Doge's Palace in Venice
 

We will be in Venice in September and have been told by friends that we don't need a guided tour thru the Doge's Palace. I would like to purchase tickets ahead of time but can't find a website to sell me entrance tickets without a guided tour.
Any suggestions?

We bought our museum card accross the square from the Doge's Palace at the Correr museum. No lines to purchase. The card included the Correr which we also found interesting.
The card allows you to go through the turnstile without waiting in line.

You can tour the main areas of the Doge's Palace on your own, but if you want to go into the other areas you would have to do the Secret Itineraries Tour offered by the palace. It is very interesting.

Get there early when ticket office opens. You don't need a guide.

to do the Secret Itineraries Tour would you pre-book before leaving on your trip?

Thank you for the replies, but I'm really confused now. Two of you said no guided tour while the other said you won't see all of the Palace without it.....
Help!!!!!

Rick Steves' Venice book includes a pretty informative and entertaining walking tour.

You will see all the most important halls and rooms in the Doge's Palace without a guided tour.

The Secret Itineraries tour takes you into the tiny wooden rooms clustered under the roof, where the real business of the Venetian state took place. It's interesting, but I wouldn't necessarily want to do it on a first trip.

Beph03,

Yes, you have to book the Secret Itineraries tour before leaving, particularly in high season.

Go on your own and either go in the early part of the day or later on in the afternoon. We went about 3:00 and there was no crowd. It is pretty easy to figure out what you see but Rick Steves does have a very good tour laid out. You don't need a guide.

Baldworth

Thank you for the info...... I just starting doing these forum talks last night and all the info I've received is wonderful.........
I am really nervous about going to Italy, because I am planning the whole trip on my own, no travel agents or group tours.........

I can relate bblount. My husband and I are leaving for Italy in 2 weeks and this is the first time not going on a cruise or to a resort. I have planned everything from the B&Bs in Venice, Castelfiorentino, Sorrento, and Rome, to train tickets, car rental for a week, entry into San Marco Basilica, and reserved ticket for the Secret Itinaries Tour (no cost to reserve by phone, and you avoid any line-ups. This board has been a HUGE support. I have spent hours reading and copying and pasting info onto pages to take (especially good eating spots and hints of how to avoid some of the large lines to sites). I wish you well - have a great trip. I will post my experiences when we return (sometime after August 20).

P.S.
You can reserve Secret Itineraries tour of Doge's palace (in language of choice) -
Phone number is 011 39 041 520 9070.

Travel_Bug_Cin,
Where are you staying in Venice, and Rome that are B&B's. Maybe I will look into them.........the hotels we are booked at are really expensive... I'm just so afraid of places that I don't know.......
I'll be looking forward to talking with you when you get back.........

Often if you email your hotel in advance they will help with getting reservations to museums, etc.

We all liked the Secret Itineraries tour, which was 90 minutes, and then we looked through the rest of the Doges Palace on our own,with Rick Steve's guide book in hand.

we rented the audio guide. it was well worth it. There were no lines when we went (back in March '01).

Hi again bblount. Here are a listing of the B&Bs we are staying in (Glad to share). The choices were made after hours and hours of searching and cross referencing on places like Trip Advisor. The three key things I was looking for were private bathroom, A/C, and a maximum of 175 Euros per night. A couple of the places even discounted when I asked about a cash rate vs. credit card.

Venice – Ca’ del Dose http://www.cadeldose.com/index.htm
Tel. 011-39-041-5209887

Castelfiorentino (38km from Florence) – Le Boscarecce http://www.leboscarecce.com
Tel. 011-39-057-161280

Sorrento – Villa Oriana http://www.villaoriana.it/en
Tel. 011-39-081-8782468

Rome - Guest House Arco dei Tolomei
http://www.guesthousearcodeitolomei.com/eng/
Tel. 011-39-065-8320819

I am getting so excited! We leave August 2.

Travel_Bug_Cin

I'll be waiting to hear all about your trip when you get back.... Have a great time..........

Hi Travel_Bug_Cin,

After reading all the trip advisor reviews on the Ca'del Dose Hotel in Venice I decided to book there also. It will save me about $400 for 3 nights from the Hotel Ala that I had booked originally.. We went to Germany a few years back and stayed in a small B&B and it was actually quite fun.. We figured we wouldn't be in the room that much anyway... Do let me know as soon as you get back how your stay was there.....
Ciao...

We did the Secret Itineries tour and really liked it. I would definitely recommend it. You can tour the palace on your own after you're done with the tour. We had made reservations in advance.

Enjoy your trip!

The audioguide of the Doge's Palace was ery informative. Also, there are lengthy didactic panels in each room as well. I think the audioguide is simply someone reading the same information as the panels. So you can read it yourself or pay to be read to.