Doge's Palace
113 Reviews
The Doge's Palace in Venice – including the Bridge of Sighs prison in Venice is part of the Civic Museums Foundation of Venice – and one of the essential sights to see in Venice.
On this page you can find useful information to organize your visit to the Doge’s Palace in Venice: opening hours and prices, as well as a brief description of what you can admire. Also you can conveniently buy online your entry tickets to Venice Doge Palace. Please consider that the Doge's Palace CAN ONLY BE VISITED WITH A CUMULATIVE TICKET (single entry tickets do not exixt) and you can choose either the cumulative ticket called 'Museums of St. Mark's Square' - which also includes a entry to Correr Museum, Venice National Archaeological Museum and the Monumental Rooms of the National Library of St Mark's - or the cumulative ticket called 'Museum Pass', which includes entries to other 11 important museums in Venice (please find further details below).
Choose your ticket
Warning! You can visit the Doge's Palace only purchasing one of the passes listed below
Ticket
Museum Pass
TicketReduced € 19.00
The MUSEUM PASS is VALID for 6 MONTHS starting from the day you collect the ticket at the ticket office of one of the museums included in the Museum Pass.
It includes one entrance for: Museums of St Mark's Square (Doge's Palace; combined itinerary of Correr Museum, Archeological Museum, Monumental Rooms of the National Library); Ca' Rezzonico - Museum of 18th Century Art; Carlo Goldoni's House; Museum of Palazzo Mocenigo; Ca' Pesaro - International Gallery of Modern Art and the Oriental Art Museum; Natural History Museum; Glass Museum of Murano; Lace Museum in Burano.
Ticket
Museums of St. Mark's Square
TicketReduced € 14.50
The MUSEUMS OF ST MARK'S SQUARE TICKET is VALID for 3 MONTHS starting from the day you collect the ticket at the ticket office of the Doge’s Palace or the Correr Museum.
It includes one entrance for the Doge’s Palace and for the combined itinerary of Correr Museum, Archeological Museum, Monumental Rooms of the National Library. You can access to these museums ONLY purchasing the cumulative ticket.
Important information
The voucher issued at the end of the online reservation must be printed and presented at the ticket office of the museum in order to convert it into a valid entrance ticket. To collect your ticket at the ticket office of the Doge's Palace, please go to the 'Ticket Office Groups Only' desk.
Doge's Palace Venice - Opening times
- From 26 March to 1 November: 8.30am – 7.00pm (last entrance 6.00pm)
- From 2 November to 25 March: 8.30am – 5.30pm (last entrance 4.30pm)
- Closed: 25 December and 1 January
Description
Located in the monumental area of St Mark’s Square, the majestic Doge's Palace in Venice has been the heart of Venice throughout its fascinating life. The history of the Doge’s Palace in Venice probably begins in the IX century - with the transfer of the Doge’s headquarters in Venice - but it is only since the XIV century that the radical transformation began which lead to its current elegant appearance.
Over the centuries, the ancient foundations have been enriched with an extraordinary array of constructive and ornamental elements that have given rise to the unmistakable structure of the Ducal Palace in Venice that we all can admire today.
Once the centre of the political and administrative life of the Venice Republic from its birth to the inexorable decline, the Palace of the Doge, Venice keeps alive the immense power and splendour of the Serenissima.
Refined rooms, majestic staircases, monumental entrances, the Bridge of Sighs prison in Venice... the Doge’s Palace Venice history is a unique treasure, the result of a clever fusion of styles and architectural elements from different periods in perfect harmony which will leave you breathless. The Venice Doge’s Palace paintings boast the signature of the greatest artists of all time, such as Tintoretto, Veronese, Titian, Tiepolo and many others.
The entrance of the Doge’s Palace is the Gate of the Wheat - located in the oldest part of the building - that leads into the inner Doge’s Palace courtyard, Venice which is connected to the Doge apartments, Venice on the first floor via the Doge’s Palace Giant Staircase – an ancient monumental entrance - decorated with two statues of Mars and Neptune, by Sansovino that symbolizes the power and dominion of Venice over the sea and the mainland.
On top of the Doge’s Palace Giant Staircase a series of lodges open up offering visitors beautiful views of the courtyard or part of the enchanting St Mark’s Square.
