HI,
I'll be going to Venice for a couple of weeks, not sure what I should get for museum tickets...I think I definitely want to go to the Doge's Palace, not sure of the others....I'm more of an outdoorsy person, wanting to walk around etc....but since I'll be there for quite a while wondering if I should get the Venice pass, how it works, etc.....if anyone can help, that would be great, thanks!
When I went in 2018, you could get a combined ticket for the Doge's Palace and the nearby Correr Museum, which was also quite interesting. The Correr has shorter lines, and I bought the combo ticket there and visited (also had lunch there). A couple of days later I went to the Doge's Palace with my ticket and walked right in, skipping the much longer ticket-buying line.
If the pass you're referring to is the Venezia Unica city pass, it's hard to tell whether it would be a good deal based on the website. I couldn't figure out what different variations cost compared with what they covered. I would certainly recommend a multi-day vaporetto pass -- the seven-day version pays for itself in seven rides, and you're likely to take many more over a week's sightseeing. (I found myself taking the wrong vaporetto a few times, and was glad not to be paying per ride.) There's a small discount for buying it online in advance, and for a combination that includes the ACTV bus to or from the airport.
Walking is certainly the best way to explore Venice, but after a few hours it's nice to be able to hop on a vaporetto, either to get to the next destination or just for the ride.
I didn't go to the Correr Museum or the Doge's Palace last year, but my trip-prep notes include this comment, which I think was based on info posted on this forum: "Buying at Correr no longer guarantees fast access; ticket-holder line very long." Quite a few ticketing shortcuts either are no longer available or don't work as well as they used to. I think there used to be a staffed bag-check facility for San Marco, the use of which got you into the church without waiting in the ticket line. They've switched to lockers (reportedly), so that quick-access option is now gone.
Quite a lot of the museums covered by the pass in Venice are fairly minor ones; often I like those, but in the case of Venice, there just wasn't much that appealed to me, so I have no experience using that pass. I did buy the very inexpensive Chorus Pass, which covers entry to at least a dozen less-famous churches. I was in Venice for about 9 days but spent a lot of time taking advantage of Glass Week. That gave me less time than I had expected for seeking out the churches, but I still at least broke even on the pass, which is good for a year.
By grouping your most transportation-intensive sightseeing (especially to the various islands) into one of your weeks, you might be able to avoid buying two, one-week vaporetto passes. They cost 65 euros each in Venice. Individual rides are 9.50 euros.
I'd recommend booking the Guggenheim (really excellent if you like modern art) ahead of time, once you're in Venice, rather than just showing up. It's very popular, and you could otherwise end up in a significant ticket line. The Accademia was a just-walk-in museum for me.
thanks for that info. very helpful, Sandy
I bought the Venizia Unica city pass and it cost 47.90, slightly discounted because the Jewish museum is closed for renovations. It includes the Doges Palace, Corer museum, Museum of 18 century Venice, National Archaeology museum, glass museum on Murano, Lace museum on Burano, Ca Pesaro art gallery, Natural history museum and others. It also includes at least a dozen churches. I was there for a week, and made very good use of this pass. I would try to plot my walking route so that I could pop into the churches on my way, and I hit most of the museums as well. Some of the museums I may not have gone into if I had to pay the fee, but because it was included with the pass I would pop in and take a look and decide if I wanted to see the rest. I usually did. At the Doges Palace there is a line for pass holders, and I went later in the afternoon and there was nobody in the line. At the Corer museum I went a little earlier in the day and waited maybe ten minutes to get in, but it wasn’t too busy inside. The pass also offers discounts on other museums and shows as well as bars and restaurants. This pass along with a vaporetto pass for the week kept me pretty busy, and I ended up seeing quite a lot of the city. I also went to the Acedemia gallery shortly after it opened and there was no line up. I did not buy an advance ticket for the Peggy Guggenheim so stood in line for about ten minutes to get in at 10am when it opens. I was there the first week of May last year.
My trip was in September 2022, by which time visitor levels in Venice seemed to have increased quite a bit.
Anita, thanks for all your info....very useful
