St. Mark's, Doge's Palace & Gondola Ride with Murano and Burano
Description
This full-day Venice tour brings together the city’s greatest hits and lagoon islands in one carefully planned route. Start with timed-entry tickets and guided visits to St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace, where golden mosaics, grand halls, the Golden Staircase, and the Bridge of Sighs reveal the power of the Venetian Republic. Then shift from footpaths to canals with a shared gondola ride before a quick lunch break near St. Mark’s Square. In the afternoon, board a private boat to Murano and Burano, where artisan traditions take center stage through glassblowing and lacemaking demonstrations. With expert guiding in the morning, a tour leader for the islands, and transport arranged between major experiences, this tour covers Venice by land, canal, and lagoon in one seamless experience.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Enter St. Mark’s Basilica with a timed-entry ticket and follow your guide inside one of Venice’s most important churches. See golden mosaics and learn how relics, art, and politics shaped this Byzantine landmark.
Continue into the Doge’s Palace with a timed-entry ticket and guided tour. Walk through grand halls filled with Renaissance art, climb the Golden Staircase, and cross the Bridge of Sighs as your guide explains Venice’s former seat of political power.
Next, board a shared gondola for a 30-minute sightseeing ride through Venice’s canals. Pass under historic bridges and along centuries-old buildings while a professional gondolier operates the boat.
Then, enjoy a quick lunch break near St. Mark’s Square. Lunch is at your own expense, and your guide can offer a local recommendation in the area.
Meet your afternoon tour leader and board a private boat reserved for the group. Cross the Venetian Lagoon toward Murano, with views of the Venice skyline as the city drifts behind you. Arrive on Murano, an island known for its glassmaking heritage. Visit a working studio for a glassblowing demonstration, then enjoy free time to shop for Murano glass or walk through town before your next stop.
Continue by boat to Burano, known for painted houses and lacemaking traditions. Watch a lacemaking demonstration with local artisans, then enjoy free time for photos and exploring the island streets. Ride the private boat back to Venice as your full-day tour winds down. The tour ends near St. Mark’s Square, about two blocks from the Doge’s Palace, at the same place where the Murano and Burano boat departs.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Please refrain from bringing big back packs or bags, because they are not allowed inside.
- A valid government-issued ID is required for entrance to St. Mark's Basilica. The name on your ticket (entered at check-out) must match the name on your ID, or you may be refused entry.
- Please note that depending on the start time the itinerary order can vary.
- This tour consists of two parts and includes free time for lunch (at your own expense)
Reviews(1,006)
Wonderful tour guides and super informative - for our morning session we had Marco! He was amazing! Great sense of humor and he knew everything and then some! For the afternoon part of our tour we had Francesca. She was very please to and also was a super informative on both burano and Murano islands as long as on the boat ride there. Was well worth every penny!!! You get so much for your money!
Amazing, breathtaking tour of the stunning city of venice !
Gracia was fantastic. And we enjoyed our tour
We booked this trip as the double tour with Murano/Burano islands. This part of the trip has so much information and our guide was a wealth of knowledge. I do believe you need a guide to help you understand the history of both entities. The Gondola ride was an added treat. We were very happy we did the double tour and had a free day to explore the Lido.
Our guides were great. We had Marco in the morning and Fashka in the afternoon. The tours were informative and really gives great background to understand the history of Venice. Burano was great. Murano was a shorter stop and primarily to one shop. Great tips through the day on where to eat and restrooms. Great English and great commentary while travelling. Highly recommend.
Thank you for your detailed review! We’re so happy to hear that Marco and Fashka helped make your Venice experience informative and enjoyable. It’s wonderful to know you appreciated their insights, recommendations, and commentary throughout the day. We’ll share your kind words with the team and hope to welcome you back to Venice again soon!
We loved this tour! There’s so much to see in Venice and this checked so many boxes. It was very easy to find the guides and the information was phenomenal. We had Marco in the morning and he walked us through Doge’s Palace, St Mark’s Basilica, and over the Bridge of Sighs. He paced the tour well and hit major points without making it feel like it was dragging. He also safely got us to the gondola ride. We had Francesca in the afternoon for the 2nd part of our tour of Murano and Burano and she was great! She gave us information about things not only about then island, but other things we passed in the water taxi. We loved this entire tour!
Thank you for such a fantastic review! We're thrilled to hear your day in Venice was a highlight of your trip. It's wonderful that both Marco and Francesca made the experience so memorable with their knowledge and enthusiasm. We'll be sure to pass along your kind words to them. Thank you for your recommendation, and we hope to welcome you again soon!
The experience was fantastic. Highly recommend this tour.
Thank you for your kind recommendation! We're thrilled to hear you had a fantastic experience exploring Venice with us. We truly appreciate your support and hope to welcome you back on another tour in the future.
Overall, it was a great experience, and I would definitely recommend it to anybody traveling to Venice. It was a very hot day, so that definitely was an issue with some of the activities, but if it was a day with better weather, it would’ve been even more enjoyable. We went to Merano and Berano, and we felt like there wasn’t enough time on the burano Island, and too much time on the murano Island. However, even with the slight critiques, it was still an amazing experience, and I would definitely do it again.
Thank you for your thoughtful review! We're delighted to hear you had an amazing experience overall and appreciate your recommendation. We also value your feedback regarding the time spent on Murano and Burano, as well as the summer heat. We'll be sure to share your comments with our team as we continue to refine the experience. We hope to welcome you back to Venice again soon!
The tour was excellent, both of our guides (Marco and Cecilia) were really engaging, knowledgeable on their parts of the tour and made the experiencing memorable for our family. If you have a one day only in Venice, I would highly recommend this tour.
We really enjoyed the tours - both Marco and Cecilia were amazing guides!