On the floor of the lodges one can also admire the Hall of the Casket, the Hall of the Militia from the Sea and part of the Institutional Hall of the Doge's Palace in Venice, sumptuous and refined interiors which served as background to the political and administrative life of the Republic, developed throughout the Palace of the Doges in Venice. From the floor of the lodges, the splendid Doge’s Palace Golden Staircase leads to the upper floors via two ramps that open out on to vestibules with large windows.
On the noble floor there is the Doge’s apartment and other rooms dedicated to the administration of justice connected by a veranda - Liagò – which was intended for nobles during the breaks in the sessions of the Great Council.
The most important room of the Doge’s Palace is the Sala del Maggior Consiglio in Venice. Its considerable size makes it one of the largest in Europe, the venue for meetings of the highest judiciary of the Republic of Venice. Some of the most important Doge’s Palace, Venice pictures are kept in this room, among which is the largest canvas in the world, produced by Tintoretto on the back wall. The second flight of the Golden Staircase leads to the second floor where the visit to the Palace of the Doge’s in Venice ends with the remaining part of the Institutional Rooms.
The visit to the Ducal Palace offers art, history and relics from ancient Venice and also includes:
- The Opera Museum - once the office that was in charge of maintenance and operations in the Doge's Palace - which houses documents and artefacts of its activity, in addition to the capitals that originally adorned the facade of the Doge’s Palace;
- The Armory, which houses weapons and ammunition from various sources.It is also important to mention the famous Bridge of Sighs, Venice built in the seventeenth century to join the Doge's Palace to the New Prisons.
The Bridge of Sighs is covered and inside divided into two corridors connected to the staircase that led from the Wells up to the Leads. The name Bridge of Sighs, draws its origins from the last sigh 'of freedom' that the prisoner breathed before reaching the New Prisons in Venice.
Chris
May 2017
Mature couple
UNITED KINGDOM
Reviewed on 08 Jun `17 - Booking No. 1756777
'Museums of St Mark's Square'
Ticket
Museums of St. Mark's Square
Pre- booking tickets with venetoinside.com services was easy and saved us valuable time by avoiding queues during our brief stay in Venice.
Tommy
May 2017
Mature couple
UNITED KINGDOM
Reviewed on 08 Jun `17 - Booking No. 1755446
'early closing'
Ticket
Museum Pass
The pass was very useful and enabled us to avoid queues at the main museums but on the day we were in Venice the museums all closed early (15.00) to facilitate a union meeting. It would have helpful to have been made aware of this in advance so that we could have re-arranged our schedule.
Strenghts
avoided queues
Weaknesses
Lacked forward warning of closures.
JG
May 2017
Mature couple
AUSTRALIA
Reviewed on 04 Jun `17 - Booking No. 1747521 - Service sold by a Distribution Partner of Insidecom srl
'WifiExpress'
Ticket
Museum Pass
Easy online purchase and avoided the huge queues.
Strenghts
Easy
Weaknesses
Have to convert the online voucher to a pass on site.
Chuck
May 2017
Mature couple
UNITED STATES
Reviewed on 24 May `17 - Booking No. 1752376
'Smart Phone Voucher'
Ticket
Museum Pass
Although the email for my booking indicated that the " voucher is the only valid document and you can present it to our staff either on a paper copy or on a mobile device", the voucher on my smart phone was not accepted at the Doge's Palace. In addition, the staff at the Palace acted very annoyed that I was trying to submit the documentation on my mobile device.
Reply by venetoinside.com Staff
Dear Chuck,
unfortunately on the confirmation email it is specified ‘The voucher is the only valid document and you can present it to our staff either on a paper copy or on a mobile device (smartphones, tablets or other devices) according to instructions specified on it’. The voucher of the Museum Pass clearly said that the voucher MUST BE PRESENTED on a paper copy. We are sorry you did not read carefully the information, we are transparent in notifying our customers about the correct procedure to use their reservation.
Best regards,The venetoinside.com staff
Norfolknuala
May 2017
Mature couple
UNITED KINGDOM
Reviewed on 22 May `17 - Booking No. 1748426
'Worth it just for the Doges palace'
Ticket
Museums of St. Mark's Square
By passed all the queues for the palace . We found it fascinating . The history and architecture are stunning.
Natasha
April 2017
Young couple
UNITED STATES
Reviewed on 19 May `17 - Booking No. 1713687
'Great time at the Doge's Palace'
Ticket
Museums of St. Mark's Square
We woke up early to visit Doge's Palace and Saint Marc Square without crowds. It was a very pleasant experience. The palace is magnificent: the interior has many historical artifacts and masterpieces. You can easily spend hours there. We paid extra for the special Bosch exhibit, and it was worth it, in my opinion. I definitely recommend visiting this place. Try to arrive a few minutes before opening to enjoy the place in serenity.
