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Inclusions
Revisited the Doge's Palace after almost 20 years, tour route somewhat reduced compared to the past, good visitor flow management. Acceptable wait at 'entrance.
View original review in Italian
The highlight of the tour was going up on the rooftop of the duomoand seeing the beautiful views of Milan. The tour of the inside of the church was interesting, but our guide was hard to understand at times and was fairly dry. Of course, the duomo is gorgeous and it was excellent to get more information about some of the details of the beautiful cathedral.
Incredible place. Worth every cent and every minute. I strongly recommend buying audio guide, give you a lot of great information.
Skipped a massive queue to enjoy a stunning tour around the palace, the craftsmanship on view is amazing. Incredible that some of the artists worked there for 70 years!
I had no expectation when booking the ticket. I was really happily surprised. Fantastic building and history lesson. It's an amazing place and we spent many hours exploring all of the building and it's contents. I would recommend this place to all. The staff are fabulous and even the cafe is a great post experience chill.
The galleries of paintings, bas relief sculptures and visit to the prison were outstanding. It would take a week to fully investigate the history and beauty of all we were privy to at Doge's Palace.
Great organization, wonderful views. You have to visit 😍
Interesting and worth seeing tour - audio guide via cell phone also worked well. Can only recommend it.
View original review in German
The exhibits and audio guide made it a wonderful experience
The palace and its paintings and the arms exhibition are magnificent. The Bridge of Sighs and the prison are also super.
This review is translated. Show original review.
Everything was amazing. But very crowded
The whole expirience!!!!!!!!!!
There was so much to see. Far more than I realised. The descriptions in the rooms were very helpful. We did not feel rushed through. Length of time to really look. A very relaxed and enjoyable visit. The cafe was lovely gir a drink and cake. A really enjoyable visit. Highly recommended. Not to be missed.
The artwork was beautiful. The historic weapon display was good. The entire tour is a maze and takes a bit to walk it, but you can exit at certain points. Would suggest visiting this site.
No long waiting times at the entrance. Lots of great impressions of the inside of the palace. The prison cells and the prison cells and the passage through the Bridge of Sighs.
View original review in German
I arrived at the ticket point where I was told that they did not have tickets for us...that they had not received them...despite the fact that the reservation for the visit was made in February
View original review in Italian
The instructions say to pick up tickets at Museo di Venezia, which cannot be found by that name. Actually, there is no need to pick up tickets. You can enter directly with the bar code at the Doge's Palace. The instructions need to be improved.
View original review in Spanish
What I loved the most about this experience was the history of Venice over 1000 years of power. I also never saw so much waeponry in my life and so well preserved. The sizes of the different halls are beyond what anyone could expect. Amazingly well preserved and or restored. Amazing preservation of the prison cells. Really enjoyed the visit.
The broad times available [12 - 6] was excellent as opposed to being strictly timed. We also visited the Correr gallery - which was extremely good - to fill in time before we visited the Palace. The Palace itself was extraordinary. So vast as to be overwhelming, so varied as to be challenging.
The place is fascinating! The tickets were not exactly skip the line as there was a line (of all people who bought this type of tickets) but the waiting time was not more than 15 min. So I was happy with the purchase.
The Doge's Palace is an absolute must see in Venice - truly spectacular. Being able to skip the line in the heat was well worth the extra
Nice palace with beautiful paintings and history. Tour of the prisons as well. Did have to wait in line for about 20-30 min or so despite having tickets - for security check. Audio did not work though so gave up on trying to use it
Wonderful venue and meticulous description on works deemed most important. Audioguide good but not up to date with work being done on some parts of the building, which made it difficult to synchronize with movement. Still, experience worth trying.
View original review in Italian
Easy access, but it wasn't specified at the time of booking that access to the palace was only available from 12pm. Another point: as many of the tickets were pre-sold, we found ourselves queuing... But having said that, the wait was reasonable. In the end, this ensured our visit. And fortunately, because it's a real marvel.
View original review in French
The palace was great, but the name of the ticket being "skip-the-line" is misleading. You still have to wait in line, just a different line than if you didn't already purchase tickets.
Inclusions
Access to:
St. Mark's Basilica
Doge's Palace
Our tour guide, Lorenzo, was fantastic! Extremely knowledgeable and created a setting where the history came back to life. I HIGHLY recommend booking the early morning tour before everything gets busy.
Our guide was absolutely wonderful, incredibly knowledgeable about the history of Venetian art, architecture, politics, and commerce. Tickets to both the Doge's Palace and St Mark's Basilica had already sold out by the time I thought to check, so I'm really glad I was able to see them this way. One tiny little thing - the meet up instructions said that the guide would be holding a particular sign, which they weren't, so I hung back for ages cause I couldn't tell which tour group was mine.
