Bridge of Sighs: how to cross it, where to see it and how it got its name

The Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri) is a covered bridge of Istrian stone that spans the Rio di Palazzo and links the Doge’s Palace with the New Prisons, a few steps from St Mark’s Square. It’s one of the most photographed sights in Italy, and that creates a common misunderstanding: many people look for it as an attraction with its own ticket office. It isn’t one. The Bridge of Sighs has no ticket of its own: you only cross it on the Doge’s Palace route, which leads down from the state chambers to the prisons and comes back through the bridge itself.

Here you’ll find how and for how much you can cross it, what lies on the other side, where to see it for free, how to pass under it by gondola and why, in fact, nobody called it by this name when it was built. Prices are the official MUVE ones and those on Tiqets at the last update, and they can change.

Where it is and what it looks like

The bridge sits on the eastern side of the Doge’s Palace, where the Rio di Palazzo flows into St Mark’s Basin. Walking from the Piazzetta along the Molo towards the Riva degli Schiavoni, the first bridge you reach is the Ponte della Paglia: look left, inland, and you’ll see the Bridge of Sighs suspended between the two façades on its single arch.

It is an enclosed bridge in Baroque style, faced in white stone, with two small rectangular windows closed by pierced stone lattices. At the top, in the centre, there’s a coat of arms, and the arch is decorated with carved masks. Inside run two separate passageways, so that those heading to the cells never crossed paths with those returning to the offices. The Doge’s Palace route uses both: you go to the prisons along one and come back along the other.

To the right of the canal, facing the Palace, stands the Palazzo delle Prigioni, with its stern façade on the waterfront: this is the New Prisons building. To the left is the Renaissance wing of the Doge’s Palace, rebuilt after the fire of 1483.

Tickets: the only way to cross it

To walk through the Bridge of Sighs you need the St Mark’s Square Museums ticket, the only one that gets you into the Doge’s Palace. The same ticket also covers the Museo Correr, the National Archaeological Museum and the Monumental Rooms of the Biblioteca Marciana.

One rule to know before you pay: according to MUVE, St Mark’s Square Museums tickets without a time slot are only admitted to the Doge’s Palace from 12:00. If you want to reach the bridge in the morning, when the rooms are quieter, book an entry time. The Tiqets “Fast Track Entry” ticket costs the same as the official full price: it makes sense if you want to pay ahead on a platform you already use, but if you book more than a month in advance the official site saves you €5.

Tiqets also sells an entry to the Palazzo delle Prigioni for €9.90, a visit of about 45 minutes starting from the waterfront near the Ponte della Paglia. It’s a third-party experience, separate from the MUVE route: the New Prisons are already included in the Doge’s Palace ticket, so don’t buy it thinking it’s the only way to see the cells or cross the bridge. If you already hold the St Mark’s Museums ticket, you don’t need it.

Everything about hours, rooms and booking for the Palace is in our Doge’s Palace guide; single tickets vs passes are compared on our Venice passes page.

Inside: the route to the bridge

The bridge comes near the end of the visit, so don’t head straight for it: first you cross the courtyard, climb to the Loggia, see the Doge’s apartments and the great chambers of the Republic’s government (Great Council, Senate, Collegio, Council of Ten, Quarantie), then the Armoury and the Picture Gallery. From the Sala del Magistrato alle Leggi a small staircase leads to the prisons: here you enter one of the bridge’s two passageways, walk above the Rio di Palazzo and find yourself in the New Prisons.

Inside the bridge traffic flows one way and space is tight: you stop just long enough to look through the lattices. From there you see the canal below, the waterfront and a sliver of lagoon towards San Giorgio. It’s a tiny view, and that’s exactly the point: for a prisoner it was, so the legend goes, the last look at open water.

After the cells you return to the Doge’s Palace through the bridge’s other passageway and exit towards the Porta della Carta and the courtyard. Allow at least two hours for the Palace in total, more if you linger in the chambers. The entrance is the Porta del Frumento, on the Piazzetta side facing the Basin.

The prisons: Pozzi, Piombi and New Prisons

Venice had three sets of prisons, and it’s worth telling them apart, because only one is part of the standard visit.

• The New Prisons. Those in the Palazzo delle Prigioni, across the bridge, built between the 16th and 17th centuries. MUVE describes them as one of the earliest, if not the very first, buildings in Europe designed specifically as a state prison. They’re included in the normal ticket: low corridors, cells with heavy doors and, on some walls, inscriptions left by the prisoners.
• The Pozzi (“wells”). The oldest cells, on the ground floor of the Doge’s Palace, damp and dark. Part of them is shown on the Secret Itineraries.
• The Piombi (“leads”). The cells beneath the Palace’s lead roof, hot in summer and freezing in winter. Giacomo Casanova was held here and managed to escape across the roof. You only see them on the Secret Itineraries (€40, about 1 hour 15 minutes), which also include the Secret Chancellery and the Torture Chamber and then leave you free to follow the main route, bridge included.

