If you want to get into the Doge’s Palace, the Museo Correr, Ca’ Rezzonico or the Glass Museum on Murano, the ticket always comes from the same body: the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, known to everyone as MUVE. This review looks at the official channel from a buyer’s point of view: what it sells, at what price, how booking works, what happens if your plans change, and when a reseller makes sense.
Disclosure. We have no commercial relationship with the Fondazione Musei Civici. We earn a commission only on bookings made through our links to Tiqets and GetYourGuide, at no extra cost to you. Prices were read on the official websites in September and can change.
Who MUVE is
The Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia runs 16 venues: the Doge’s Palace, Museo Correr, Clock Tower, Ca’ Rezzonico, Ca’ Pesaro, Palazzo Mocenigo, Casa di Carlo Goldoni, Museo Fortuny, the Natural History Museum, the Glass Museum on Murano, the Lace Museum on Burano and the Torcello Museum, plus MUVE Mestre, MUVEC, the Emeroteca dell’Arte and the Casermette at Forte Marghera. The Torcello Museum joined the network recently and is already included in the combined tickets.
The main website is visitmuve.it, with a subdomain for each museum (for example palazzoducale.visitmuve.it). Online sales run on the Vivaticket platform at muve.vivaticket.it, while the call centre and the booking inbox are run by CoopCulture. MUVE tickets are also sold on the city’s Venezia Unica portal, covered in our ACTV and Venezia Unica review.
What it sells and at what price
| Ticket | What it covers | Full | Reduced | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Mark’s Square Museums | Doge’s Palace, Museo Correr, National Archaeological Museum, Monumental Rooms of the Biblioteca Marciana | €35 (€30 online at least 30 days ahead) | €15 | Timed entry to the Doge’s Palace |
| Museum Pass | All the main venues, including Torcello and MUVEC; the Clock Tower is excluded | €50 | €25 | 6 months, one entry per venue |
| 18th-century Venice | Ca’ Rezzonico, Palazzo Mocenigo, Casa di Goldoni | €20 | €10 | 3 months |
| Modern & Contemporary | Ca’ Pesaro, Museo Fortuny, MUVEC | €20 | €10 | 3 months |
| Island Museums | Glass Museum, Lace Museum, Torcello Museum | €20 | €10 | 3 months |
| Doge’s Palace Secret Itineraries | Guided visit of about 1 h 15 (the Pozzi cells, the Piombi, the Torture Chamber) plus the regular visit | €40 | €20 | Fixed date and time |
| Clock Tower | Guided tour only, with free entry to the Correr, the Archaeological Museum and the Marciana | €15 | €11 | Fixed date and time |
There is no ticket for the Doge’s Palace alone: the Bridge of Sighs, the Prisons and the Armoury are all on the standard route. The Museum Pass pays for itself with the Doge’s Palace plus one €15 museum. For what to see in each venue, see our pages on the Doge’s Palace, the Correr and Clock Tower, Ca’ Pesaro and Ca’ Rezzonico and the Glass Museum.
Reductions. The reduced price applies to children aged 6 to 14, students aged 15 to 25, visitors aged 65 and over, and Rolling Venice and ISIC card holders. Entry is free for residents of the Comune, children up to 5, disabled visitors with a companion, licensed guides and ICOM members. Online you can buy only three reduced categories (6–14, 15–25, 65+): every other reduction and free ticket is issued at the ticket desk on showing ID. A little-known offer, “Seniors + Junior”, lets two adults travelling with at least one young person up to 16 all pay the reduced price.
How booking works
On muve.vivaticket.it you pick the ticket, the date and, for the St Mark’s Square Museums, your entry time at the Doge’s Palace. The detail not to miss: tickets without a time slot are admitted to the Doge’s Palace only from 12:00. If you want to go in the morning, which is also the calmest time, book a slot.
The €30 rate applies only to online purchases made at least 30 days before the visit. For the Secret Itineraries and the Clock Tower the time is binding: at the Clock Tower anyone more than 15 minutes late is excluded, and the meeting point is the Correr ticket office 5 minutes before the start. If you prefer the phone, there is the call centre: 848082000 from Italy and +39 041 42730892 from abroad, Monday to Friday 9:00–16:00, Saturday and Sunday 9:00–13:00.
The ticket includes the MUVE app audio guide, available in Italian, English, French, Spanish, German and Korean. Suitcases, trolleys and bulky bags over one linear metre (the three sides added together) are refused at every venue; backpacks and medium bags go to the cloakroom, which is free.
Cancellations and changes
This is where the official channel is strict. The Doge’s Palace pages say purchased tickets are non-refundable. You can write to promozione@fmcvenezia.it or call the call centre to ask for a refund: the Foundation says it assesses requests within 15 days, with no commitment on the outcome. We found no procedure for changing the date of an issued ticket, and no stated service fee for buying online.
