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St Mark's Basilica: the golden church of the Republic

Venice stole the body of St Mark from Alexandria in 828 and built him a church to match a city that traded with Constantinople. Inside, the domes and vaults are covered in gold mosaic, and the light that falls on them is like no other church in the West.

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Tickets
From €18
Open
Mon to Sat from 9:30, Sun from 14:00
Closed
During services
Allow
45 minutes to 1½ hours

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    What to see at St Mark's

    1. The mosaics

      Gold-ground mosaics in every dome and vault, from the eleventh century to the seventeenth, telling the stories of the Bible and of St Mark.

    2. The Pala d'Oro

      The golden altarpiece behind the high altar, set with enamels and precious stones, made in Constantinople and Venice over several centuries.

    3. The horses of St Mark

      Four gilded bronze horses of antiquity, taken from Constantinople in 1204. The originals are in the museum upstairs; copies stand on the terrace.

    4. The terrace

      The loggia over the main door, from the museum, looks down on St Mark's Square and across to the Doge's Palace.

    Tickets and tours for St Mark's

    • Sold by GetYourGuide

      Venice: St Mark's Basilica & Campanile Ticket & Tour Options

      Entry to St Mark's Basilica with a guide, with options for the Campanile or the Doge's Palace.

      Included

      • Entry to St Mark's Basilica with a guide
      • Options with the Campanile or the Doge's Palace

      From

      €18

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    Visiting St Mark's: hours and admission

    Opening hours

    Monday to Saturday
    9:30 to 17:15
    Sundays and holidays
    14:00 to 17:15
    • The last entry is at 16:45.
    • On Sundays and holidays the museum and the terrace of the horses open in the morning.
    • Visits are timed: you enter at the time booked, within fifteen minutes.
    • Hours change on feast days and when the Patriarch is present.

    Who gets in free

    • Entry to pray is free, through a separate door. A visit to the church is by timed ticket.

    Getting there

    Vaporetto
    San Marco Vallaresso or San Zaccaria, about three minutes away.
    On foot
    On St Mark's Square.
    From the station
    Venice has no cars. From Santa Lucia station or Piazzale Roma, take the vaporetto down the Grand Canal, or walk: the city is small, but its lanes wind.

    Address

    Basilica di San Marco
    Piazza San Marco 328
    30124 Venice, Italy

    Entrances

    Visitors enter by the main door on St Mark's Square. Bags and backpacks must be left at the Ateneo San Basso, off the Piazzetta dei Leoncini.

    On the map

    Before you go

    • Shoulders and knees must be covered, and large bags are not allowed inside.
    • Book a time: visits are timed, and the queue without a booking can be long.
    • The museum, the horses and the terrace are a separate ticket, and worth it.
    • Visitors are not allowed in during services. On Sundays and holidays the church opens to visitors only in the afternoon.

    The doges' chapel, covered in gold

    The basilica was the doge's chapel, joined to his palace, and the church of the Republic, not of the bishop: it became the cathedral of Venice only in 1807. The building that stands today was begun in the eleventh century on the plan of a Greek cross, with five domes, in the manner of the churches of Constantinople.

    Over the centuries the Venetians covered its walls in marble and its vaults with more than eight thousand square metres of mosaic, and filled it with what they brought home, much of it taken from Constantinople in 1204, the bronze horses among it.

    St Mark's Basilica: common questions

    What are the opening hours of St Mark's?
    Monday to Saturday: 9:30 to 17:15. Sundays and holidays: 14:00 to 17:15. The last entry is at 16:45. On Sundays and holidays the museum and the terrace of the horses open in the morning. Visits are timed: you enter at the time booked, within fifteen minutes. Hours change on feast days and when the Patriarch is present.
    Is St Mark's ever free?
    Entry to pray is free, through a separate door. A visit to the church is by timed ticket.
    What does the ticket include?
    Entry to St Mark's Basilica with a guide. Options with the Campanile or the Doge's Palace. It is sold by GetYourGuide.
    Is there a dress code for St Mark's Basilica?
    Yes. Shoulders and knees must be covered, and large bags and backpacks are not allowed in.
    Are the horses on St Mark's the originals?
    No. The four on the terrace are copies; the ancient bronze originals are in the basilica's museum, inside.
    How long does a visit to St Mark's take?
    About forty-five minutes for the church, and an hour and a half with the Pala d'Oro, the museum and the terrace.

    What visitors say about St Mark's

    Rating from Google

    4.7

    30,734 ratings on Google

    Google's figures as read on 27 October 2026.

    Read every review on Google

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