Amazing but true, despite several trips to Venice we’ve never been to St Mark’s Basilica or the Doge’s Palace. This time Trevor and I were determined to finally see both of Venice’s most famous attractions and booked a Take Walks Venice Tour. We were told our Legendary Venice: St Mark’s Basilica and Doge’s Palace Tour was the best-selling Take Walks Venice tour. After doing it ourselves, it was easy to see why.
This tour doesn’t just show you Venice’s most famous landmarks, it also explains why they matter, and how Venice worked as a republic. It also showed us things that we had walked straight past without noticing on previous visits.
An (almost) empty St Mark’s Square
Our Take Walks guide, Mose, met our small group of six travellers which included Trevor and I and a nice Canadian family, near St Mark’s Basilica. The late November timing of our trip made this tour extra special as Venice was so quiet. All of us had visited Venice before and couldn’t believe our luck.
Instead of battling crowds, we walked calmly across the square, soaking in details I’d never noticed on previous visits. And almost soaking our feet as the aqua alta had put the square under water that morning. Fortunately most of the water was gone by the time our tour started, but I still managed to step in a puddle.
Outside the basilica, Mose pointed out details in the mosaics we wouldn’t have spotted on our own. We had noticed the mosaic of Venetian merchants and agreed it was stunning on our previous visits to Venice. However, we never would have guessed that the panel we were admiring was about stealing the relics of St Mark in Alexandria.
Mose explained that having the relics of a prestigious dead saint in your church was a big power play back then, and the Venetians wanted them. As the customs officials in Egypt were Muslims, the merchants in the mosaic were hiding the relics in a basket filled with pork. It was surefire way for them to bypass inspection – and it worked!
Inside St Mark’s Basilica Without the Crowds
Walking into St Mark’s Basilica felt almost surreal. With only a handful of other visitors inside, the space felt peaceful rather than overwhelming. This was a complete contrast to our last visit during peak season, when we looked in and St Marks was so crowded it was hard for visitors to move.
Mose pointed out the darkened statues lining the basilica, once white but now blackened after centuries of absorbing oil lamp smoke. He also showed us how the ‘frescoes’ are actually mosaics made of tiny glass tiles. This was a necessity due to Venice’s humid climate as frescoes wouldn’t have lasted long. Can you see the tiles?
One of my favourite insights was learning that the patterned marble floor tiles under our feet have inspired books, with scholars spending years interpreting their symbolic meanings. It’s exactly the kind of detail you’d never know without a guide. The Tomb of St Mark is also here, but it’s not included in the tour. The queue is often extremely long during peak season and the tomb is mainly of interest to religious pilgrims. You can still see it but you won’t walk directly past the tomb on the tour.
The Museum, the Horses, and One of Venice’s Best Views
From the basilica, we moved into the museum, where Mose pointed out the original Horses of St Mark. We had admired these statues many times on previous visits as we gazed up at them on top of the basilica, but we’d never known the sculptures we were looking at were replicas.
These incredible gilded bronze statues were taken from the Hippodrome of Constantinople (as Istanbul was known then) and date back to the 2nd century BC. Even more fascinating were the tiny scratches etched by ancient artisans, designed to soften the glare of reflected sunlight so the horses wouldn’t blind their admirers. Moses also explained some of the museum’s mosaics.
From the museum balcony, we stepped outside to one of the best views in Venice, overlooking the square, the lagoon and beyond. For me, this was one of the highlights of the tour. We had seen people up here on previous visits and waved to them, wishing we could get up to the balcony ourselves without battling the crowds.
Timing the Astronomical Clock Perfectly
Mose had done something that felt almost magical, although we didn’t realise it until it happened. He had timed our arrival so we had a perfect view of Venice’s Astronomical Clock so we could watch it change.
Installed in the late 15th century, the clock doesn’t just tell time. It tracks the phases of the moon, zodiac signs, and the movement of the sun, reflecting Venice’s historical obsession with astronomy, navigation, and trade. It’s also beautiful and looks more like a work of art than a clock.
Mose also explained how, historically, visitors arrived in Venice by sea, entering the city in full ceremonial splendour. Today, most people arrive by train, which is like entering through Venice’s ‘back door’. If you want the old-world romance of a traditional arrival, take the public water bus from Venice Airport to San Marco. It’s slower, but unforgettable. Kind of like a scenic tour that also gets you where you need to go.
