Our family of 6 adults is going to Venice in mid September, and wish to tour the Basilica San Marco and Doge's Palace. Does anyone know the hours of operation and admission of each, and if tickets can be purchased in advance? We are staying at The Hotel Principe in Venice.

I don't believe there are reservations for the Basilica. Just get in line (no shorts or sleeveless tops -- nothing like standing in line for 30-45 min and being turned away, like the German family in front of me.) Entry to the Basilica is free, to see the "highlights" you have to pay extra. Personally, I thought the best was going up to see the original bronze horses and looking through the rafters. The jewel encrusted Palat d'Or (?) was a let down, I felt. But you gotta see it for yourself. Entry to the horses and the jewel "thing" were 5000 or 10000 lira each, I believe. <BR> <BR>For the Doges Palace, take the Secret Tour -- you HAVE to make reservations ahead of time!! You just cut through the line and go to the information desk to get your tickets. It includes admission to the whole palace, as well as the tour. I do recommend the tour -- seeing the cells where Casanova was, etc. I think it was about $15 for each ticket -- but don't quote me on it. Tours in English are at 10:30 and 11:30, I believe. <BR> <BR>Sorry I can't be more specific, but I went by myself, and managed to talk my way into a full tour of the Doges Palace ("just one signora? you are sure?" "Si, si!!") for the next day. <BR> <BR>If you like art and beautiful places, do not miss Ca'Rezzonico. How wonderful it must have been to have lived there.

Hi <BR>Depending on which source you consult, the Palace opens 9-9:30 and the <BR>Basilica 9:30-9:45-10:00. <BR>The only thing you can arrange in advance is the Secret Itinerary tour of the Palace. What I haven't figured out yet is, if you can reserve the S.I. for 10:30, but with that reservation <BR>enter the Palace when it opens to start your visit of the rest of it, prior to joining the S.I. tour. <BR> <BR>One tip that Paulo, a frequent participant here and a Venice expert, shared is to attend mass at the Basilica, arriving no later than 8:30. <BR>You will be admitted to attend the service. When the service is over you can remain inside to begin your tourist visit. I'm going to try that approach this fall. <BR>http://dest.travelocity.com/DestGuides <BR>/geo_main/0,1743,TRAVELOCITY <BR>|2167,00.html <BR>Has information about Venice, including the S.I. <BR>www.goeurope.about.com/travel/goeurope <BR>/library/venice/aa081197.htm <BR> <BR> for more information on the history and treasures of the Basilica, see your guidebook or www.timeout.com/venice or <BR>www.manitoulin-link.com/medieval <BR>/sanmarco.html <BR>

The last time I was in Venice the hours of operations and admission prices were: <BR> <BR>Doge's Palace <BR>Open: Daily 9:00 am to 7:00 pm - The last entry is usually around 5:30 and there are shorter hours off-season. <BR>Admission Price: 18,000 lire - This was a combo ticket that also admitted you to some of other museums that can be interesting if you have the time. For some reason I can't find in my notes the cost for the Secret Itinerary Tour. But I did go on that (made a reservation) and thought it was definitely worthwhile. <BR> <BR>St. Mark's Basilica <BR>Open: Monday thru Saturday 9:45 am to 5:30 pm, Sunday 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. <BR>Admission Price: Free. But there is a charge for the museum upstairs (3,000 lire?) and an extra charge (4,000 lire?) for the Pala d'Oro (the golden altarpiece). <BR> <BR>I don't know of a way to purchase these tickets in advance (like a web site?), so maybe someone else might have that information. However,allow me to repeat, this is the information I had for when I was there last time (in the spring). I find it's always good while traveling in Italy to double check opening times/prices. <BR> <BR>Hopefully this will help.

For the Doge's Palace, we arrived one morning early (at 9 am) and did not have to wait in line for tickets. It became more crowded as the day went on. At that time, I made reservations for the 10:30 secret itinerary the next day. The secret itinerary definitely is worth it -- it's not that expensive, and you really see some interesting things. The day we went, they had added several additional English language secret itinerary tours, so they may adjust based on demand. Our guide spoke fair English -- certainly enough to understand her, but it was a bit of a struggle at times. An FYI - Ca'Rezzonico has been closed for renovations for a while and still was closed when we were there in mid-June. Perhaps it will be re-opened by September.

Elaine -- I believe you can, though I'm not sure. I was told to be there by 11:15, but I don't see why they wouldn't just sell you the ticket and let you in. But I'm not them. <BR> <BR>Beth -- Ca'Rezzonico was open when I was there in mid-July. Guess you'll have to go back to Venice to see it! What a shame... ;-)

If you want to attend the high mass on Sunday, be there before 0830 (as mentioned above) and go to the side entrance (by the Concordia Hotel). It's a treat just listening to the choir. Be aware, though, that you must sit through the entire mass.

Rod <BR>Any idea how long the mass is? <BR>I figure until sometime before 9:30 or 9:45 which is when they let the tourists in during the week, but is it longer on Sunday? I'm not Catholic, and while I want to be respectful I don't want to devote several hours to the service.

Elaine, <BR> <BR>I am not Catholic either, but I have attended a variety of Catholic Mass services in Italy, Germany, and France, including the (lower) Basilica in Assisi (this past May) and the Basilica at San Marco in Venice (just last summer). <BR> <BR>The Mass at San Marco was considerably longer than any others (80+ minutes?) and it was VERY packed. We could not all find seats. There was a minimum of moving in and out, and seats sometimes did free up. I think that by the end, all of us did have a seat. This minor amount of movement did not create an element of disrespect, in my opinion. <BR> <BR>It may have been a special occasion, but I was never able to determine what it was. There was a bishop present for the mass (some celebrants there told us this), and there were a lot of military police, including some that seemed to be getting some kind of honorific recognition, I think. I can follow a Mass pretty well, even in Italian, and I could not tell what the dignitaries were all about. <BR> <BR>The Mass at Assisi seemed more "sacred" to me. There were seven priests, and a lot of "incensing". <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>

Elaine: The high masses we have attended have been about an hour.

Thanks to all who have posted such helpful information. We will be in Venice in September, I was able to call the Doge's Palace direct and make reservations on the phone for the 'Secret Rooms'. They were very helpful, friendly, and speak English very well. Phone number I used (from the US) is 011-39-041-522-4951. I was advised that the English tour begins at 10am, but to be there at least 10 minutes before the tour starts. No credit cards, It.Lira only.