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Making the most of a short stay in Venice

We have heard about the skip the line tickets for St Marks and Doges palace. The tour sites are all so expensive.
If we get a skip the line ticket for St Marks can we get into the terrace or to see the Pala d’Oro? We can get an app with a guide to follow for very little $.
For the Doges Palace, do you have to book a tour to see the bridge of sighs and prisons? Does the skip the line ticket only get you to part of it.
It’s really hard to tell.
Any other Venice help would be appreciated.
We are going mid October.

Posted by
2281 posts

hey hey art
when you see skip the lines it's just that no long lines to wait in. but you still have a line to go thru security. depending day/time it's a busy/crowded place that so many people want to see. october is still a busy month with wine/olive oil harvest, festivals. cruises schedules don't stop in venice proper, they are further away in different ports then what transportation do you take, how many ships/people around that day.
i'm really sure you have to get tickets to doge's palace to see the bridge of sigh. you can also walk to the bridge of paglia and see it from the outside.
what is your short stay in venice mean? how much are the expensive tours? if you don't see it, will you regret it when you leave and think i should have went on a tour and compromise on something else, maybe a "cheap" dinner, a chacuterie with glass of wine. what else are you interested in, just roam around, get lost with so many canals and bridges and turn back around.
where else are you headed after venice?
aloha

Posted by
26840 posts

I wasn't able to buy an online ticket to St. Mark's in advance when I tried to do so a few days ago. I arrived a few minutes before opening and got in about 30 minutes after opening. The line moves fast. I believe the line is often shorter later in the day. I have no idea how early you 'd have to show up to assure only a very brief wait.

You will initially buy just the entry ticket (3 euros). As you walk through the church (it's basically a one-way path), you'll encounter the ticket window for the Pala d'Oro, which I think costs 5 euros. Then as you get back near the front of the church there's a ticket window for the museum (7 euros). The Treasury isn't open at the moment because of COVID-control measures; it's apparently not spacious.

I spent about 2 hours in the church altogether, taking many photos of wall and floor mosaics. A tour focusing on the religious features of the church wouldn't have been right for me and would probably not have allowed me enough time.

I didn't go to the Doge's Palace, but my friend reported that her basic entry covered the prison and the Bridge of Sighs.

Posted by
5 posts

Thanks for the advice. We will have 1.5 days. We are staying after a cruise. I am an obsessive photographer and have been to Venice before, on a RS tour. It was about 30 years ago. My family ( hubby and 2 young adult kids) have never been to Europe. The kids couldn’t care less about history. They didn’t even know Venice was in Italy. (Step kids - they would have known if I raised them). I told them they HAVE to see these two sights. Then they can do whatever they want. I don’t care much about the palace. Seen it, it’s awesome, but not good for the kind of pics I take. But I remember St Marks took my breath away.
There are multiple variations of tours. Having a guided tour on these two might actually teach the kids something. With a recorded tour they may not even play it. Tours run from $20-$150
p/p. Some are fully guided, some have book and some are audio on cell phone. For St Marks, some include the terrace, pala d’oro, and or museum. But these are $80+ more for the 4 of us. So what is worth it? Once we are in the basilica can we opt to pay for the other parts if the tour doesn’t include?
Besides those two sites we are hoping to get to Murano and Burano. Our son is excited about the glass blowing. I did not get there last time. We got a hop on/ off tour that includes the islands. It includes a glass blowing demonstration and some commentary by guides when on the boat for $20p/p. Otherwise, we just want to wander. I am thinking about a haunted tour. I love those.
So any recommendations on great photo sites? I paint from my photos so I’m not looking for the usual Rialto or Piazza San Marco shots.
We will also be in Milan. But we have a personal guide (nephew lives there). We are going to Varenna on Rick’s advice. The cruise is Greece, Kotor and Dubrovnik.
Thanks again for all your valuable intel!

Posted by
7 posts

I’ve toured the Doge’s palace, it’s cool, but not sure I’d make it a priority. St Mark’s has to be experienced, from the uneven floors to the golden ceiling … prisons? Watch a video. You can get the iconic pictures of the Bridge of Sighs by walking along the waterfront on the Ponte della Paglia (look on Google Maps) Make a reservation for the rooftop terrace of the T Fondaco dei Tedeschi just above the Rialto Bridge at sunset if possible for the most amazing pictures https://www.dfs.com/en/venice/mobile/service/rooftop-terrace.

