Venice city passes

What actually exists

There's no single "Venice Card" that opens everything. There are three different layers.

MUVE civic museum tickets. The St Mark's Square Museums ticket (€35, or €30 online more than 30 days ahead) covers the Doge's Palace, Correr, the Archaeological Museum and the Marciana Library rooms. The Museum Pass (€50, reduced €25) runs 6 months and adds Ca' Rezzonico, Ca' Pesaro, Palazzo Mocenigo, Goldoni's House, the Fortuny, Natural History, MUVEC and the three island museums: Glass on Murano, Lace on Burano and the Torcello Museum. One entry per museum, no booking. For the islands alone there's the Island Museums ticket at €20.

Venezia Unica City Passes. The city's own ticket portal sells bundles priced by age. The San Marco City Pass (from €43.90 for adults 30–64, from €23.90 for ages 6–29) combines the four St Mark's Square museums with the Scuola Grande dei Carmini and the Querini Stampalia Foundation. The All Venice City Pass (from €62.90 for adults) does the same with every civic museum. There are versions with a La Fenice visit added.

Partner passes. Tiqets, GetYourGuide and Headout sell passes that combine the Doge's Palace, the Basilica, a gondola, audio guides or transport. Some are essentially the official City Pass resold; others are bundles built by the seller.

What's not included

St Mark's Basilica and the Campanile aren't civic museums. They belong to the Procuratoria di San Marco and use named, timed tickets that no MUVE or Venezia Unica pass includes. The same goes for the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, the Gallerie dell'Accademia, the Scala Contarini del Bovolo and La Fenice (except in the "+ Fenice" City Passes). Gondolas and vaporetti are always extra, outside partner bundles.

Also remember the Doge's Palace rule: visitors without a time slot are only admitted from 12:00. With a pass, do the palace in the afternoon or book a timed slot separately.

Is it worth it?

Write down what you'll actually see, then add up the single tickets.

• Doge's Palace only: the St Mark's Square Museums ticket is enough. No pass beats it.
• Doge's Palace + Murano and Burano museums: Museum Pass at €50 against €35 + €20 for the two combined tickets. A small saving, plus 6 months of validity.
• Doge's Palace + Ca' Rezzonico, Ca' Pesaro or Palazzo Mocenigo: add those museums' single prices to €35 and compare with €50.
• Basilica + Doge's Palace + gondola in one day: a partner bundle can save you time more than money. Make sure every piece has a confirmed date and time, especially the Basilica.

The smaller civic museums are good and often quiet, but on a three-day trip time runs out before the pass does. Buy it because those museums are already on your list, not to "get your money's worth".