Strenghts
Magnificent historical buildings.
Weaknesses
The place can get very crowded.
Joanne
May 2017
Group of friends
AUSTRALIA
Reviewed on 19 May `17 - Booking No. 1710411
'Doges Palace'
Ticket
Museums of St. Mark's Square
We wanted to see the Doges Palace, so purchased the Museum pass in advance to avoid a long queue. We didn't have time to visit the other included museums, but the Doges Palace is worth the visit. The rooms don't have much furniture but the ceilings and walls are covered in art, and are very impressive. The tour takes you via the prison cells, and that took quite a while. If there was a short cut we missed it, and there were quite a few stairs. Over all, well worth the price, even to see one museum
Strenghts
Well priced, amazing walls and ceilings
Weaknesses
Signage is not the best, shorter tour of the prison cells would have been appreciated
ALi
January 2017
Group of friends
SPAIN
Reviewed on 04 Feb `17 - Booking No. 16143740
'St. Mark's Square'
Ticket
Museums of St. Mark's Square
The museum experience was great, however we did run into problems because the information in the email says that they ticket does not need to be printed, that showing the voucher directly on a mobile device is sufficient, and this is not the case. We were at the museum and told we had to go find a place to print the vouchers and it took away a bit from the overall pleasantness of the museum.
Reply by venetoinside.com Staff
Dear Ali,
thank you for your feedback! Actually, the confirmation mail you received at the end of the online booking procedure said 'The voucher is the only valid document and you can present it to our staff either on a paper copy or on a mobile device (smartphones, tablets or other devices) according to instructions specified on it'. The necessity to print the voucher is also highlighted on the voucher itself... We regret you did not read carefully all the information since we are transparent in informing our customers about the vouchers that need to be printed and those that can be shown on a mobile device.
Best regards,The venetoinside.com staff
Susie Q
November 2016
Mature couple
UNITED STATES
Reviewed on 27 Nov `16 - Booking No. 16130576
'Everyone should visit here!'
Ticket
Museums of St. Mark's Square
We were fortunate to be able to go to Italy/Venice during the off season, so there were less tourists/shorter lines. Get this pass, so you can get in quicker. Also, this pass includes multiple museums, so it's a great dal/price. It was a little confusing at first, as you had to cash in your voucher first. But, there was good English speaking customer service personnel, so they gave great intel.
Strenghts
Multi places included. Beautiful place. No pictures allowed
Weaknesses
No pictures allowed. Some places included in multi pack were places we didn't want to/have time to go to. Visit to cell-Bridge of Sighs was not clearly marked.
Reply by venetoinside.com Staff
Dear Susie Q,
thank you for your feedback! Please note that both online and on the voucher, we specify that you are required to change the voucher into a physical ticket at the ticket office of the first museum you will visit… We regret this was not clear enough to you! Concerning the Bridge of Sighs, we can assure you that it is included in the standard path inside the Doge’s Palace therefore you would have been able to visit it without any problems!
Best regards,The venetoinside.com staff
Shelly
October 2016
Mature couple
UNITED KINGDOM
Reviewed on 10 Nov `16 - Booking No. 16131525
'Excellent service'
Ticket
Museums of St. Mark's Square
Booking tickets for the Dodges Palace online meant we didn't have to queue. It was really smooth and easy and a great experience to see. Also included in the price were tickets for museums on the square. Unfortunately we only had time to see one of these, but if we'd stayed longer we could have made even more use of them.
Strenghts
Simple to book and can use them for multiple museums and avoided the queues.
Weaknesses
None
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Need help choosing
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Tours & Activities
Skip the line: Doge's Palace Guided Tour
Duration: approx. 1 hour
Location: Venice- Per person
- € 36.00
Tours & Activities
Private guided tour of the Doge's Palace in Venice
Duration: approx 2 hours
Location: Venice-
per service
starting from - € 198.00
Venice Public Transport
Local Public Transport in Venice
Location: Venice
- From
- € 7.50
Reply by venetoinside.com Staff
Dear Tommy,
thank you for you feedback! Unfortunately we were not informed about this extraordinary union meeting and therefore were not able to notify our customers that the museums would have closed before the usual closing time. We apologize for any inconvenience!
Best regards,The venetoinside.com staff