Venice: Venice: Guided tour for Doge's Palace or Church?
 

Hi all!

My husband and I are starting our honeymoon in Venice next weekend, but we only have one full day in Venice.
We wanted to know your thoughts about the Doge's palace and if you feel we need a tour guide for this, or should we skip the private tour guide, and buy tickets for the secret itinerary tour? We are worried about long lines... If we buy tickets for the secret itinerary tour- do we have to wait on a long line?
Is the church definitely worth seeing? We know the time we are going to Venice will be very crowded!
We also are planning on taking a water taxi to San Giorgio Maggiore.
If we have one day in Venice what are the Must Sees?? Someone told us about a private tour guide that takes you around Venice for 4 hours, and I wanted to know if you feel this is necessary?

Thanks everyone!

The Secret Itineraries Tour is a skip-the-line tour. You'll walk right in with your group. I think when we took the tour, there were maybe 8-10 people in the group. We had a good guide and enjoyed the tour.

>>We also are planning on taking a water taxi to San Giorgio Maggiore.<<

Not that there's anything wrong with SGM, but I don't quite understand why that's a priority for someone who has only one day in Venice.

I've never taken a private tour of Venice, so I can't comment. What I will say is that if you go it alone, have a plan. People extol the idea of "wandering" in Venice, and there is some charm to it, but with only one day, you don't want to waste your time heading down an alley that dead-ends at some minor waterway.

Must-sees? A lot of that depends on your interests. If you're staying overnight, go into San Marco later in the evening to listen to the music and drink in the atmosphere. Spring for a table at one of the outdoor restaurants in front of a bandstand, order glass of prosecco and some munchies -- not expensive -- and enjoy. If that doesn't put you in honeymoon mode, nothing will.

Thank you for this helpful information. If we have one full day in Venice, would you recommend the church? What else would you recommend instead of SGM?
Many thanks!!

>>and buy tickets for the secret itinerary tour?<<

Are you sure you can? It does book up in advance. If you can get on the Secret Itinerary tour that would be fine - they aren't huge groups.

>> would you recommend the church? <<

What "church" are you referring to? I'm confused.

>>What else would you recommend instead of SGM?

That's a hard question to answer w/o knowing your interests. If, for example, I said "the Guggenheim," you might say, "Oh, we're not into art."

I think the OP is talking about the Duomo - San Marco Cathedral - not any of the other dozens of churches in Venice. And yes, IMHO it is a must see.

But have you read any guidebooks on Italy? You seem very ill informed for someone going so soon. How will you choose what to see in the other places you visit.

JUESnyc- St Marks Basilica and the Doge's Palace are separate. I would choose the basilica over the palace any day. We also enjoyed Gloriosa dei Frari, and the open market near the Rialto Bridge, so many colors and textures. I second getting a table in the evening at St. Marks Square and taking it all in. If the Doge's Palace is a must see, I would do the Secret Itineraries tour. Congratulations on your marriage.

>>I would choose the basilica over the palace any day.<<

You can do both on the same tour.

https://www.walksofitaly.com/venice-...sages-vip-tour