The experience was great, although finding the meeting location was a bit of a challenge ...our guide was very good...spent a good deal of time explaining and answering questions. She was very knowledgeable and threw in lots of stories and theories and susperstitions about the legends. Both St Marks and Doges Palace were worth the tour!
I like very much the tour guide. She was fantastic!
We had a very nice and informative tour. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and told us a lot of interesting facts about Venice, St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace. She spoke excellent German and it was a very pleasant time with her. Thank you very much 😊
View original review in German
The highlight of my visit was the very informative guide, easy to understand , the tour flowed nicely and we were given plenty of time to take pictures
Lorenzo our tour guide was excellent and so knowledgeable, with humour thrown in, the early beat the line and the crowds made this an excellent experience
A bellisima experience in addition to what we visited, the guide was very knowledgeable, capturing our attention even in the moments of stalling in the short lines at the entrance.
View original review in Italian
Great tour guide, she was very informative and funny as well. It was very busy so a great move to pre book and miss the queues
Gina was an amazing tour guide! She was very knowledgeable and gave a little extra detail we loved her and felt very fortunate to have her as our guide! I have a way better understanding and appreciation for Venice after experiencing this tour.
The tour was very well documented and explained by the local guide. The skip-the-line entry worked perfectly, but inside you cannot avoid the huge crowd of people. At the meeting point please look for the local partner ¨flag¨, that is shown at the bottom of your reservation.
While we managed to ovetcome issues with finding the tour operator- it wasn't through headout as oer instructions, it was with a different local partner. Once we got this out of the way our guide Cristina was absolutely amazing. Very knowledgeable, beyond expectations. It was delivered in a interesting, full of exciting & details . Highly recommend if you lucky to have Cristina ad your guide.
We had a very nice guided tour through the Doge's Palace and then through the San Marco Basilica. The guide explained all the details and provided us with lots of information. A tip was to attend mass on Sunday morning at 10am or 12pm. A really special experience.
View original review in German
We were shown very little of San Marco. Other guided tours could be seen going up to the gallery level and doing a much more thorough tour of the church. Rather than one hour, we spent only about 20 minutes in the church. In the Doge's Palace, our guide did not give us much information on the art in each room. For instance, she did not mention names of artists, many of whom are quite famous. She gave us anecdotal stories, intended to be entertaining, but, on the whole, her information was quite superficial.
A little problem at the meeting point no Headour banner but was overcome Although we were given digital listening devices because U am slightly deaf found it difficult at times to understand guide. However. Both basilica and palace were extraordinary great experiance
Our guide was really passionate about the subject matter. Her story telling was very captivating and interesting. Thumbs up !!!
We devoted almost an hour to get into the Doge's House, another half hour to use the toilets. The tour was interesting but we felt we could have used more time and get more information at the Basílica. Needs improving.
Daniela is a passionate and fascinating guide. She's Italian but speaks French very well, with her "little" accent. terrific!
View original review in French
Kind and knowledgeable guide, very engaging in explanations
View original review in Italian
Our guide was fantastic! She was so friendly, kind, and SO knowledgeable
Guide (?Denisa) was great, very knowledgeable and funny. Good sized group, headphones worked well
The crew did not hold proper banner due to which we were waiting for long time.
Michelle's presentation was very interesting, he is an excellent tour guide.
Donata was a great guide and answered all my questions. I liked that we were a small.group.
Expertise of the guide and ability of the guide to hold the attention of visitors
View original review in Italian
Bypass long lines to visit two of the most iconic landmarks in Venice.
Bypass long lines to visit two of the most iconic landmarks in Venice.
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Exclusions
Easy to book and then collect the tickets in Venice. St Mark's Basilica and Doge's Palace were really worth the visit Just make sure the audio guides are working whilst you are collecting tickets as ours for Doge's Palace didn't work and we had to purchase one inside the palace
It wasn't made clear when we booked that we'd have to treck to pick tickets up from the office before the tours and also we'd have to download an app to hear the tour. We thought the tickets would be emailed to us and we'd be given an audio set when we were there. We also didn't have any earpods with us. We enjoyed the tour nonetheless but it's just hassle when you're on holiday in a foreign country and have to run around picking tickets up.
Basilica and Doge's palace were good. Audio guide was easy to use and follow.
Inclusions
The visit was well illustrated by our guide, a Spanish woman whose name I unfortunately do not remember, and we had an interesting tour of the interior of the Palace. After the guide's participation, we were able to tour the prison sector.
View original review in Spanish
Our guide, Valentina, was the best things about the tour. The Doge's Palace and associated history are fascinating. Every time I go, I learn something new. Valentina made the tour fun and engaging. Very interesting to learn more about Venice and it's governance over the ages, especially in light of where we find ourselves in the US these days. Would definitely recommend Headout.
