St Mark's Basilica & Piazza San Marco

Basilica di San Marco · Piazza San Marco

Gold-mosaic domes on the city's grand front room

⚠ No bags · cover shoulders and knees

Hours

Mon–Sat 9:30–17:15 (last entry 16:45), Sun 14:00–17:15 (Sunday mornings and during services, museum and loggia only). Changes for religious events and high tides

Tickets

Nave €10; nave + Pala d'Oro €20; nave + museum and loggia €20; full ticket (all of these) €30. 20% off for individuals booking online, under-11s free. Bell tower is a separate €15

Address

East end of Piazza San Marco. Visitors go in through the central door; the free bag drop is at Ateneo San Basso, just left of the façade

Come out of a narrow lane into the square and the basilica sits at the far end of the arcades, five domes on top. Inside, the ceilings and walls are covered in gold mosaic, so the whole church glows whenever light comes through the windows. The basic ticket gets you the nave; the Pala d'Oro altarpiece and the upstairs museum with the bronze horses' terrace cost extra. The terrace is worth it: the square, the bell tower and the Doge's Palace are laid out right below you. By day the piazza holds more people than pigeons, but once the café orchestras start up in the evening it feels like a different place.