THE 10 MAIN ATTRACTIONS OF VENICE

WHAT TO VISIT – SEE IN VENICE
10 ATTRACTIONS NOT TO BE MISSED IN VENICE

SAN MARCO BASILICA (CATHEDRAL)+SAN MARCO MUSEM

– Short historical notes: Click here to view the official page of the Basilica di San Marco and read the story. Anyway I recommend you to buy an audio-guide in order to enjoy completely this magnificent cathedral. The entrance to the cathedral is completely free. Inside the basilica there are 3 museums for payment (San Marco museum, the Pala D’Oro – that is the area of ​​the altar – and the Treasure).
– Opening hours and ticket costs:
29th October – 15th April; Cathedral: 9.30am – 5.00pm (free admission – last admission 16.45am) – Sundays and public holidays: 2.00pm – 4.30pm (free admission – last access 4.15pm, last access “skip the line” 4.00pm); San Marco museum: 9.45am – 4.45pm (ticket: € 5 adult, aged between 6 and 18 years € 2.50); the Pala D’oro: 9.45am – 4.45pm – holidays: 2.00pm – 4.30pm (ticket: € 2 adults, aged between 6 and 18 years € 1); The Treasure: 9.45am – 4.45pm – holidays: 2.00pm – 4.30pm (ticket: € 3 adults, aged between 6 and 18 years € 1.50)
April 16th – 28th October: Cathedral: 9.30am – 5.00pm (free admission – last access 4.45pm) – Sunday and public holidays 2.00pm – 5.00pm (free admission – last admission 16.45, last access “skip the line” 4.30pm); Museum of San Marco: 9.35am – 5.00pm (tickeet: € 5 adults, aged between 6 and 18 years €2.50); The Pala D’oro: 9.35 am – 5.00 pm – Sundays and public holidays: 2.00pm – 5.00pm (ticket: € 2 adults, aged between 6 and 18 € 1 ); The Treasure: 9.35am – 5.00pm – Sundays and public holidays: 2.00pm – 5.00pm (ticket: € 3 addults, aged between 6 and 18 € 1.50)
Click here to see the official website that speak about the opening time and tickets.
– Guided tours: if you want to take part in a guided tour you have to ask for availability very soon. Click here to view the page with all the contacts
– Audio guides: they are sold before entry to the basilica. There are combined audio guides too (cathedral + san marco museum, cathedral + Pala D’oro, etc ..). The cost of the audio guide depends on the combination you prefer. The starting price is around 5.00 euros.
– Skip the line: ATTENTION, the average waiting time to visit the San Marco cathedral is about 45 minutes !!! The “Skip the line” service is avaiable from April 1 to November 2. You can reserve the entry to the Cathedral for € 3.00 per person (free for children from 0 to 5 years). In this case you can decide the day and time (click here to book your visit). From November 3 to March 31 the San Marco Cathedral is open but the “Skip the line” service is not avaiable because, normally, during this period there are not so long line.
– Visiting time: about 10 minutes (without museums and / or audio guides)
– Better to know: You must have appropriate clothes to access to the Cathedral; No photos or videos are allowed; you can not access it with big luggage (but you can deposit them for free – for 1 hour – at the University of San Basso); Aloud explanations are not allowed; ATTENTION, in some days, visits are suspended at certain times (click here to view the suspension calendar)
– Official links to the San Marco Cathedral website

FINAL ADVICES: reserve the entry in order to skip the line (often the waiting times are very long), buy an audio guide that includes the Basilica and the San Marco museum. I don’t raccomend you the Pala D’oro (It’s just a walk around the altar) and the Treasure (there are 2 rooms full of various treasures of San Marco). I recommend you the San Marco museum because you can see the basilica from above and you can access to the terrace where there are the “Horses of San Marco” and you can have a beautiful view of San Marco square.

For any other informations you can fill out the form that you will find at the end of this page. I will aswer you as soon as possible. Venice 4 all and all 4 Venice.