Venice VIP: Skip-Line Doge's, St Mark's + Iconic Walk

The name of the tour was the Absolute Venice Tour. It is a 2-part, 4-hour walking tour. Because the tour took us through Basilica San Marco (St. Mark’s Basilica), we were required to wear appropriate clothing – no bare knees or shoulders. We met our guide near the Church of San Zaccaria which was built between 1458 and 1515. It is a small but picturesque church. We were provided with earphones so that we could easily hear the guides. Our first guide took us on a vigorous walk through many Venice streets and alleys, across several bridges, through several of the 6 districts of historic Venice, and back to the Church of San Zaccaria. She spoke English quite well. She stopped regularly and explained the history of the city, the architecture, the establishment of settlements on the islands, the construction of the foundations supporting the buildings, and many more fascinating facts. She answered our questions thoroughly. The second guide also spoke English very well. This part of the tour started with a brisk walk from the Church of San Zaccaria to St. Mark’s Square. During this walk, the guide described what we were seeing. She gave interesting information about the regular flooding of the area and the efforts to keep certain areas from sinking. Once inside St. Mark’s Square, the guide described the various buildings and their uses over the years. We entered the Basilica San Marco after going through metal detectors. The present structure is the third church at this location and began construction around 1063. It is a beautiful display of Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic architecture and has some Islamic influences. The interior is fabulously decorated. Many of the columns, reliefs, and sculptures were stripped from other churches, palaces, and public monuments in other cities and countries. Among the plundered artefacts brought to Venice were four ancient bronze horses. The horses are now located in the Basilica’s Museum and replicas are placed prominently over the Basilica's entrance. The horses were originally located in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), which was sacked and looted in 1204. The guide took us through the Basilica’s Museum and provided details about several of the items we saw on display. She also led us to a balcony over the entrance to the Basilica where the replica horses are. The view of St. Mark’s Square from this location location is breathtaking. From there, we were taken to the Doge’s Palace. The guide led us through several of the chambers and gave details about the primary functions of each area including the politics and legal systems used throughout the history of these chambers. She took us through the court chambers and then over to the old prison. We also crossed the Bridge of Sighs which spans the narrow canal between the Doge’s Palace and the prison. The Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment. We enjoyed the historic details provided by both of our guides and highly recommend this tour. Please note that you should wear comfortable and sturdy walking shoes. This tour covers quite a bit of area and includes walking on uneven surfaces and up and down stairs. We are a healthy 70+ year old couple and we didn't have any trouble keeping up with the guides.

Be sure you understand what is included in the tires of St. Mark and Doge before you book. Spent most time outside of basilica on balcony when I would have liked to pray at St. Marks tomb or at least have 5 minutes to visit to pray. Martina who led us in walking tour in an was 5 star! Donato was ok.

Great tour and very informative tour. Our tour guide was excellent. It was very crowded and she did a wonderful job of getting us around and very knowledgeable.

Our guide was an OUTSTANDING woman (art historian) with years of experience, who had recently sprained her ankle. But that didn't stop her, as she was walking with a cane and moving quickly! We loved her use of a laser pointer to direct us to interesting details in the ceiling and wall art. She was refreshingly proud of Italy's cultural heritage, and she expressed this in her desire to share St. Mark's beauty with us!

Really excellent, informative, well paced tour of the main center points of interest in Venice. Guide did an excellent job, despite pouring rain, flooding and difficult crowds; very well done!!

Starting with the walking tour provided great historical and cultural context to enjoy the rest of the city throughoutnthe day. Our tour guide provided great insight and she was very helpful. Getting to skip the lines at the basicila and palace was extremely beneficial and were great key sites to see while in Venice

Great tour- guide was excellent. We’ll informed, humorous, and did a good job keeping track of everyone.

My husband and adult daughter and I took this tour. The first 2 hours was a private tour and we learned so much history about Venice, the city, the people, the way all the islands are connected by over 400 bridges, and so much more. After this part we joined up with a group of about 20 for the Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s Basilica. You wear headsets and this works great. If you didn’t have a tour guide you wouldn’t know what you are looking at. I highly recommend doing a guided tour and especially when you can skip the lines!!

Our tour guide was excellent (I think her name is Claire ... spellings) born and raised in Venice she is knowledgeable about the city. Gave us good tips. The lines to both places were horrendous so thanks to skipping the lines tickets 🙏 She took us right to the front no waiting. She is awesome - learned a lot from her. Highly recommended this tour.

This was an awesome tour... we started with the walking tour of the City. Then we cut the line to St. Marks. This includes both the down stairs tour and upstairs. Finally, we went to the Doge's Palace. The tour guide knew a lot and answered several questions. Definitely recommend.