Venice in a day:
St. Mark's, the Doge's Palace, and a gondola ride
Destination
Venice, Italy
Duration
6 hours
Tour size
Max 20
Language
English
Overview
Venice is a city you can spend days in and still feel like you've missed something. This Venice in a day tour covers the landmarks, the backstreets, and the canals in one carefully sequenced morning.
- •Cross the Rialto Bridge before the crowds arrive and walk through the fish market where Venice's chefs are already shopping for the day
- •Turn a corner into the square at San Giovanni e Paolo, where one of the city's largest churches appear without warning
- •Glide through the back canals on a shared gondola ride under bridges and past Renaissance palazzos
- •Walk into St. Mark's Basilica past the line and stand beneath golden mosaics that tell the story of a city built on faith and trade
- •Step through the Bridge of Sighs from the inside, looking out through the stone lattice the way the prisoners once did, on your way into the cells below the Doge's Palace
What's included
- Skip-the-line access to St. Mark's Basilica
- Pre-reserved ticket to the Doge's Palace
- 30-minute shared gondola ride (max 5 per gondola)
- Local English-speaking guide
- Headset
You will visit
- Rialto Bridge and Rialto Fish Market
- The backstreets and hidden squares of Venice
- Marco Polo's house (exterior)
- Campo San Giovanni e Paolo
- A 30-minute gondola ride
- St. Mark's Square
- St. Mark's Basilica
- The Doge's Palace, including the prisons
- The Bridge of Sighs
Get a taste of Venice in a day
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What to expect
The morning walk: Venice before the crowds
The day starts early near the Rialto Bridge, before the crowds descend. You'll cross the bridge with time to stop for a photograph, then walk through the Rialto Fish Market where professional chefs and home cooks compete for the morning's freshest catch. From here, your guide leads you into the backstreets: quiet squares, hidden courtyards, and the kind of narrow alleys where you turn a corner and suddenly an enormous church fills the sky.
The gondola ride: the city from the water
Many guests arrive skeptical about the gondola. It sounds touristy. It isn't. Your group splits into gondolas of five and glides through the quieter back canals, under low bridges and past palaces. For thirty minutes, Venice looks the way it was built to be seen: from the water.
"People expect the Basilica and the Palace. The moment that surprises them is the gondola. They get off not wanting it to end."
Roberta,
WalksDevour Venice guide
"They come around the corner and the church just appears. That silence is the best part of my morning."
Denise,
WalksDevour Venice guide
Postcards from Venice
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Venice in a day
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Frequently asked questions
Our guides love answering your questions. Here are some things they’d like you to know before you arrive.
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