Languages and support
The Doge’s Palace website is in Italian, English, German, Spanish and French. The Secret Itineraries run in English, Italian and French at different times; the Doge’s Hidden Treasures route, capped at 10 people, follows the same pattern. The call centre keeps short weekend hours and closes in the afternoon: if something goes wrong the evening before your visit, email is the only route.
What we like
- The best price is here, especially if you book a month ahead: €30 instead of €35 for the Doge’s Palace.
- The combined tickets are generous. A 6-month Museum Pass and €20 themed routes valid for 3 months, with no need to book the smaller venues.
- The special itineraries are sold here (or by a few resellers at the same price): Secret Itineraries, the Doge’s Hidden Treasures, the Clock Tower, and the Correr’s Royal Rooms (€15, reduced €11).
- Summer late openings: on Fridays and Saturdays, roughly from May to late September, the Doge’s Palace stays open until 23:00 (last entry 22:00).
What to watch out for
- No guaranteed refund. If your plans might change, the official ticket carries the most risk.
- Limited online reductions. ISIC students, Rolling Venice holders and free entries are handled only at the ticket desk.
- Untimed entry only after 12:00 can cost half a day to anyone who misses it.
- The Museum Pass does not include the Clock Tower, which remains a separate ticket.
Official or reseller?
-
from €35 per person
Book on Tiqets -
from €50 per person
Book on Tiqets -
from €20 per person
Book on Tiqets
On Tiqets, Doge’s Palace entry costs €35, the same as the official full price, but it is non-refundable and has no discount for booking a month ahead. Tiqets’ Museums Pass costs €50, like the official one, and can be cancelled free until the day before: for travellers with uncertain dates that is a real advantage. Note, though, that Tiqets’ list of venues does not mention Torcello or MUVEC. The 18th-century route costs €20 on both channels.
The logic changes for products MUVE doesn’t sell: a guided tour of the main Doge’s Palace route (€59 on Tiqets) has no official equivalent. The “St. Mark’s Square Pass” at €67.50 bundles the Doge’s Palace, the Basilica and the Campanile, which cost €60 bought separately on the official channels; what you gain is not having to deal with the Basilica’s rules, explained in our Procuratoria di San Marco review.
Who it’s for
The official channel is the right choice if your dates are fixed, you book ahead and you want the lowest price or the special itineraries. It also suits families and over-65s, who get the reduced price online too. If you decide at the last minute or worry about changes, compare the options with free cancellation; to plan across several days, see our page on passes and combined tickets.
Verdict
MUVE is the benchmark on price and range: no reseller beats €30 for the Doge’s Palace booked a month ahead, and the 3- and 6-month combined tickets are among the best value in Venice. Its weak points are the strict refund stance, reductions that can’t be applied online and support with short hours. Buy here if your dates are certain; if they aren’t, the Museum Pass on Tiqets, at the same price and with free cancellation, is a sensible alternative.
Frequently asked questions
What is the official website for Doge's Palace tickets?
It is muve.vivaticket.it, the online ticket office of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia. The ticket is called St Mark's Square Museums and costs €35, or €30 if you buy it online at least 30 days ahead.
Is there a ticket for the Doge's Palace alone?
No. You visit the Doge's Palace with the St Mark's Square Museums ticket, which also covers the Museo Correr, the National Archaeological Museum and the Monumental Rooms of the Biblioteca Marciana, or with the Museum Pass.
Can I cancel a MUVE ticket bought online?
The official site says tickets are non-refundable. You can still send a request to promozione@fmcvenezia.it or through the call centre, and the Foundation says it assesses requests within 15 days.
Does the Museum Pass need booking?
No. The Museum Pass costs €50 (reduced €25), is valid for 6 months and gives one entry to each included venue without booking. It does not include the Clock Tower, which is visited only on a paid guided tour.
Is it more expensive to buy the Civic Museums on Tiqets?
For the Doge's Palace Tiqets charges €35, the same as the official full price, but without the €30 rate for booking 30 days ahead. The Museum Pass costs €50 on both channels, and on Tiqets it can be cancelled free until the day before.
Who qualifies for the reduced price at the Civic Museums?
Children aged 6 to 14, students aged 15 to 25, visitors aged 65 and over, and Rolling Venice and ISIC card holders. Only the first three categories can be bought online; other reductions are issued at the ticket desk on showing ID.
When is the Civic Museums call centre open?
Monday to Friday 9:00 to 16:00, Saturday and Sunday 9:00 to 13:00. It is run by CoopCulture, which also answers at prenotazionivenezia@coopculture.it.