Doge's Palace in Venice Tickets and Tours

The Doge's Palace, located in St. Mark's Square, is one of Venice's most important attractions. This 10th-century Gothic building served as the residence and centre of political power of the Republic for almost 1,000 years.

If you want to find out about tickets and prices for the Doge's Palace, I recommend the best options: from fast-track tickets to guided tours and even passes that include access to other important museums in Venice.

If the Doge's Palace is impressive from the outside, the inside takes you on a journey back in time. Among its luxurious rooms and chambers, you will stroll from one place to another inside the Palace surrounded by masterpieces by Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto.

Hundreds of convicts suffered within the walls of this palace's infamous prison, including the famous Casanova, whose sighs as he saw the city of Venice for the last time from the prison bridge led the English poet Lord Byron to christen it the 'Bridge of Sighs', which can still be crossed today. With this fast-track ticket to the Doge's Palace, you can enter without waiting in the long queues that form at the entrance.

What's included

If you prefer to visit the Doge's Palace and soak up the incredible stories hidden within its majestic rooms and the walls of its gloomy prison, this ticket with a guided tour by a professional guide is perfect and costs 92

For approximately 1 hour, an art historian will take you, without queuing, through the Government Wing, the magnificent Hall of the Great Council with its gigantic canvas of Paradise by Tintoretto, Sansovino's Golden Staircase and, of course, the Bridge of Sighs, which connects the palace to the gloomy dungeons. There you will hear stories about political conspiracies, summary trials and the most famous escapes from the Republic of Venice.

What's included

In addition to the Doge's Palace, St. Mark's Square is home to another of Venice's most important buildings, in this case a religious one: St. Mark's Basilica. Both attractions can be visited in the same morning, so booking this guided tour with fast-track access to the Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica is really convenient.

This type of ticket gives you fast-track access to the Doge's Palace and St Mark's Basilica, including entry to the important Pala d'Oro, the Byzantine altarpiece in gold and silver encrusted with gems and precious stones housed in the temple. It includes a private guide for a more personalised experience and a 2-hour guided tour with explanations in Spanish.

Why I like this option

In a single morning and without waiting in line, you can learn about the interesting history behind the luxurious decorations and works of art in the Doge's Palace from the golden age of Venice and the most relevant facts about St. Mark's Basilica, the only one of its kind in Italy. You should know that St. Mark's has hundreds of gold-plated mosaics, some dating back to the 13th century, and above its black marble floors stand 10th-century Byzantine domes and 500 columns from the 3rd century.

Your guide will also provide information about St. Mark's Square, in the heart of Venice, which stands out for its size and extraordinary structure, blending Byzantine, European and Eastern architectural styles. If you choose this fast-track ticket, you can also customise it with two options:

• Option 1: Includes admission to the three museums in St. Mark's Square: This is the most recommended ticket of the two as it also includes access to visit the three most important museums in St. Mark's Square on your own: the Correr Museum, the National Archaeological Museum and the National Library.
• Option 2: Includes priority access to St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace: This ticket includes fast-track entry to both buildings accompanied by a guide. The price is 147

This pass allows you to visit the museums in St. Mark's Square and the Doge's Palace on your own, skipping the queues with fast-track access. It is valid for 3 months and includes one visit per museum, among which you will see:

Correr Museum

This is the most important museum in Venice. It is named after its founder, Teodoro Correr, who donated it to the city of Venice in 1830. Its design and initial construction date back to the period when Venice was part of the Kingdom of Italy (1806-1814) ruled by Napoleon.

Monumental Rooms of the Sansovino Library

This building was constructed between 1536 and 1560 to house valuable codices in Greek and Latin donated to the Republic of Venice by Cardinal Bessarione in 1468. It is now part of the Marciana National Library, where valuable manuscripts such as Fra Mauro's Map of the World, the 16th-century Grimani Breviary and ancient books, such as those by Aldo Manuzio, are preserved.

National Archaeological Museum

It is one of the oldest public museums not only in Italy but also in Europe, exhibiting a rich collection of Greek and Roman sculptures, bronze objects and sculptures, ceramics, jewellery, coins and a collection of Egyptian, Babylonian and Assyrian antiquities. These collections formed what was known as the 'Public Statuary' during the Renaissance, founded by Frederick Contarini in 1596 in the antechamber of the St Mark's Library.

If you want to experience much of Venice's cultural offerings, whether over several days or even in just one, this Venice tourist pass is your best bet. For a reasonable price, you can save money on individual tickets to the 10 most important museums in Venice, including the Doge's Palace, and time spent waiting in long queues for a period of 6 months, with one visit per museum. So I highly recommend it.

What's included

Vicky's Traveller Tip

Consider purchasing a tourist pass if you want to visit several museums or palaces in Venice.

Scala d'Oro

This golden staircase will take you to the second floor of the Doge's Palace, where you will find the former chambers where the doges resided, the voting rooms, the armoury, the courtyards and the prison.

Doge's Apartment

This chamber contains majestic decorations and paintings by masters such as Veronese, Titian, Bellini and Tintoretto.

Hall of the Maggior Consiglio

This was the voting chamber, where more than 1,000 people decided the fate of the city, and it contains the largest canvas in the world, Tintoretto's'Paradise'.

Prison

Its dungeons and damp wells continue to shock visitors to the prison in the Doge's Palace in Venice, where Casanova himself was held before managing to escape a grim fate by climbing across the rooftops after being imprisoned in 1756.

Bridge of Sighs

To reach the dungeons of the Doge's Palace, you will cross the same bridge that those condemned to death crossed so many times, sighing as they saw the city of Venice for the last time from the windows of the bridge.

Bocca di Leone

This curious letterbox was used at the time to deposit reports of illegal activities by citizens.

You can reach the Doge's Palace, located in the central St Mark's Square, on foot or by vaporetto:

The imposing St. Mark's Square is home to other interesting tourist attractions, museums and monuments that are well worth a visit, such as:

Have you already decided on your ticket to the Doge's Palace in Venice? Then don't miss out on other top activities in the city, such as gondola rides through the canals of Venice and visiting the interesting nearby town of Murano from Venice. I've attached my practical guides on these topics so you can organise your visit: The 5 Best Gondola Rides in Venice and 4 Best Day Trips to Murano and Burano from Venice.