Home > Venice > Skip the Line: Venice Walking Tour with St Mark's Basilica
USD $29.00
Skip the Line: Venice Walking Tour with St Mark's Basilica
Venice, Italy
Skip the line at St Mark’s Basilica and explore St Mark’s Square and lesser-known Venice on this 2-hour walking tour. Stroll around St Mark’s Square as your guide explains its buildings and Venice’s history as a major maritime power during medieval times. Bypass the queues at St Mark’s Basilica to ogle its incredible interior, and delve into the quieter, less-visited side of Venice. Walk along small canals past palaces, squares and bridges; see where explorer Marco Polo once lived, and learn about daily life in the city past and present.
Choose from various departure times when you book. Then, when the time comes, start your skip-the-line walking tour near St Mark’s Square where your knowledgeable guide will introduce you to the history of Venice and its famous square — the city’s social, religious and political hub for centuries.
As you walk around, learn why the first Venetians settled on what were unpropitious marshy islands, and how, through its mercantile wealth, ‘La Serenissima’ as it was known grew to become one of the world’s mightiest maritime powers. Ogle the ornate architecture as your guide explains the buildings before you, and then admire the marbled exterior of St Mark’s Basilica.
Skip the lines at the entrance, and marvel at the opulent interior. Behold the gleaming mosaics and statues and learn why the Basilica is considered a masterpiece of Italian-Byzantine architecture.
Next, set off into the quieter, lesser-known Venice of small canal walkways and campi (squares), unseen by many visitors. See the Querini and Stampalia art museum (exterior only) and discover hidden squares, bridges and loggia-fronted Gothic and Renaissance palaces. Learn how the floors of the palaces had specific uses and hear stories about daily life in the city during the days of the Venetian Republic.
Visit the squares of Santa Maria Formosa and Santa Marina, and look round the Il Milione courtyards named after Marco Polo’s ‘Il Milione’, the Venetian explorer’s personal accounts of his far eastern travels. Wander onto the Marco Polo Bridge and see the stone plaque that marks what was once his family house.
After around two hours, walk back to the Grand Canal where your tour ends near the Rialto Bridge.
Please note: On rare occasions, St Mark’s Basilica is closed without notice due to religious festivities or high water in Venice.
Great guide. So much history. Well worth the time and monies.
Review by: elizabethpaigehamilton, April 2018
The guide was very knowledgeable, but it was a very awkward tour. We were not allowed to take pictures in the Basilica because of the reverence requested of the holy site. However, the tour guide talked the entire way through the basilica despite that the signs requested no guided tours. Had we known the guided would be offensive to the location, we would have booked individual tickets or waited in line to get our own tickets. We still had to wait to get in, despite the Skip the Line promise. We definitely didn't want to offend the local requests of reverence when visiting religious sites. The pace was too slow for us as well.
Review by: Paul W, April 2018
Lori was fabulous. Very knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and easy to hear and understand. Her presentation was first class. I am now even more in awe of Michelangelo. Paul from Perth
Review by: R E K, March 2018
When we got there, they divided us into three groups. We lost and got the most boring guide ever....most of our group left before the tour finished. We could hear other guides as our tours would occasionally come across each other and they were much better...we just had back luck.
Review by: Sheilah B, March 2018
Our Guide was lovely and very informative - sorry cant remember HER name??_br/_ Would recommend - although sadly couldn't take photos inside the Basilica but it was amazing xx
Review by: Robert M, March 2018
Great tour giving insight into history and some of the fascinating history of this beautiful city._br/_ Our guide also recommended local restaurants and what a find._br/_ Well worth it
Review by: Melvyn F, March 2018
Thoroughly enjoyed this, the guide was very knowledgeable, good sence of humour and made the tour very enjoyable. Thoroughly recommend.
Review by: kona, January 2018
excellent tour and excellent customer service. will use viatour again
Review by: Darren R, January 2018
We've been on several tours in Rome which we didn't like before we arrived in Venice and almost didn't go on the pre-booked tours once there. However, we were very glad we did. On the first day, Andrea lead our Venice Walking Tour. And, it's the tour guide that makes the tour either a disappointment or a not-to-miss event. Andrea was great! He was concise, patient, organized, and everything was more interesting when he described it. Best tour ever!
Review by: Rachel A, December 2017
Good not great.
Review by: Cecile, December 2017
We skipped the line on a day where it was rainy and there was light flooding on St Mark's Square. It was very crowded inside the Basilica. Towards the end f the tour, we separated from the group and went around the Basilica on our own to observe the details of the mosaic in the ceiling and to explore other areas of the church not covered during the tour. I suggest that if one is interested in architecture and exploring the entire church that you do this. The Basilica has a museum and it is also nice to go out on the rooftop to observe the city and take photos.