Posted by
2300 posts

If the adult “kids” aren’t interested, I wouldn’t drag them to the palace or waste any money on guided tours. Especially with such limited time. Do the basic entry into St. Marks if you must. They are adults and can do their own thing while you see it, if it interests you. If one of them has expressed an interest in the glass blowing, do that. Just take the vaporetto to Murano. There are several places where you can see demonstrations for free - no tour needed. Those tours are designed to profit from purchases you make. If you already have a vaporetto pass, no need to fork over more money.

We did the skip-the-line ticket for St Marks in 2018. The line was longer than the regular line. Be sure to check any bags (at the separate location a block away) before getting in line.

Posted by
26840 posts

As of the time of my visit to St. Mark's in late September, they weren't prohibiting purses of reasonable size. Obviously, that could change.

Posted by
2376 posts

Take the vaporetto from the train station to St. Mark’s along the Grand Canal. If the kids aren’t interested in history then they should skip the Doge’s Palace, but they should see St. Mark’s because it is different from other churches.

There is a TV commercial airing these days where the kids complain about having to go to the state fair. At the end they ask when they can go again. My younger sipon was like that on our European trip. He was resistant to everything but had to admit aftetwards that he liked them.

Posted by
62 posts

We were just at St. Mark's Basilica today at 1 PM with a 30 minute wait. Fee is 3 Euro now to get in. If you do skip the line, it's an additional 3 Euro (6 Euro total).
RS has an audio guide... that's what I used.
Pala d'Oro is 5 Euros extra to get in. Museum is 7 Euros more.
As of today, the middle exterior of St. Mark is undergoing restoration, so there's scoffolding up. There's also general construction going around.

Doge's Palace is sold as a combo ticket with other museums and costs 30 Euros each. The standard ticket includes bridge of sighs & prisons. There is a "secret itinerary" tour that we did not do, so I'm not sure what extra is on it.. I remember looking it up and it was some extra rooms.
At around 2:30 PM we had no line to buy a ticket. But when we exited around 4/4:30 PM, there was a line (probably about 15 mins long?)
RS suggests you go to Correr Museum (about a quick 4-5 min walk from Doge's Palace, on the other corner of St Mark Square) and buy the combo ticket there, as it's generally a shorter ticket line. We knew about that, but went to Doge's Palace first anyway and there was 1 person in line.

Posted by
759 posts

Just got back from Venice and did both of these sites in one (long) day.
I booked the Dodge "Secret Itineraries" tour which is now almost completely about the prison and torture chambers. You will learn a lot about both of these things but you do get to see the cells and walk through the Bridge of Sighs with just general Dodge admission. (The tour is 33e for adults with a number of reductions for age and Venice's many, many discount cards).
You can buy timed tickets for St Marks which include the Pala d'Oro and the Museum (which allows roof access) included in these tickets. You need to show up before your ticket time and you will be herded into a line and admitted vaguely around the time on your ticket to go through security. The tickets are barcoded allowing access to site and the other areas by scanning it. The tickets are 20e a person with everything. If you just get into the museum and you can buy tickets separately for both the Pala dOro and the museum - they have ticket booths next to the scanners for prebought tickets.
The only complication was the waters started rising in San Marco so they switched entry to the side door where they have raised platforms to walk on. The interior of the Basilica is completely dry but the entry way is piazza height and does flood when the square does.
It took me a few minutes but here is the link to the tickets: https://basilicasanmarco.skiperformance.com/en/store#/en/buy
Choose your date and time slot - it sounds like you want the BASILICA S.MARCO + PALA D'ORO + MUSEUM LOGGIA CAVALLI ticket which is 20e.

If you need a quick lunch between these look for Rossopomodoro a block or so from San Marco. It's a Milan chain that serves decent, fast Italy food and is a huge restaurant (for Venice) so if you just need a <1 hour lunch this is a good spot.

Hope that helps,
=Tod

Posted by
26840 posts

Many people on this forum have praised the Secret Itineraries Tour at the Doges Palace, but I believe it typically sells out. The extra rooms are reportedly nice because they are not crowded.