If the history of Venetian justice interests you more than gilded halls, the Secret Itineraries are the right ticket: they cost €5 more than the full ticket and include everything else. Book well ahead, as groups are small and there are only a few departures a day in English, Italian and French.

History and the name

Until the 16th century the cells were inside the Doge’s Palace. When the Republic decided to build a separate jail across the Rio di Palazzo, it needed a direct link between the courts and the cells. According to the history published by MUVE, the New Prisons and the Bridge of Sighs were added in the 17th century; the design of the bridge is traditionally attributed to Antonio Contin, in the early years of that century.

The name, on the other hand, is much more recent. In the Republic’s records it was simply a passage. It was the Romantic 19th century that called it the Bridge of Sighs, picturing condemned men sighing at their last sight of the lagoon before the cells. Lord Byron opens the fourth canto of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage standing “on the Bridge of Sighs”, and from there the name travelled the world. It’s a literary image, not a historical fact: no document of the time uses that name.

A more modern legend says that a couple who kiss in a gondola under the bridge at sunset, as the bells ring, will enjoy eternal love. There’s no historical basis for it, but it’s the reason the Rio di Palazzo is full of gondolas at dusk.

Where to see it for free

• Ponte della Paglia. The classic spot, on the Riva degli Schiavoni between the Doge’s Palace and the Palazzo delle Prigioni. You look inland, with the bridge in the foreground and the Ponte della Canonica behind it. It’s also the most crowded spot in Venice around midday: wait your turn at the parapet and don’t stop in the middle of the steps.
• Ponte della Canonica. On the other side, behind the Basilica, two minutes from St Mark’s Square walking alongside the Basilica towards Campo San Zaccaria. You see the bridge “from behind”, with the bright Basin beyond the arch. Fewer people, and a different photo from everyone else’s.
• Riva degli Schiavoni and the Molo. From here you only see a corner of the bridge, but you get a clear sense of how it sits between the two buildings. In the evening the Palazzo delle Prigioni and the waterfront are lit up.

You can’t see it from the vaporetto: the lines run through the Basin and don’t enter the Rio di Palazzo.

By gondola under the Bridge of Sighs

Passing under the bridge is one of the most requested routes from gondoliers around St Mark’s. There are two options.

A private gondola from a stand. The Molo and Danieli stands, on the waterfront a few steps from the Ponte della Paglia, are the closest. The city tariff is €90 for 30 minutes from 09:00 to 19:00 and €110 for 35 minutes from 19:00, for the whole boat with up to five people. Ask before boarding whether the route goes into the Rio di Palazzo: it isn’t a given, and from that side the ride may head out into the Basin, where the water is choppy from passing motorboats.

A shared ride on Tiqets. “Gondola Ride through the Bridge of Sighs and St Mark’s Basin” costs €35 per person. It includes a short introductory walk of about 15 minutes, 30 minutes on a shared gondola along the Basin and under the bridge, English commentary via an app and entry to the Gondola Gallery. It’s rated 4 from over 160 reviews, with free cancellation until the day before. It’s good value for one or two people; from four people upwards, a private gondola at €90 costs almost the same and the boat is all yours.

Full details on tariffs, stands, serenades and shared rides are in our gondola in Venice guide.

Photo tips

• Timing. Before 9 in the morning the Ponte della Paglia is almost empty and the light is soft. In the hour before sunset there are more people, but more gondolas pass under the arch, adding scale and movement to your shot. In the evening, with the lamps lit, the white stone stands out.
• Lens. From the Ponte della Paglia the bridge fills the frame even with a normal phone wide-angle; to isolate the lattices and masks, use the zoom.
• Gondolas. Wait a few seconds: a gondola almost always comes by, and it makes the photo more Venetian. The classic shot with a gondola right under the arch takes patience.
• Respect. Don’t climb on the parapet or sit on the bridge steps: city rules forbid it, with fines from €25 to €500.
• From inside. Photos through the lattices rarely work: little light and visitors behind you. Enjoy the moment and take your pictures outside.

Practical tips

• Short on time. If you only have half an hour, look at it from the Paglia and the Canonica: you’ve seen the bridge. The Doge’s Palace ticket is worth it if the Palace and the prisons interest you too.
• Summer evenings. The Doge’s Palace stays open until 23:00 on Fridays and Saturdays during part of the summer, with dates set each year: the calmest time to cross the bridge.
• Bags. Backpacks and medium-sized bags go to the free cloakroom; suitcases and trolleys aren’t allowed.
• Children. Kids love the prisons; bear in mind the steps and narrow passages if you have a pushchair, which is impractical in the prison area.
• Reduced mobility. The bridge and prisons are not wheelchair accessible; the rest of the main route is, with lifts.

Nearby

The bridge is at the heart of Venice’s busiest area. Within five minutes on foot you reach St Mark’s Square with the Basilica and the Campanile. Continuing east along the Riva degli Schiavoni you come to the church of San Zaccaria and then the Castello district. From the San Zaccaria stop, vaporetti run to San Giorgio Maggiore island, the Lido and along the Grand Canal. All the city’s other bridges and landmarks are on our squares, bridges and canals page.