Has anyone done this recently? I did years ago, just wanted to know if it's still easy to just walk in at mass time and take a seat. I also read somewhere that for Sunday evening masses, the interior of the basilica is beautifully illuminated. Has anyone seen this?

No, that didn't occur to me. We went to the chanted Mass at San Giorgio, which is the one you can see from Piazza San Marco--the one that looks like it's floating on the water.

Going to Mass in all these countries has been a great experience. We've heard beautiful choirs, been present at First Communions, seen beautiful churches, and enjoyed ourselves very much--or as much as one can enjoy Mass.

Going to Mass at San Marco is a wonderful experience. We went to the 9 am mass. It was not crowded, the musaics were illuminated and there were no loud groups of tourists.

thanks for the replies.
cmstraf, were you allowed to remain inside after Mass to sightsee?

No, I think we were ushered out. That might not be true with the 11:00 mass, but we opted for the smaller numbers. The first time we saw San Marco we went to mass on Sunday, then came back early Monday morning to sightsee. The next time we go we will probably go to Mass only.

If you want to visit and tour the space, the lights are normally turned on between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m..