St Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco)
- Address:Piazza San Marco, Venice
- Hours:Open daily 24hrs
- Admission:Free
Cultural Experience, Must-Do Experience, Monument - Historical, Plaza / Square
St Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco) Reviews
We've found 113 St Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco) reviews from Viator.com travelers and members: what they loved, what they liked and what they think could be improved. It's all here to help you make the most of your next trip.
For some reason we didn't skip the line, which was a major factor in choosing this tour. We spent very little time inside St Marks, and we were not able to appreciate the grandeur of the church. The walking tour was nothing special, we saw things that anyone could see on their own. The whole thing was very disappointing.
FANTASTIC!!
This was an absolute highlight and I can't recommend it enough. Our tour guide was a true local Venetian, and was extremely friendly and knowledgeable. We were traveling with our young daughter (1.5 yrs) and pram, while there obviously were stairs it was fine and definitely manageable!
There are some obvious sites to see in Venice like St Mark's Basilica and Square, but there are so many other wonderful places and stories that she was able to tell us. Once we were walking the "backstreets" of Venice, away from the crowds, it was really amazing and enjoyable to hear and learn about how Venice evolved and how the people live.
I think our guides name was Rita - this walking tour was so good it prompted us to book one for our next stop which was Florence!
11 out of 10
Excellent, my only negative comment is that the time spent in St Mark's Basilica was far too short, I would think it was no more than five minutes. The guide was very knowledgable on all aspects of Venice and friendly with it.
Excellent. The guide was very knowledgeable and engaging which made for a very interesting tour. And of course, the star of the show is the interior of the Basilica: utterly amazing.
Tip: once the tour is over, you can go round again on your own - go upstairs to the museum to see the original bronze Horses of St Mark and then outside on to the loggia where you can get some good photos of the Piazza and Piazzetta.
Great Tour even though it was raining and St Mark's' Square was flooded. Our guide was very knowledgeable and open for any questions we had. I would recommend this tour.
The Skip the Line: Venice Walking Tour with St Mark’s Basilica is a tour of amazing contrasts. The first part covers the most important attractions in Venice around the bustling Piazza San Marco. In the second, you negotiate the labyrinth of alleyways and bridges over the canals to quiet secluded places and beautiful squares (campos) free from crowds. The route ends at the famous Rialto Bridge next to the Grand Canal.
Note from Viator: This review was written by Graham Walker, who wrote a complete summary of the Skip the Line: Venice Walking Tour with St Mark’s Basilica (with video!) on the Viator Travel Blog.
Disappointed St Mark's was closed to public, not fault of Viator. Guide very informative and tour was great. Areas we would not have walked through.
I should start by saying that the day of our tour was cold, windy, and pouring down rain. It was raining and blowing so hard that umbrellas were useless. Therefore, my husband and I were disappointed that the tour guide still wanted to proceed with the normal tour despite the fact that it was a torrential down pour. We tried to go along with it, but couldn't hear anything because it was raining so hard. I know Viator has NOTHING to do with the fact that it was raining. However, I think it is unreasonable to make people walk around in the freezing, pouring rain. I asked if the tour guide could go to to St. Mark's first because of the weather and he said no. Like I said, we tried to play along but ended up walking back to our warm, dry hotel because we couldn't hear anything and were getting beyond soaked.
The street was good but Sr Mark's Basilica was very disappointing as we just went round in a circle of the bottom of the Church and that was all we saw??
Our guide was excellent and knowledgeable. I asked her additional questions about the architecture of St Mark's Basilica and she was happy to oblige. Even in early October the streets were insanely crowded but she managed to keep us together and speak loud enough for us all to hear. We were maybe 20 people. I was concerned that the tour would be long and boring with emphasis on dates and historical information but the guide made it relevant with interesting anecdotes.
Robin from Montreal, Canada
Enjoyable walking trip around the venetian calles including entry into St Mark's Basilica. With knowledgeable local guide we were enthralled with its history.
Hard to find the tour. Guide was very young and inexperienced. Pouring rain. HAd to wait 30 min. just to start and then only did a quick walk-through St. Mark's. We had to ditch the rest of the tour because of the heavy rain and cold. Went back to St. Marks the next day on our own and it was much better. Would not recommend. Anyone can "skip-the-line" if you book on-line. And then you can see it all - not just a peek!
Disappointed. Too much time spent at start giving history lesson - too much detail - and not enough time in St. Mark's. No other visits to museums, historical buildings etc.
We booked this tour mainly to skip the line at St. Mark’s Basilica. The line to enter the church was long but moving. We did get to skip that line. We stayed behind when the tour departed from St. Mark’s because it did not allow much time to see the church. Also, if you want to see the altar with St. Mark’s tomb, it cost 2 euro and another 5 euro to go up the balcony.
Our guide was fantastic! The best part was when we got past the crowded St. Mark's area and got to explore the neighborhoods.
