St Mark's Basilica tickets

How the ticket works

The Basilica is run by the Procuratoria di San Marco, not by the city museums, so your Doge's Palace ticket won't get you in. Tourist entry is paid and goes through one booking system for the Basilica and the bell tower.

Tickets are in your name from the moment you buy them and tied to a time slot. Bring a passport or ID card — it's checked at the door along with your QR code. The official tolerance is about 5 minutes: book 10:00–10:30 and you can still get in at 10:35, not at 10:50. Individual visitors use the Porta San Pietro entrance; guided groups go through a different door.

Individual prices:

• Basilica: €10
• Basilica + Pala d'Oro: €20
• Basilica + Museum and Loggia dei Cavalli: €20
• Full ticket (Basilica, Pala d'Oro, Museum, Loggia): €30

Ages 10–18, students up to 26 and over-65s get a further 50% off. Unlike many Italian state museums, these reductions aren't limited to EU citizens. Discounts don't stack and don't apply to evening visits.

Which add-on is worth it

The Pala d'Oro is the gold-and-enamel altarpiece behind the high altar. You see it close up in a few minutes; worth it if you like Byzantine goldwork.

The Museum holds the original four bronze horses, and the Loggia dei Cavalli puts you outside on the façade above the square, next to the replicas. It's the classic photo of the piazza from above without climbing the Campanile. If you add one thing, make it this.

The €30 full ticket makes sense if you want both and aren't rushed. Inside the Basilica you follow a one-way route that keeps moving — it's not a place to sit and stare for half an hour.

Sundays, services and what to wear

On Sunday mornings until 2pm the Basilica is closed to visitors because of Mass; only the Museum and Loggia are open, on a separate €14 ticket. On major feast days times can shift, and paying visitors aren't admitted during services.

Shoulders and knees covered, no exceptions — sleeveless tops and short shorts get turned back even in August heat.

Official ticket or a partner

In high season the official midday slots sell out; a slot showing "0" is gone. That's when partners help: Tiqets sells hosted entry and entry with terrace access, GetYourGuide and Headout sell skip-the-line entries and guided tours. You pay more than €10; you get a slot when the official site is full, and with a tour, someone explaining what you're looking at.

One warning: the Procuratoria says tickets from non-accredited operators are not valid. Buy from the official site or a known booking platform, not from people offering tickets in the piazza.

There are also evening visits with the Basilica and crypt lit up, in one-hour slots. If you want the gold mosaics glowing and the nave nearly empty, look at the after-hours guided options among the experiences.

Free entry and the church bonus

Free: children under 11, disabled visitors with one companion, and residents of Venice and the other diocese municipalities with ID. There's no free day for visitors.

What almost nobody uses: any ticket that includes the Basilica also lets you into, within six months, the Torcello basilica, the Salute sacristy, dozens of Venetian churches (San Zaccaria, the Carmini, Santo Stefano, San Sebastiano and more) and The Human Safety Net house in the Procuratie. Going to Burano? Torcello is the next island over — keep the Basilica ticket on your phone.

Getting there and timing

From Santa Lucia station take vaporetto line 1 or 2 towards San Marco; walking takes 30–45 minutes through the alleys. The first slot of the morning is the calmest. By midday the square fills with groups, and those slots go first.