Morning walking tour of Venice with St. Mark’s Basilica and gondola ride

This combination of three tours will take you to the heart of Venice and its Byzantine art heritage.

The first part is a walking tour which will take you into the enchanting Venice made up of countless bridges, channels and campo (little squares), the pulsing heart of a water city. Following an experienced tour guide, you will learn more about Venice's resent and past and interesting facts about life in a city built on water. Campo Santa Maria Formosa, Campo and Church SS. Giovanni e Paolo, the Mercerie, are only some of the highlights which will be admired during this walk.

In the second part of the tour, you will admire Venice from a unique perspective, the water, thanks to a gondola ride. In an eye glimpse, it will be like being projected into another world, away from the crowded alleys of the historical center and ready to discover a deeper side of Venice.

At last, you will discover not only one of Venice's most famous sites and symbols, but also one among the world's most beautiful and breathtaking cathedrals: the St. Mark's Basilica (skip-the-line entry). Overlooking St Mark's Square and St Mark's Basin, the Basilica is one of the finest exemple of Byzantine art in the world. Surrounded by the majesic interiors of the Basilica, you will learn more about venice's history and in particular about its patron saint, St Mark.

Itinerary

• St Mark's Square (external)
• Santa Maria Formosa
• Campo and Church SS. Giovanni e Paolo
• Mercerie
• Little channels around St Mark's Square area
• St Mark's Basilica

• The curia decided to increase the prices for a special authorization we have inside the Basilica: ours are the only tours allowing people to stay an entire hour inside the Basilica admiring the mosaics sitting in the central nave
• Please be sure to get there at least 15 minutes prior to tour starting time, this is very important.
• For security reasons backpacks and bags are not allowed inside the Basilica and they have to be left at the free deposit available in Calle San Basso. Travellers are kindly advised to take less bags as possible in order to avoid long lines at the deposit.
• Please wear appropriate clothes to enter the Basilica (no bare knees or shoulders).
• Please note that it is a shared gondola (up to six people for each one) so the gondola might be shared with other people.
• Please note that no refund will be accepted for no shows or late arrivals. The Gondola Ride will take place also with rain, only in case of very heavy rain it might be cancelled and the tour will be refunded (if not taken another day/time).
• Please note that the tour might be multilingual in Winter season (depending on the number of participants).