowledgeable local. A tour of the city, St Mark’s Basilica, Doge’s Palace, and a romantic gondola ride across the canals. Sounds lovely, right? Wrong. We woke up early to be there by the 8:30 AM start time. The majority of this tour is spent just walking down empty streets and graffiti-ridden alleys. Our guide was kind and polite (and for that reason I will be omitting their name from this negative review) but they weren’t even from Venice and all they talked about was the most basic trivia about Venice that anyone could learn on their own; we learned nothing new. On top of that, halfway through the tour we had to sit around and wait while our guide left us to go search for half of our group that ended up going missing! Eventually we got to the gondola ride, the most anticipated part for my wife and I. Instead of a romantic trip through the canals though, we got stuffed on 2 dinky little stools on the side of the boat while another couple got the “luxury” seats. The ride itself was horrible as well. Our “helmsman” spoke about 2 sentences and was silent for the rest of the ride. We ended up going through mostly the canal equivalent of dingy back alleys, and it smelled awful. At one point we even passed by raw sewage with human feces visible at the surface. And in the end, it just took us in one big circle right back where we were. After that it was lunch time. Unfortunately, the tour breaks for lunch around 11:15 and meets back up at 12:15. Meanwhile the majority of restaurants don’t even open until 12:30! The Basilica and Doge’s Palace were nice, but that’s just the landmarks themselves and has nothing to do with the tour. All in all, I was incredibly disappointed and if I could get my money back, I 100% would. BUYER BEWARE: It’s not as romantic and fun as it seems.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Select Date and Tickets
up to 15 guests
1 Adult
December 2024
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Today