St Mark's Basilica after hours

To see St Mark's Basilica after closing time, individual visitors join an after-hours tour sold by a tour operator on Tiqets or GetYourGuide, with a guide. The Procuratoria di San Marco also opens the church in the evening, but only as a private visit for a whole group, from €1,500 for up to 30 people, with the guide booked separately. Both happen when daytime visitors have gone; last entry for normal tickets is 4.45pm.

What are the after-hours options?

Partner after-hours tours are the realistic choice if you're travelling alone, as a couple or as a family. You book a place on a guided tour that enters after closing time. The options on this page include:

• A guided after-hours tour of the Basilica on Tiqets, which can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before the day.
• After-hours tours on GetYourGuide, one with an option to add the Doge's Palace.
• A tour combining the Basilica after hours with the Doge's Palace.
• A private after-hours tour for your own party.

Routes vary, and only the operator's own description says whether the Pala d'Oro or other spaces are part of it, so read the inclusions on the booking page before you pay.

The official evening visit is the Procuratoria's own product. It is sold per group, so it suits a large party, or a smaller one willing to pay for the whole slot.

How does the official evening visit work?

The facts, as set out in the Procuratoria's evening-visit terms:

• Price per group: €1,500 for 1 to 30 people, €2,500 for 31 to 50, €5,000 for 51 to 100. No discounts apply to evening visits.
• Guide: required, at least one for every 30 people, and not included in the price.
• What you see: the Basilica lit up, the crypt and the Pala d'Oro, in about 60 minutes.
• Start times: 7.30pm, 8.30pm and 9.30pm on weekdays; 8pm, 9pm and 10pm on public holidays and the evenings before them.
• Booking: online only. Visitors' names must be sent 48 hours before the visit, and a private account can book at most two evening visits a year.
• Cancellation: possible up to 10 days before, by email to visiteserali@procuratoriasanmarco.it.

Shared by a full group of 30, the €1,500 fee comes to €50 each before the guide is paid. For a couple or a family, a partner tour is the practical choice.

Why visit after hours?

During the day, the rules give visitors up to 20 minutes on a fenced, one-way route. After closing, the official evening visit shows the Basilica lit up, and partner tours also enter once daytime visitors have left, with a guide talking you through it. The crypt, where the body of St Mark was laid in a sarcophagus in 1094, is part of the official evening visit and isn't listed among the spaces of a daytime ticket.

What else is open in the evening?

• The Campanile opens from 9.30am and, in the summer period, closes at 9.15pm, so you can go up for the view at dusk. In the winter period it closes at 7.15pm. See the Campanile page.
• The Porta dei Fiori, on the north side, is open for prayer every day until 7.30pm, free of charge. It is for prayer and Mass only: sightseeing isn't allowed during services. The evening Mass is at 6.45pm; see Mass times.
• St Mark's Square itself is open at all hours. The square guide covers what's around it.

Before you book

• Check what the tour includes: the Basilica only, the Pala d'Oro, the Doge's Palace.
• Look at cancellation terms on the card. Only the Tiqets tour on this page shows free cancellation, up to 24 hours before the day.
• The dress code is the same after hours: shoulders and knees covered, and no rucksacks larger than 40 × 30 × 20 cm. See dress code and rules.
• Partner tours are run by tour operators, not by the Procuratoria. Check who runs yours on the booking page.