We are going to Venice and Rome and plan to visit both St. Mark's and St. Peter's Basilicas on our trip. But I'm a bit confused because for both appear to be free, but also have tickets or reservations that you can purchase. Do these tickets just get you in faster or are certain areas that you have to pay for in order to see? And for St. Mark's there appears to be several different tickets or entry fees for different stuff? We are only in Venice for one day, which parts of the basilica should we focus on and what can we skip? Thank you
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
For St. Marks, purchase the reservation,3€, try to see it when the Moasics are lit, around noon, then do the Museum upstairs with the Terrace overlooking the square.
This is purchased inside the Basilica
For 5€.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16698 posts
St Peter's Rome:
Yes, the basilica is free and as are the grottos underneath.
The scavi/necropolis (the excavations at the lowest level and tomb of St Peter) is not free and requires reservations well in advance. It's a guided tour and no one under age 15 allowed. Here's where you make reservations:
http://www.scavi.va/content/scavi/en/ufficio-scavi.html
The Vatican doesn't sell fast-track tickets to the basilica although some 3rd-party outfits do. Personally, it's not something I would do; just get in line before the opening hour or try to visit later the day. The security queue can be long otherwise but it does move along fairly quickly.