Doge’s Palace Tickets and Guided Visit

When to visit the Doge’s Palace: schedule and timetable

For your guided tour of the Doge’s Palace in Venice, we offer 2 options:

Group tour

• The tour is available every day
• Duration : 1 hour 15 min

Private tour*

• With date and time of your choice.
• Duration 2 hours

*The price has a higher cost, scalable according to the number of participants

Click on the BOOKING button at the top right to choose your preferred option.

You can also make a mock reservation to see the price according to your preferences.

Please feel free to contact us for more information!

Doge’s Palace guided Tour

In the fascinating atmosphere of Byzantine art combined with Oriental art, you will relive the history of Venice thanks to an expert guide.

You will be guided through the rooms of the political power of the Serenissima, where the most important organs of the Republic resided, such as: the Great Council, the Senate, the Judiciary of Justice and the Doge. Inside these special places, you will be able to admire some of the most important works by Tintoretto, Veronese, Tiepolo, Titian and other famous artists. During the tour you will also visit the splendid Golden Staircase. 

Doge’s Palace Secret Itineraries tour

Moreover, through secret itineraries tour inside Doge’s Palace, you will then follow the path of those convicted by the Republic, crossing the Bridge of Sighs. You will be able to feel the anguish of the prisoners, who, after crossing the well known Bridge, entered the darkness of the Piombi: the prisons of Venice, famous for having hosted Giacomo Casanova.  Finally you will visit the actual Prisons and learn how the prisoners of the Serenissima used to live.

Doge’s Palace tour – the guided visit includes:

• Skip the line ticket to the Doge’s Palace
• Guided visit to the Doge’s Palace rooms and halls
• You can cross the Bridge of Sighs
• You can visit the Prisons

Practical information:

• The visit in English takes place every day  (look at the calendar) 
• Meeting point near St Mark’s Square (see voucher).
• Please, make sure to be at the meeting point at least 15 minutes before the tour starts

The tour is available also in Italian, French, German and Spanish.

The museums around St. Mark’s Square

There are several museums which you may want to visit around St. Mark’s Square. If you wish to visit some or all of st Mark’s Square museums, we suggest that you buy the Museum pass ticket. It will grant you access to the Correr museum national (Correr museo archeologico nazionale), Marciana National library, the Natural Histories Museum, the Glass Museum, the Clock Tower, the Lace Museum, Ca’ Rezzonico and Ca’ Pesaro. Furthermore you could purchase an entrance ticket to Fortuny Palace, one of the most interesting Venice museum. You can find all the information on MUVE website.

Doge’s Palace curiosities

The building, which was in fact built as a private chapel of the Doge, is located in the heart of the historic center of Venice and is directly connected to the Basilica of San Marco (St. Mark’s Basil).

La Bocca di Leone: this is a special wall container, in which the bas-relief facade resembles the shape of a lion’s head, located inside the Palace. Strictly anonymously complaints against illegal practices were inserted inside the lion’s mouth by Venetian citizens.

The Red columns: along the facade overlooking the square, on the band of the loggia, you can clearly distinguish two red columns that stand out for their color compared to the others. According to tradition, this was the point from which death sentences were publicly announced.

The Giants’ Staircase: this is an enormous marble staircase, placed as a link between the main entrance of the square and the council rooms on the first floor. It is called “of the Giants” in reference to the two large marble statues placed at the top of the balustrade and depicting Mars and Neptune. This was also the place where the coronation ceremonies of the new doges took place, who were crowned after the oath. According to the legend, the size of the statues was intended to diminish the figure of the doge, acting as a warning that despite his role, the doge was not above the law.

The Hall of the Great Council: the most important part of the Palace. In fact this was the place where the Great Council met, together with the doge, to take the most important decisions regarding the Republic. This hall uniqueness is due to two main reasons. The first is that it contains the largest and most precious works of the Palace; while the second is that it has an extraordinary size. In fact, it measures 53 meters in length and 25 meters in width, which is why it is still considered one of the largest rooms in Europe.

The Damaged Column: walking the portico along the group of columns that make up the base of the Palace, it is possible to notice that one column seems a little larger than the others. According to the legend, in the Middle Age, those sentenced to death could save their life if they were able to make a complete turn around this column, keeping their backs well leaning against it. It seems that no one has ever managed to pass this test, and that each person who tried always ended up inevitably falling. Even today, if you want, you can try to make a round around the column, which is the fourth of the long colonnade that overlooks the pier.

Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s Basilica guided visit  and other group tours

Why not combining your visit to the Doge’s Palace with a tour to the St. Mark’s Basilica, one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world? To do so, we suggest that you have a look to our offer Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s Basilica – combined itinerary . With this option you will have skip the line access to both the Doge’s Palace and the St. Mark’s Basilica, as well as a professionally guided tour of both places to learn their history and the characters that shaped it.

If you want to combine the visit with walking tour, do not hesitate to look at all our experiences, tickets ans tours! If you want a private tour, we can organize a longer tour /2 hours) for the same price from 6 persons.

After an interesting tour of the Palazzo Ducale, don’t forget to visit the unique Museo Correr with monumental rooms (opening hours 10.00 am – 17.00 pm), National Archaeological museum, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana.

You you are interested in this option follow the link St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace