St Mark's Basilica: tickets, entry rules and what to see

St Mark’s Basilica is Venice’s church above all others: the doges’ chapel, built to hold the relics of the Evangelist and lined with gold-ground mosaics right up to the tops of its domes. Anyone searching for “St Mark’s Basilica Venice” or simply “basilica Venice” often finds out-of-date advice: free entry, a queue in the square, a €3 ticket. That is no longer how it works. The Basilica is run by the Procuratoria di San Marco, which sells every visit online only, timed and in your name, caps how many tickets one person can buy and cancels tickets bought from unauthorised resellers.

This guide sets out the official prices, how booking works, why you see prices almost double elsewhere online and when they are worth paying, what to see inside (mosaics, Pala d’Oro, horses, terrace) and how to go up the bell tower. All prices are those published at the time of our last update and may change.

St Mark’s Basilica tickets and prices

The Procuratoria sells modular tickets: you start with the Basilica and add the Pala d’Oro and the Museum. These are the rates for private visitors on the official site:

The Pala d’Oro and the Museum can also be added on site, as supplements to a Basilica ticket you already hold. If this is your first visit, the €30 full ticket is the one we recommend: what makes the difference over the basic ticket is the Pala d’Oro and the original horses, plus the view from the loggia.

Discounts. Ages 10 to 18, students up to 26 and visitors over 65 get 50% off. Discounts cannot be combined. There are also rates for groups of 4 and 5 adults.

Free entry. Young children go free, though they still need a booking: the tariff sheet says under 10, while the ticket site’s price page says under 11, so check when you buy. Also free: disabled visitors and a companion, accredited guides, religious groups and residents of the diocese’s municipalities (Venice, Caorle, Cavallino-Treporti, Eraclea, Jesolo, Mira, Quarto d’Altino) with ID. Resident free entry does not cover the bell tower.

How booking works: the Procuratoria’s rules

The terms of sale are stricter than at any Venetian museum. Read them before you plan your day:

• Online only, at tickets.basilicasanmarco.it. There is no ticket desk where you can turn up without a booking.
• Up to 90 days ahead. The calendar opens three months before the date, so for busy periods book as soon as you can.
• You need an account and must be 18 or over.
• A maximum of 5 tickets per account per year. A family of 2 adults with more than 3 children under 18 can buy 5 and bring the other children to the door.
• Named tickets. At the entrance you will be asked for ID and may also be asked for the card you paid with.
• Non-transferable, non-changeable, non-refundable. Refunds apply only if the Procuratoria cancels the visit, or for a documented, objective impossibility notified at least 48 hours ahead.
• Be on time. The regulations allow ±15 minutes around your booked time, but the FAQ mentions about 5 minutes. Arrive exactly on time.
• Invalid tickets. Tickets bought from non-accredited sellers, or bought in breach of the terms, are cancelled without refund.

In practice: if there are two of you and your dates are fixed, the official site is the cheapest option and nothing beats it. If you are travelling as a group of friends, remember that each account covers five entries a year.

Why Tiqets charges €19: “hosted entry” explained

Search for “St Mark’s Basilica tickets” and you will see offers from €19 to €50 and more. These are not official tickets resold with a mark-up: the Procuratoria forbids selling the bare ticket to private visitors without added services through other channels. That is why resellers such as Tiqets offer something different: a hosted entry, where a staff member meets you at a set time and takes you to the entrance, or a guided tour. You are paying for that service, not for faster access or a longer visit: inside, the same 20 minutes and roped route apply to everyone.

When paying more makes sense. When the time slots you need are sold out on the official site; when you have already used your account’s 5 tickets; when you decide at the last minute and don’t want to create an account; or when you want a guide to explain the mosaics. Bear in mind that these products have low average ratings on Tiqets: 3.6 out of 5 for the hosted entry (almost 1,500 reviews) and for the terrace version, 4.0 for the guided tour. None of them is refundable. Always read what the listing actually includes: the €19 entry covers the ground floor only, while the €50 one adds the Museum and terrace.

All three products also list access to the Salute and to Santa Maria Assunta on Torcello: that is the same benefit the official ticket gives you (see below).

If you also want the Doge’s Palace, Tiqets sells combinations: the Doge’s Palace + Basilica combo at €76.50 (against €45 for the two official tickets) and the Doge’s Palace and Basilica guided tour at €96.50, which is also the best-reviewed product in the group (4.6 out of 5).

Opening hours and when to go

• Basilica and Pala d’Oro: Monday to Saturday 09:30–17:15, last entry 16:45.
• Sundays and holy days of obligation: the Basilica opens to visitors only from 14:00 (last entry 16:45). Mass is celebrated in the morning.
• Museum and Horses’ Loggia: daily 09:30–17:15. On Sundays from 09:30 to 14:00 only the Museum is open, and that is the only time the €14 “Museum only” ticket is sold.
• Services: hours change for liturgies and for celebrations led by the Patriarch. Paying visitors are not admitted during services.

With timed tickets the queue in the square matters less than it used to, but the security checks take a few minutes. Sunday afternoon is the shortest window of the week: if you have a choice, book Monday to Saturday.

Dress code, bags and security

St Mark’s is a working church where Mass is said every day, and the rules are precise:

• Clothing: shoulders covered, no miniskirts or shorts, no low necklines. Men remove their hats. Bare feet are not allowed. In summer, carry a scarf or a light top.
• Bags: backpacks and bags over 40 × 30 × 20 cm are refused, and wheeled cases are never admitted. There is a metal detector at the entrance and bags may be searched. Several sources mention a supervised left-luggage point at the Ateneo San Basso, in Piazzetta dei Leoncini on the left side of the Basilica, but the current official pages do not confirm it, so don’t count on it and leave your luggage at the hotel.
• Inside: no sitting, no food or drink, no chewing gum. Photos are allowed for personal use only, with no tripods, professional equipment or live streaming.
• Time limits: a maximum of 20 minutes in the Basilica, excluding the Pala d’Oro, along a roped route with no stopping; a maximum of 10 minutes at the Pala d’Oro.
• Terraces: children up to 12 must hold an adult’s hand, and pushchairs must be folded. Heels are not advised, as the stairs and passages are narrow and steep.

What to see inside the Basilica

The mosaics

Walls, vaults and domes are covered with more than 8,000 square metres of mosaics, made over about nine centuries. Along the route, look up at the two central domes. The Pentecost dome shows the dove of the Holy Spirit sending out rays that fall like flames on the heads of the twelve apostles. The Ascension dome, over the centre of the church, shows Christ seated on a rainbow, carried to heaven by four angels, with the Virgin and the apostles around him. Look down, too: the inlaid marble floor, with geometric patterns and animals, has been rippled over the centuries as the ground beneath it settled.

The Pala d’Oro

Behind the high altar is the work that on its own justifies the €10 supplement. The Pala d’Oro measures 3.34 by 2.12 metres and brings together about 250 cloisonné enamels on gilded silver and 1,927 precious stones and gems. The Procuratoria describes it as the only large Gothic goldsmith’s work in the world to survive intact. It was made in stages: the lower part dates from Doge Ordelaffo Falier (1102–1118), the upper enamels probably come from the Pantocrator monastery in Constantinople and were brought to Venice after 1204, and its final form, with the stones, dates from 1343–45 under Doge Andrea Dandolo. Since 1958 it has faced visitors behind the altar, and it is turned towards the congregation only for the Patriarch’s liturgies. You have 10 minutes at most: look at Christ Pantocrator at the centre and the scenes in the upper enamels.

Museum, Horses’ Loggia and terrace

St Mark’s Museum occupies the rooms above the narthex and the doge’s former banqueting hall. This is where the four original gilded bronze horses of the Quadriga Marciana are kept: the ones on the façade are copies. You will also see the Pala feriale by Paolo Veneziano and his sons (1343–45), the painted “cover” that closed the Pala d’Oro on ordinary days, plus Persian carpets, tapestries and mosaic fragments. From the Horses’ Loggia you step out onto the façade terrace, overlooking Piazza San Marco and the Piazzetta: one of the finest viewpoints in the city, and on a €20 or €30 ticket there is no 20-minute limit here.

The crypt and the Baptistery

The crypt beneath the presbytery is not part of the ordinary visit: the Procuratoria opens it during evening visits of the illuminated Basilica, for private groups with a guide only, from €1,500 per group. The Baptistery can also only be seen on a guided visit (Basilica + Baptistery, €30). Neither is included in any €10 or €30 ticket.

Your ticket also covers other churches for 6 months

This is the least-known benefit of the official ticket. Within 6 months of purchase, any ticket that includes the Basilica gives you free entry to:

• the basilica of Santa Maria Assunta on Torcello, with its Byzantine mosaics;
• the Salute sacristy, with Titian’s canvases and Tintoretto’s Wedding at Cana (see San Giorgio, the Salute and the Frari);
• the Pinacoteca Manfrediniana;
• about 40 Venetian churches, including Madonna dell’Orto, the Miracoli, the Gesuati, the Carmini, San Sebastiano and Santa Maria Formosa, plus the sacristy and crypt of San Zaccaria and the Redentore sacristy;
• The Human Safety Net’s “Casa” in the Procuratie Vecchie, restored by David Chipperfield, with the exhibition “A World of Potential”.

Keep your booking confirmation on your phone. Note that the Frari is not part of this scheme and sells its own €8 ticket.

St Mark’s Campanile (bell tower)

The Campanile is 98.6 metres tall. It began as a watchtower from 888 and was completed in stages. In August 1609 Galileo showed his telescope to the doge from here. On 14 July 1902 it collapsed in on itself, killing no one. It was rebuilt “as it was, where it was” and inaugurated on 25 April 1912, the feast of St Mark. At the top, a gilded Archangel Gabriel turns like a weather vane. Of its five bells, the most famous is the Marangona, which marked the working day of the Arsenale carpenters (the marangoni). At its foot stands Sansovino’s Loggetta.

Getting to the top. You go up by lift, installed in 1932, which reaches the bell chamber in about 30 seconds. There are a few steps at the entrance. Occasionally, for limited periods, a temporary wheelchair ramp is fitted under the “The Top for All” initiative: it is not a permanent service.

Hours. Summer 09:30–21:15, winter 09:30–19:15; last entry is usually 45 to 75 minutes before closing. Times change with events and seasons, and the ascent can be suspended in bad weather. Here too you book a time slot, with the same tolerance as the Basilica.

Price: €15 official against €25 on Tiqets. The official ticket costs €15, is sold on the same site as the Basilica and does not require a Basilica ticket. It is not free for residents. On Tiqets the bell tower costs €25: the extra €10 pays for a digital city audio guide, and the product is rated 3.9 out of 5. If you don’t need the audio guide, buy on the official site. Tiqets also sells Basilica + bell tower at €52 (official €25) and the St Mark’s Square Pass at €67.50 with the Doge’s Palace, Basilica and bell tower, which cost €60 in total through official channels. These packages make sense if you cannot book in time on the official site, or if you have already used up your account’s tickets.

Accessibility and visiting with children

Disabled visitors and their companion go free: show your documentation at the door and staff will direct you to the most suitable entrance. The Museum on the upper floor has a lift and a stairlift. During services, wheelchair users enter through the Porta dei Fiori on the left side, which has a ramp. The Basilica floors are uneven, so take care with pushchairs and wheelchairs.

With children, the 20-minute visit works well. The terrace is the part they remember most, but under-12s must hold an adult’s hand. Ages 10 to 18 pay half price.

Getting there

The Basilica fills the east side of Piazza San Marco. By vaporetto, get off at San Zaccaria (lines 1 and 2 from Ferrovia and Piazzale Roma) or San Marco Vallaresso (line 1) and walk for a few minutes. From Rialto it is a 5–10 minute walk along the Mercerie, which come out into the square under the Clock Tower. For vaporetto times and fares see our ACTV vaporetto guide. If you arrive with luggage, remember it cannot come into the Basilica: take it to your hotel first, perhaps by water taxi straight from the landing stage.

Combine it with nearby sights

• The Doge’s Palace, a few steps away: €35 ticket (€30 online 30 days ahead), which also covers the Bridge of Sighs and the Prisons.
• Museo Correr and the Clock Tower: the tower is visited only with a guide (€15), and from its terraces you see the Moors striking the hours up close.
• The Bridge of Sighs, free to see from the Ponte della Paglia.
• San Giorgio Maggiore, three minutes by vaporetto from San Zaccaria, to look back at San Marco from across the Basin.

To combine the Basilica, the Doge’s Palace and the vaporetto, compare prices on our passes and combos page. The full list of churches you can visit is in our guide to Venice’s churches.