The friendly lady who gave the tour was excellent. She took the time to answer visitors' questions and was humorous at the same time.
View original review in German
I signed up for the mysteries and secrets tour, but I didn't feel like it was presented that way. We joined a tour that was already in progress coming from St Marc's cathedral.
Doges palace is truly spectacular and beautiful to walk around and admire the ceilings and paintings Very disappointed with our guide, rushed from area to area and felt impersonal and an effort to be there. Had specifically booked this trip to learn about the prisons and be taken through the whole palace, tour guide left and no explanation or guide like many other companies and tours were providing.
One of the most fascinating and informative experiences in Venice.
The guide who took our tour answered all questions and was so friendly
Lucia was a great guide. She is friendly and informative!
The tour guide was great, knew a lot and catered to the needs of the group.
View original review in German
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Exclusions
The craftsmanship that can never be replicated is mind boggling. Floors, ceilings and stutues. Would be incredible if the original plans exsisted. Not to be missed.
The best choice is to buy a subscription. The best Venice tours in your pocket without queues. Everything is very simple and convenient. I recommend
This review is translated. Show original review.
Beautiful architecture, interiors and art, transports you to another time, a glimpse into Venezia of the past
At the entrance, I was told that the ticket was not skip-tail.
View original review in Italian
I never got the tk that I purchased
View original review in Italian
Purchased the ticket for Friday, and when we arrived the palace was closed for the day.
This walking tour in Venice was the absolute highlight of my vacation in Venice. We walked through the less touristy parts of the city and was taken through inside alleys - quiet and authentic. I especially liked area around Campo Santa Margarita which has a huge local population going about their daily lives. Our guide, Marco was highly knowledgeable with an undertone of humour, which kept us in high spirts throughout the 2 hour long walk. He even showed us gelato spots that are not on the tourist radar and I must say, they were so much tastier than the ones on St Mark's Square! I'd recommend wearing walking shoes because there's a lot to walk and a couple of steep bridges to go about.
The exhibition and the fact that I didn't have to wait in queue to enter.
Explore the best of Venice as you skip the lines to St. Mark's Basilica and Doge's Palace.
Explore the best of Venice as you skip the lines to St. Mark's Basilica and Doge's Palace.
Inclusions
Half-day tour
Full-day tour
St. Mark's Basilica
Doge's Palace
Venice Gondola Ride
Very knowledgeable guide, jovial and experienced, magnificent historic site, full day, disappointed with the gondola tour, too many gondolas on the canal, extreme traffic and no narrative.
View original review in French
We only had one day to see Venice This tour is the way to go! We got to visit the Murano Glass factory and the Dogi Palace was unbelievable Our tour guides gave us so much history of Venice it made our trip unforgettable. The gondola ride at the end was very nice even though u had to share the ride. Gondolier was also giving us history besides singing 😎 Thank you for the memories ❤️
The guide Philippe was good and funny. He kept us engaged with questions
Well organized, well explained, very helpful
View original review in Italian
Phillipe and CC were amazing. They have so much knowledge and really knew how to make it interesting. Such an amazing tour , really captures all the great aspects of Venice. Loved the glass making factory and the demonstration was amazing. Highly recommend this tour. From start to finish.
Everything was well timed and explained well by our guide. No complaints. Perfect. Don't hesitate to get this tour when in Venice!
Everything was about as expected, so everything was ok
View original review in German
Suited for: Travelers who are short on time.
Duration: Flexible
Prisons access: New Prisons - yes, Pozzi and Piombi - no
Guide: No
Recommended tickets:
Suited for: In-depth exploration
Duration: 1 hr 15 mins
Prisons access: New Prisons - yes, Pozzi and Piombi - no
Guide: Yes
Recommended tickets:
Suited for: History buffs, thrill seekers
Duration: 50 mins
Prisons access: Yes
Guide:
Recommended tickets:
Suited for: First-time Venice travelers, exploring beyond
Duration: 3 hr - 9 hr
Prisons access: New Prisons - yes, Pozzi and Piombi - no
Guide: Yes
Recommended tickets:
The spectacular entrance gate is an excellent example of classical architecture in Venice, decorated with intricate carvings and figurines of historic or mythical personalities, like St. Mark’s Lion.
General timings: 9am - 7pm
Last entry: 6pm
Special timings: From 1 May to 30 September 2024, every Friday and Saturday the palace is open until 11pm (last entrance at 10pm)
Closed on: 25 December and 1 January
The best time to visit Doge's Palace is during the months of April to June and September to October. These months offer pleasant weather, fewer crowds, and a more enjoyable experience compared to the peak summer months. Early morning or late afternoon visits on weekdays within this timeframe are ideal for avoiding crowds.