Review by: Jennifer M, November 2017
Great way to see St Mark's Basilica and learn something at the same time.
Review by: Barbara M, November 2017
Misleading! We did not skip any line, we just joined the normal queue for the Basilica.There is no entry fee so you are just paying for the walking tour. The walk was good and informative but you can get free walking tours so this tour was rather expensive.
Review by: Rosemary S, October 2017
Good tour.
Review by: Elizabeth D, October 2017
A 2 hour tour packed with highlights. We had a very good guide, Serafina, who really knew her stuff and took us off the beaten track. Highly recommend it.
Review by: drrfjmiami, October 2017
We have found that learning about a city and its attractions through the eyes of a professional guide is worth every penny. Our guide, Christina, reinforced that yet again! The skip the line access to St. Marks is very important, and Christinas commentary taught us much more than we could ever have discerned for ourselves on the limited amount of time youre allowed inside. The tour included history of Venice fascinating, the Bridge of Sighs, the innovations to sustain the population from providing fresh water to why there are no trees in central Venice, a visit to the site of Marco Polos long-gone home, and several streets and alleyways off the tourist paths. Delightful!
Review by: Deepak B, October 2017
our guide was ver good
Review by: Rose P, September 2017
Very informative, easy to understand, and high energy tour guide! Loved all the history and the beautiful city.
Review by: Thomas J, September 2017
DO NOT BOOK
Review by: Michael N, September 2017
Fantastic way to see all the highlights of Venice
Review by: My Bebe, September 2017
I'm glad we have Skip the Line pass or else we will be standing in heat and a Long terrible line.
Review by: hweissman, September 2017
This trip is outstanding. Worth every penny. You can't comprehend how spectacular this building is until you see it from the hidden inside. Don't miss this in Venice.
Review by: Carrian C, September 2017
Absolutely wonderful experience. Lisa was fantastic at guiding us through the city and offering up so many tips, tricks, fascinating facts and stories. This was the best way to start our trip. In fact, we did a little write up on it and will be doing another again soon. So glad we found this tour, it made our experience all the better!
Review by: Carrian C, September 2017
LOVED this tour!! We did two in Venice and this was our favorite. The guide was lovely. She was witty and kind and as a local knew so much about everything. A man in our group became incredibly rude, like blatantly picking a fight with her and she handled herself with absolute class. He was upset that the tour was taking the amount of time it did because he only wanted to go through the basilica. The tour clearly states the time it will take and she was not at all at fault for taking that time, and in fact we did end up ending a little early, he was just awful. We loved how she handled the situation and never skipped a beat. Her little gems about the area made the rest of our time in Venice so much better as we knew where to go for the best views, little places to grab a bite to eat etc. Loved her information on life in the past and present in Venice. It was wonderful!
Review by: Catherine C, August 2017
A good way to get to understand a little more about Venice and to see inside the basilica. Our guide, Marco, was fantastic and very funny. Definitely recommend.
Review by: tonya, August 2017
Worth it for the skip the line into St. Mark's but we could have skipped the rest of the tour. We had explored some on our own prior and the tour was a little dull. We loved Venice though!
Review by: Robert R, August 2017
This was a very interesting tour that offered lots of information on St Marks, The Doge's Palace and the history of Venice. It was fun going a little off the beaten path as well and seeing some of the less touristy parts of Venice. Our guide was very friendly and enthusiastic about her city!
Review by: Julie T, July 2017
This tour allowed you to see the sights and sounds of Venice both the famous and lesser know areas / facts. Guide was very informative and did not rush, allowed time for questions and photos. Very informative historical information and brief but enjoyable tour of the Bascilica. Would definitely recommend as a starting point to learn about the real Venice!
Review by: Julie T, July 2017
This tour allowed you to see the sights and sounds of Venice both the famous and lesser know areas / facts. Guide was very informative and did not rush, allowed time for questions and photos. Very informative historical information and brief but enjoyable tour of the Bascilica. Would definitely recommend as a starting point to learn about the real Venice!
Review by: P J M, July 2017
It was so busy when we left the basilica that we couldn't find our tour guide and had to abandon the tour._br/_ Shame
Review by: Robert T, July 2017
Knowledgeable guide. Good coverage of Venice. Reasonable price.
Review by: Loretta D, June 2017
Great tour and guide! One day is definitely enough but this hits all the highlights. Know that the afternoon tour does not end at the Rialto Bridge - only the morning tour does. But we broke off slightly early and enjoyed Rialto area and happy hour specials before taking the train back out of the city.
