It is sensible to book a time-slot skip-the-line reservation online for St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice or queue to buy cheaper entry tickets at San Marco. Prices increased sharply in 2025, and basic admission is no longer free!
The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark (Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco) is one of the most famous churches in the world. This magnificent basilica is a top sight on the most popular square in Venice. All day-trip visitors, tour groups, and cruise boat excursions head here.
On most days, the Piazza San Marco becomes very crowded, but since admission to St Mark’s is no longer free, the lines to enter the basilica are now often shorter than in the past. Advance tickets with time-slot reservations are more expensive but sensible in busy periods, or book a guided tour for easy skip-the-line entry. It is also possible to queue up and buy tickets on-site at the cathedral. The occasional after-hours tours are expensive but less crowded, while combinations may give some discounts.
Tickets to See St Mark’s Basilica in Venice
The following tickets and combination tickets are available online in advance to see San Marco with time-slot reservations to enter the Basilica of St Mark in Venice:
- €10 — Basic admission to the Basilica
- €20 — Basilica and Pala d’Oro
- €20 — Basilica and Museum with Loggia dei Cavalli
- €30 — Complete, full ticket for the Basilica, Pala d’Oro, and Museum with Loggia dei Cavalli.
- €14 — Museum with Loggia dei Cavalli (only available Sunday mornings)
- Free — children up to 6 years old
Online tickets are available from Skiperformance, the official ticket reseller of the Basilica San Marco. (They also sell ski passes (and tickets for the Duomo in Florence!) — a bit odd but that is how it goes.)
It is also possible to buy tickets at San Marco but the queues are often long with no guarantee of admission on a busy day. The walk-up prices are considerably cheaper and worth considering if traveling off-season, or if San Marco is not an absolute priority. If bought on-site, the basic admission is only €3, add €5 for the Pala d’Oro, and €7 for the Museum and Loggia dei Cavalli.
Online San Marco Basilica tickets also give access within six months to the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta (far away on Torcello Island), the Sacrestia della Basilica della Salute (more conveniently in Dorsoduro), and the adjacent Pinacoteca Manfrediniana. This makes the online surcharge a fair deal, but only if you were planning to visit these sights too.
How to Buy and Use Tickets for St Mark’s Basilica in Venice
The easiest way to get time-slot reservation tickets for St Mark’s Basilica is online through the official agent Skiperformance, or book guided tours. Individuals may join some after-hours tours of San Marco Basilica — these night tours are expensive but less crowded.
San Marco Basilica does not offer any official tours, but many resellers do. Adding further sights, such as the Doge’s Palace, may offer better value and time savings. Audio guides are available past the ticket turnstiles but before entering the actual church.
Which Entrance to Use at San Marco?
The signposting on the Piazza San Marco is quite clear for visitors to the basilica:
Visitors with time-slot reservations use the skip-the-line entrance — the Porta San Pietro (St Peter’s Door), which is to the left of the main entrance.
Visitors without tickets queue and enter through the Porta San Clemente (to the right of the main entrance door). You buy the ticket inside the portal but before entering the actual church. Just because the queue is short does not mean entry will be fast — visitors with time-slot reservations always receive priority.
What Time Should You Arrive at San Marco Basilica?
The opening hours of the Basilica of San Marco are daily from 9:30 to 17:15, opening at 14:00 on Sundays. (The museum is open on Sunday mornings.)
Be at the skip-the-line entrance within the half-hour time slot. Visitors have only around 5 minutes grace, that means, if your timeslot is 10:00 to 10:30, you may enter anytime between 10:00 and 10:35. (Electronic scanning means that personnel have little leeway if you miss your time slot.)
The number of visitors allowed inside the basilica at any given time is limited, so at busy times it may be necessary to wait until more people exit.
If you arrive at San Marco without a ticket, be in line before opening time (9:30). Alternatively, try in the afternoon. Most sights in Venice are busiest in the morning from just before 10:00 until lunchtime (around noon to 13:00). Sights are often quieter in the afternoon, especially from around 15:00 onwards.
→ Top Tip: If arriving in Venice on a day trip, be at the train station or Piazzale Roma before 9:00. The vaporetto and walkways to San Marco get very crowded from 9:30 onwards. Similarly, try to leave the city in the evening rather than in the late afternoon.
What is Seen on St Mark’s Basilica Tickets in Venice?
The Basilica of St Mark in Venice is a famous, beautiful, and important church. However, the visitor’s experience can often disappoint, especially when taking only the most basic tour. It is worth adding the optional sights.
On a basic ticket, you are allowed to walk down the right aisle, pass in front of the choir, altar, presbyter area, and walk back out via the left aisle. You are not allowed to veer off the path, sit down in the nave, or enter any of the chapels. At busy times, and it usually is busy, you may feel press-ganged and forced to just keep moving on. Most visitors are out again within 20 minutes.
If adding the Pala d’Oro, visitors follow the same path but continue down the aisle to the magnificent golden Pala d’Oro altar at the right front of the church. Then pass through the presbytery before rejoining the main stream of visitors up the left aisle.
If adding the Museum and Loggia dei Cavalli, follow the same routes as above, but before exiting the main church at the rear of the left aisle, go to the inside of the nave and follow the stairs up to the museum. This allows visitors to see the original four bronze horses — copies are now displayed on the open-air balcony facing the piazza.
How to Enter San Marco Basilica for Free
It is possible to enter San Marco Basilica for free to attend religious services, or if you are under six years old. Masses and ceremonies are in Italian and you may only enter if you convince the guards that you are really there for prayer and participating in the service.
On weekdays (7:00 to 19:30), the services are in the north transept in front of the altar of the Madonna Nicopeia. Very little of the church may be seen from here. The entrance is through the Porta dei Fiori, where most tourists exit, at the left side of the church.
Most celebrations on Sunday are in the nave (also evening mass on Saturday). From here, most of the church is visible, but not all the lights may be on. Also, if taking out cameras or obviously sightseeing, you may be asked to leave.
Is St Mark’s Worth Seeing?
The Basilica of St Mark in Venice is absolutely worth seeing. The €30 combination ticket with time-slot reservation is not a bargain but a very good option if traveling during a busy period with limited time.
I personally prefer to travel in the off-season, but keep a tag on the availability of time slots. It is possible to simply buy a timeslot online for a visit later in the day or the following day, if queues are longer than expected when I arrive in Venice.
Venice has more than enough alternative sights to enjoy, if no time slot is available or when having to wait a few hours. Access to the Doge’s Palace is often even more difficult but also much easier in the afternoon. Many Venetian churches have impressive art, such as the Frari, or enjoy the best views from the campanile of San Giorgio Maggiore.
Even major art museums such as the Gallerie dell’Accademia and the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, with its 60 Tintoretto paintings, rarely have long queues to enter. Booking for the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (modern art museum) is advisable.