Hey all,
My spouse and I are looking at doing St. Mark's and Doges Palace in on day while we're in Venice. Wanted to confirm that's simple enough to do, I've read both should take 3-4 hours in total. Is there a recommendation on which to do first?
We're also looking to do Row Venice around 11am on another day. I've read great reviews but confirming that's a good activity. We're thinking of doing it in lieu of a gondola.
Thanks!
While we did them on successive days due to the itineraries of the VFR Tour, its quite easy to do them both in a single day. I highly recommend the English language Secret Itineraries Tour of the Doge's Palace. As for St. Mark's, there's no need for a tour per se. We were not in St. Mark's for more than 2 hours, even seeing all the attractions. Buy advance timed-entry tickets to both sites from the official websites. Also, if applicable, you can get a reduced ticket to the Doge's Palace if you're over 65. The English language Secret Itineraries Tours are only at certain times (1000, 1130, and 1300), so factor that into which you might do first.
Certainly you can do both, and more, in the same day, and it makes sense because they're right next to each other. But try to get advance tickets with entry times to minimize line-standing. I agree with above, a couple of hours is enough for the basilica. I didn't do the Secret Itineraries tour of the palace but it's often recommended here. I was fine on my own for 2-3 hours.
As for sequence, I'd say the basilica first because it's smaller (in the sense of fewer steps and different spaces inside). But ticket availability may dictate your choice. If I had to choose just one, I'd choose the basilica.
EDIT -- I went to the Correr Museum, across the piazza, and bought a combo ticket for that and the palace, used the palace ticket the next day. That gave me a much shorter ticket-buying line, and Correr was very interesting too. You could do all three sites in one day if you have the energy.
I meant to add: if you are so inclined, get tickets for the Campanile. An elevator whisks you to the top and the views are spectacular. We did it at dusk in mid-October and it was truly breathtaking to see all the lights coming on in and around Venice.
Another vote for the campanile. We were only in the church about a half hour. Plenty of time for all three in a day, with good advanced planning.
I spent a lot of time in St. Mark's, certainly over two hours. The museum (upstairs) is very worthwhile.
We have not done a gondola ride, and Row Venice would be a great alternative to a gondola ride.
We have paddled with venicekayak.com twice. That was our best ever tour in Venice. We paddled UNDER the Sacristy of San Stefano. We are not kayaking people, those tours were our first paddling adventure.
We loved Row Venice, and the back canals were so beautiful and peaceful!
My husband has done Row Venice three times and I've been the passenger --- we've both loved it and highly recommend it. For the rower, though, it's all about doing the rowing --- I just now asked him and he said he never even saw the scenery, so in that sense it's not like being in a gondola. But if you take turns rowing, like it sounds as though you will, you get the best of both experiences. The boat (whose name I forget) does not have any of the fancy trappings of a gondola --- you're just in one of many working boats of Venice, which we liked.
It's been a few years (2016) and as a prelude to a Rick Steves tour of Small Town Italy, we spent 3 nights in Venice. In October 2016 the cruise ship impact was horrendous during the day. One night we set out for a walkabout and noticed that there was no line to enter the Doges Palace. We were there around 7-8PM if memory serves me correctly. There were probably on ~50 people in the whole place and we had some of the larger rooms entirely to ourselves.
Of course I'm not sure if this option is viable in 2024 but further investigating may prove fruitful.
Ciao
Thank you all. We booked Row Venice for an 11:30am timeslot, which should be nice to give us the morning to explore, slow down, enjoy that to create an appetite for lunch!
We will plan on doing Saint Mark's Basilica first thing in the morning on our final day when it opens to avoid a line, then probably book an appointment for Doges Palace around 11am to be able to enjoy the rest of our day.
I second the reccomendation for the museum on the second floor of San Marco. Well worth the time.
