Secret Iternitiers Doges Palace

Here is a link to purchase tickets for the Secret Itineraries guided tour. It's a good idea to book well in advance, especially during high season: http://www.vivaticket.it/index.php?nvpg&id=566&wms_op=museiCivici&Language=ENG

Thanks!

You will SO enjoy this. I was traveling with my adult daughter. She is not as 'in' to historic buildings as I am, so I booked the English tour. We both just loved seeing the cell where Casanova was kept and going up in the attics. After the tour I think my daughter enjoyed exploring the public rooms more because she knew some 'inside' information.

What else would you recommend? I am traveling with my husband, my 18 year old and my 16 year old. To see Venice is my dream so I want to make the most of it. Also any hotel reomendations will be appreciated. Thanks!

Visit St. Mark's Basilica between 11.30 and 12.30, when the mosaics are floodlit. Get front seats on the vaporetto and ride along the Grand Canal as you watch Venice glide past you. Do it again after dark.

Suggestion for Secret Itineraries tour of Doge's Palace: if it's a warm day, book the earliest time slot; it gets very hot in some rooms on the top floor! As for other suggestions, take a vaporetto to San Giorgio Maggiore and take the elevator to the top of the bell tower for a great view (the entrance to the elevator is inside the church at the left side of the main altar). Enjoy!

Susan and others, since you mention the bell tower of San Giorgio Maggiore, do you know which is better light for photography from there looking back toward St. Mark's, first thing in the morning, or late afternoon, or maybe some other time of day?

Thanks--you all have been so kind

Larry, If you look at a map of Venice you will see that the bearing from the San Georgio tower to Piazza San Marco is north of North by North West, or just a very few degrees west of due North. It will depend on the time of year, as the sun moves around the ecliptic during the year. One thing to bear in mind about thinking of photography from S. Georgio is the mid to late afternoon wind at the top of the tower. I have often found that wind, and that it tends to be dusty. Another thing to consider is what it is that you want in your composition. Do you want full light on the subject (sun behind you relative to subject), oblique light or rear lighting for a silhouette?