Review by: Kimberly O, May 2017
This tour was wonderful. The guide was a wealth of information, and you had the time to truly enjoy the location.
Review by: Robert, May 2017
Hugely disappointing. There were a lot of people at the meeting point when I arrived. The tour company were poorly organized. There was one staff member checking 75 or 80 people off on his clipboard. After checking in with the first person we had to get checked off a second list this time to receive our audio units. The people were divided into groups based on the channel on their receivers but this was not well explained. We had to try to find the tour guide who was talking on our head set. There were lots of peol wandering around trying to figure out who was talking in their ear. The staff clearly did not take charge. We were 15 minutes late starting the tour and it ended after 1hr and 45 min, not 2 hours as advertised. There was no benefit to skipping the line to see the Basilica as we lined up behind other groups skipping the line and then had to merge with people who had not paid to skip the line. We had not time in the church to really look around. People who were not in a group got to see more of the church and were able to take their time. The walk after the church was ok but nothing outstanding. Very disappointing. I would have been better off doing it myself.
Review by: Norma H, May 2017
This was an excellent tour. The guide was very knowledgeable and made the tour a fabulous experience. I came away knowing a lot._br/_ This is the fourth tour we have taken with Viator and have been particularly impressed with the calibre of the guides. We recommend Viator to others needing trips and guides.
Review by: Brian S, March 2017
A walking tour with a very good guide. Skip the line did not work but the wait was only 5 - 10 minutes. Learned a lot about the church and enjoyed the walk to and from the Rialto bridge.
Review by: Penny G, November 2016
Interesting sights, educated guide, but not a good excursion if you have any mobility issues. One of us let the guide know she had an injured ankle, and the guide ignored her issues and sped along on foot, with the group trailing, and my friend being left behind to find her own way out of hearing from the radio speaker
Review by: jjandpmstrickland, November 2016
Wouldn't change anything other than the weather!! Very informative friendly guide. Well organised.
Review by: Sue, October 2016
This was one of the best tours we have taken. Our guide was amazing. We started off on a Skip the Line tour of San Marco, which was definitely worth doing as the general queue was very long. The inside was amazing and I would have loved to have had more time inside. Our guide then took us to places in Venice we would have overlooked. Seeing all the hidden squares and learning about the architectural styles from a very knowledgeable guide was definitely enjoyable. His knowledge of Venice was incredible, and he made everything come to life. I would recommend this tour to anyone visiting Venice.
Review by: DEBORAH D, October 2016
Very good tour with a chance to see the back streets. We had a very good guide who was really easy to listen too, on time and efficient.
Review by: Janice F, October 2016
This tour was awesome! We absolutely loved our guide, Marina. She was cute, knowledgeable and engaging. I'd recommend this tour to anybody visiting Venice.
Review by: Melanie H, October 2016
Knowledgeable and relaxed guide, very interesting without being too intense. Thank you.
Review by: drgreen5555, October 2016
Excellent tour! Excellent guide! He was very knowledgeable and friendly. He was very informative and we enjoyed the tour of st. Mark's Basilica. We also saw many other sights that we would not have seen without a guide. This tour was an excellent value.
Review by: Brian S, October 2016
This was a great walking tour. The guide was knowledgeable and took us around lots of off the beaten locations as well as hitting the major attractions.
Review by: holiday, October 2016
Very informative tour...would recommend
Review by: Andras V, October 2016
We, very cleverly, did this tour in a different day before we took the focused guided tour into the Basilica. We got a very nice, comprehensive input of all the exquisites on the Piazza, and the immediate surroundings.
Review by: Sandra D, October 2016
Our guide was personable and knowledgeable, and it was a relatively small group. Great to go straight into the Basilica, the lineup was very long. Enjoyed the walk on some quieter streets lanes, and got a feel of Venice as locals live.
Review by: Susan K, October 2016
Our guide was friendly and knowledgeable. It was a very hot day and she did an excellent job steering us through the crowds and finding shady areas wherever she could. The tour was informative and well worth doing, Queuing for St. Mark's would have been unbearable on such a hot day!
Review by: Penny G, October 2016
I think most of us wanted to really see St. Mark's, but we were just swiftly toured through the ground floor and then out again. Not a lot of information, didn't get to see the museum up top, didn't go near the sacristy. The tour of the city was good, but St. Mark's should have been much more extensive.
Review by: Ann Marie, October 2016
Very good guide who took the time to explain things and answer questions. More time in St Mark's would have been nice but not possible with the crowds.
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