Inside the Doge’s Palace: Power, Politics, and Intimidation
After exploring St Mark’s, we walked around the corner to the Doge’s Palace, where Venice’s political heart once beat. This is somewhere we had always wanted to see, and we were more excited about seeing this palace than St Mark’s when we booked the tour.
Right at the entrance to the palace, Mose pointed out the stone complaint mailboxes embedded in the walls where ordinary citizens could submit feedback or complaints about officials and tradespeople. One box, carved with a mask, was specifically for reporting artisans who weren’t paying taxes. The inscription promised anonymity although, as Mose explained, you still had to include your name for the complaint to be taken seriously.
Designed to Make You Wait And Feel Less Powerful
To reach the Doge’s chambers, we climbed some stairs and passed through three separate waiting rooms. This wasn’t accidental. Mose explained this long process was designed to demonstrate power, reinforcing just how important, and untouchable, Venice’s leadership was. Once we got inside, the artwork and the room’s grandeur was staggering.
The works on the ceiling above the Doge’s seat and throughout the palace were painted using the most expensive materials available, including lapis lazuli for its intense blue pigment. Even today, the colour practically glowed and was unlike anything I’ve seen elsewhere in Europe.
When foreign ambassadors entered this room centuries ago, the message was unmistakable. Venice was wealthy, powerful, and not to be underestimated. Even if you were a cynical dignitary, it would be impossible not be wowed (and intimidated).
A Republic Unlike Any Other
Unlike most European powers of the time, Mose explained that Venice was a republic, not a monarchy. Power shifted between merchant families rather than being inherited by a royal line, something that added to Venice’s unpredictable political kudos. Business was the driving force behind the city’s success.
Inside the palace, the artworks were painted on canvas in artists’ workshops and then installed. This was very different from fresco masters like Michelangelo, who painted directly onto walls. We then entered the chamber of the Council of Ten, Venice’s feared intelligence body. These men acted as spies for the state, and their reputation alone kept many citizens in line. When Napoleon invaded Venice, he liked this fancy room so much that he removed the ceiling entirely and took it with him.
The Great Council Hall and the Bridge of Sighs
The Great Council Hall was half the size of a soccer field and could hold up to 1,500 noblemen at once. All male nobles would come to the hall and vote, especially on critical matters. Often, debates were used to gauge public sentiment before final decisions were made by the Council of Ten. I tried to take photos of this but even using my biggest wide angle lens, it was impossible to capture it all.
Finally, we walked through the Bridge of Sighs, deep inside the palace, and visited the prison cells. Looking out through the small windows, we could see tourists outside on the opposite bridge, looking back at our more famous Bridge of Sighs and snapping photos. We were a lot happier than the prisoners must have been when they passed through here.
When our tour finished, we walked outside to discover a magical new side of Venice in the early evening, with no one around and the city bathed in a twilight glow. It was the perfect end to what had been a fabulous tour.
Is the Take Walks Venice Tour Worth It?
Absolutely. My only regret is we didn’t do it sooner as it would have helped us appreciate Venice a lot more on previous visits. Our Take Walks Venice tour transformed the city from a beautiful backdrop into a living, breathing story of power, politics, trade, and intrigue.
Disclosure: The writers were invited to join this tour as guests of Take Walks.
Want to know more about visiting Italy? Read our tips for visiting Rome and discover great things to do in Rome including some of Rome’s hidden sights, or read detailed write-ups about where to find the best view of Rome, how to tour Rome on a Vespa or in a vintage Fiat 500, and what it’s like visiting the Sistine Chapel after hours and touring the Vatican. We’ve also done three Rome food tours: a Trastevere food tour, pasta making in Rome and a classic Rome food tour. In Venice, we’ve explored Venice’s food scene, toured St Mark’s and the Doge’s Palace, and stayed near St Marks Square at the gorgeous Hotel Violino D’Oro. Pitigliano and Sorano are two of our favourite towns in Tuscany and we also love spa-ing with the locals at Terme di Saturnia Resort or Fonteverde Tuscan Resort. We have also reviewed the Four Seasons Hotel Milan and know 10 of the best things to do in Assisi.