Check Doge's Palace complete scheduleAddress: Piazza San Marco, 1, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
The Doge's Palace has one main public entrance and a few historic ones that are not-functional anymore.
Main entrance (Porta del Frumento): This is the most commonly used entry point, facing the Riva degli Schiavoni waterfront on the palace's right side if you're approaching from St. Mark's Square. It features a simple Renaissance style contrasting with the palace's overall Gothic architecture. There might be a small step at the entrance, but staff can assist if needed.
A guide to Doge's Palace entranceImportant considerations: Some exceptions exist. The Secret Itineraries tour, Prisons, and Armory are not wheelchair accessible due to their historical layout and architectural constraints.
Distance: 190 m
Standing majestically next to the Doge's Palace, this Byzantine marvel boasts stunning mosaics, golden domes, and a rich history as Venice's religious heart.
Distance: 300 m
Connected to the Doge's Palace by a bridge, this museum houses an extensive collection of Venetian art, history, and everyday life, offering a deeper dive into the city's soul.
Distance: 98 m
A bibliophile's paradise, this library showcases breathtaking Renaissance architecture and houses a treasure trove of manuscripts, maps, and ancient texts.
It depends on the Doge’s Palace ticket you choose to book. While some tickets offer a full refund on canceling tickets up to 48-72 hours in advance, for others there may be no refund available on cancelation. Please check before you make your reservation.
While there's no free general admission to the Doge's Palace, children under 18 are in luck – they enjoy a 50% discount on standard entry tickets. Also, remember, booking online can often save you money compared to purchasing tickets on-site owing to special promotions and seasonal discounts.
Yes, a guided tour of Doge's Palace is worth it. It enriches your experience with detailed insights into the palace's history, architecture, and art, and includes fascinating anecdotes about the Venetian Republic. Expert guides bring the palace to life, making the visit more engaging and informative. Also, tours often provide access to areas not available with standard entry, such as the secret itineraries, adding depth to your exploration.
Combining your Doge's Palace visit with other landmarks in Venice on the same day can be a fantastic way to maximize your time and experience the city's rich history and culture. Skip the lines with pre-booked tickets and move seamlessly between nearby landmarks like St. Mark's Basilica or the Correr Museum. Balance your day with grand palaces and serene basilicas, or add a gondola ride for a romantic touch.
Skip-the-line tickets for the Doge's Palace aren't mandatory, but they can be a huge timesaver, especially during peak season or on weekends. Lines can get long, and pre-booked tickets let you breeze past them, maximizing your sightseeing time in Venice. Consider your budget and priorities. If you have limited time or dislike waiting, skip-the-line tickets offer a smoother experience.
The difference between the Secret Itineraries Tour and standard entry to Doge's Palace is significant and mainly thematic. Standard entry covers the main areas, focusing on the palace’s history, architecture, and artwork. In contrast, the Secret Itineraries Tour provides access to hidden rooms like Piombi and Pozzi prisons, Superior Chancery and the torture chambers - complemented by engaging stories and legends about the Venetian Republic’s justice system. This guided tour dives deeper into the palace's lesser-known past, making it a standout option for a unique and comprehensive understanding.
The Doge’s Palace is accepting guided tour groups with a maximum of 10 guests.
Cancellation policy for the Doge's Palace tickets vary with the particular type of ticket that you've chosen. While skip-the-line tickets can't be canceled or rescheduled, other city experiences like Venice Icons: St. Mark’s Basilica & Doge’s Palace Skip-the-Line Guided Tour can be canceled or rescheduled within the 24-hour window. Please check your specific ticket details.
Yes. Most of the Doge’s Palace is wheel-chair accessible. Only the Secret Itineraries, Armoury and Prisons cannot be accessed.
On average, visitors spend about 1.5 to 2 hours exploring the main areas of Doge's Palace. However, the duration can vary based on individual interests and whether you choose to explore additional sections or take guided tours.
Yes, you can visit the Doge's Palace with kids, but keep a few things in mind for an enjoyable experience. Younger children (under 4 years) might struggle with the length and historical details of the tours, which can last over an hour. Some parts, like the prison stories and torture chambers, that are included in the Secret itineraries tours might be too dark for kids under 6 years. Plan for breaks in the courtyard or at cafes, and prepare the kids with some history and context on what they will see. With some planning, it can be an educational and fascinating experience for the whole family.
Yes, your regular Doge's Palace tickets do include access to the New Prisons, allowing you to explore this dark chapter of Venetian history. But the older prisons (Piombi and Pozzi) are accessible via Secret Itineraries tour exclusively. The new prisons are connected to the Doge's Palace by the famous Bridge of Sighs. Do note that they are not wheelchair accessible