Guided tours of St Mark's Basilica

Guided tours of St Mark's Basilica are sold by tour operators through Tiqets and GetYourGuide, with entry included. The Procuratoria di San Marco, which runs the church and sells the plain €10 ticket, doesn't sell guided tours to individual visitors. Its own way to learn as you go is an audio guide, rented at the desk just after the entrance turnstile. Tours range from a half-hour express visit to longer ones with the terrace, the Pala d'Oro or the Doge's Palace.

Why take a guide?

The inside of the Basilica is a fenced one-way route, and the rules allow up to 20 minutes on it, plus up to 10 minutes at the Pala d'Oro. The mosaic decoration began between 1071 and 1084, under Doge Domenico Selvo, and tells stories across the whole church. Twenty minutes goes quickly when you don't know where to look, and a guide gives the visit a thread.

Things a guide can point out along the way:

• The atrium floor, where the names of Pope Alexander III and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa recall the Peace of Venice, signed in the Basilica in 1177.
• The rood screen that closes off the presbytery, signed by Jacobello and Pierpaolo dalle Masegne and dated 1394, with marble statues of the Apostles, the Virgin and St Mark.
• The church's double role. For about a thousand years it was the Doge's chapel, the state church of the Republic, and became the cathedral of Venice only in 1807.
• The loot of 1204. After the Fourth Crusade took Constantinople, the four horses, the Nicopeia icon and the enamels of the Pala d'Oro came here.

The mosaics and interior page covers what you'll see in more detail.

Which guided tour should you choose?

• Express tour (church only): a live guide inside the Basilica for about 30 to 40 minutes, with timed entry. The shortest and cheapest way to have a guide.
• Guided tour with the terrace: adds the Museum and the Horses' Loggia, where you can see the original bronze horses and step out above the square. Allow about an hour.
• Guided tour with the terrace and the Pala d'Oro: everything in the official full ticket, with a guide.
• Small-group and private tours: sold on GetYourGuide, some with the Pala d'Oro and the terrace. The card shows the options.
• With the Doge's Palace: two to three hours covering both sights. See Basilica and Doge's Palace.

For a tour after closing time, see after-hours tours.

What languages are the tours in?

Most tours here run in English. One express tour is also offered in French, the tour with the terrace in French and Spanish, and the tour combining the Basilica and the Doge's Palace in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. Languages and start times vary by date, so check the booking page before you pay.

Guided tour, audio guide or on your own?

• On your own with the official €10 ticket: cheapest, but you'll need to read up beforehand.
• Official audio guide: rented at the desk just after the turnstile, for a self-paced visit.
• Partner ticket with an audio guide: the hosted entry with the terrace and the Pala d'Oro includes one, available in English, French, Italian and Spanish.
• Live guide: the easiest way to understand the mosaics, at a higher price than the plain ticket.

Booking tips

• Cancellation: two of the shorter guided tours can be cancelled free up to 48 hours ahead, one before the slot and one before the day. Free cancellation applies only where the card shows it; the official ticket can't be changed.
• Meeting point: the operator gives it on the booking page and in your confirmation. Arrive a little early, since entry is tied to a time slot.
• Dress code: shoulders and knees covered for everyone in the group, and no rucksacks larger than 40 × 30 × 20 cm. More on the dress code page.
• Sundays: the Basilica only opens to visitors at 2pm, so tours that day start in the afternoon.

The Procuratoria's terms keep the plain ticket, without any added service, for its own shop. The tours listed here are run by tour operators: check on the partner page who runs yours and what it includes.