See the best of Doge’s Palace in Venice on a 1.25-hour skip-the-line tour! With a priority-access ticket, you won’t waste time standing in line. Walk right past the long queue with your guide, and enjoy a tour that combines the palace’s magnificent public rooms with rare access to the Piombi attic prison and the Bridge of Sighs. See Italian Renaissance artwork and learn about the darker deeds of the city’s former rulers on this Doge’s Palace tour with a difference!

Enjoy personal attention from your expert guide on this group tour, limited to 25 people.

Higlights

• 1.25-hour guided Doge’s Palace tour with skip-the-line entrance ticket
• Tour the beautiful public rooms and see Renaissance artwork by Tintoretto and Veronese
• Learn about the doges of Venice, who ruled the city for a thousand years
• Enjoy exclusive access to the Piombi attic prison, where Casanova was once held
  Walk across the Bridge of Sighs to explore the New Prisons

What You Can Expect

Your tour begins at St Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marco), from where you’ll stroll over to the elegant Doge’s Palace with your expert guide. Conveniently, your skip-the-line Doge’s Palace tickets offer fast-track entrance, so you’ll walk straight past the long lines outside.

Easily Venice’s most famous building, Doge’s Palace (or Palazzo Ducalo in Italian) is a mesmerizing example of Venetian Gothic architecture at its finest. Created in the 14th century for the doges of Venice, the rulers of the former Venetian Republic, the palace contains elaborately decorated public rooms alongside darker hidden chambers.

Start your 1.25-hour Doge’s Palace tour by exploring these ornate public rooms, where you’ll see how the successive doges made their palace even more impressive with art by 15th-century Italian Renaissance artists. Gaze at Tintoretto’s magnificent ceiling frescos, and see Veronese masterpieces such as the Virtues of the Republic. As you walk through the Trial Chambers of the Council of Ten, your guide will point out the vibrant ceiling panel, Juno Bestowing her Gifts on Venice, and the room’s dark corner where accusations of treachery were passed to the secret service.

Next, it’s on to the Piombi, the ancient attic prison that traditionally held Venice’s upper-class inmates under a lead-cased roof. The Piombi is rarely open to members of the public; enjoy an exclusive walk around these eerie chambers, and see where Casanova, Venice’s legendary lover, was cruelly imprisoned.

By the 16th century, the attic prison cells were replaced by the New Prisons, although these horrifying chambers hardly fit the name by today’s standards! The New Prisons were joined to Doge’s Palace by the Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri), named to signify the prisoners’ sighs as they caught their last glimpse of beautiful Venice. You’ll walk across the Bridge of Sighs independently and explore the New Prisons at leisure before your tour ends.

Details

Inclusions

• Skip-the-line entrance ticket
• Professional guide

Exclusions

• Hotel pickup and drop-off
• Gratuities (optional)
• Food and drinks

Additional info

• Confirmation will be received within 48 hours, unless booked within 1 day of travel. In this case confirmation will be received as soon as possible, subject to availability
• Children under the age of 6 years are not permitted on this tour
• Not wheelchair accessible

Schedule

Departure point

Ponte della Paglia Bridge

Departure time

10:00; 12:00; 15:00

Duration

85 minutes (approx.)

Return details

Concludes at Doge’s Palace