Venice · Piazza San Marco
St Mark's Basilica: tickets, hours and rules
Byzantine domes, gold mosaics and the Pala d'Oro. Official prices, entry by booked time and what to wear.
Today
Opening hours for every month are on the Opening hours page.
Checked against the official website on October 22, 2026 · Official source
In short
- The official tariff for individuals is 10 € for the Basilica, 20 € with the Pala d'Oro or with the Museum and Loggia dei Cavalli, 30 € for the complete visit and 15 € for the Campanile. The tariff mentions an automatic 20% discount for individuals: check the final price at checkout.
- Entry is at a booked time, with a tolerance of 15 minutes before or after. Tickets carry a name and you must show an ID. The limit is 5 tickets per account.
- The Procuratoria's regulations say that tickets bought from operators it has not accredited are not valid for entry and are cancelled without refund. Buy on the official site, or check each product's conditions.
- Hours: Monday to Saturday from 9:30, Sunday and public holidays from 14:00. Last entry 16:45, closing 17:15. On Sunday mornings only the Museum is open. The Campanile has its own ticket and hours.
- Shoulders and knees must be covered. Bags larger than 40 × 30 × 20 cm are not allowed, and neither are trolleys.
The gold mosaics
The mosaic decoration began between 1071 and 1084 under Doge Domenico Selvo, according to the Basilica's chronology. Ruskin, in The Stones of Venice, described the interior as "a vast cave, hewn out into the form of a Cross".
Goethe, on 8 October 1786, noted "a mass of richly colored figures on a golden ground".
The Pala d'Oro
Behind the high altar, the Pala d'Oro is described by the Basilica as the only surviving example of Gothic goldsmith's work of this size. It measures 3.34 m by 2.12 m, with about 250 cloisonné enamels on gilded silver and 1,927 precious stones.
The lower part dates from Doge Ordelaffo Falier (1102-1118). The upper part, with the Archangel Michael and the Byzantine feasts, probably came from Constantinople after 1204. It was renewed in 1209 under Pietro Ziani and rearranged in 1343-45 under Andrea Dandolo. It needs a separate ticket (20 € with the Basilica).
The horses of St Mark
The gilded bronze quadriga reached Venice in 1204 with the spoils of the Fourth Crusade, under Doge Enrico Dandolo. It was probably placed on the façade under Ranieri Zeno (1253-68) and was taken to Paris by Napoleon in December 1797. Baedeker (1913) says it was put back in 1815.
Today the originals are in the Museum of St Mark and copies stand on the façade.
The Museum and the Loggia dei Cavalli
The museum is above the narthex and in the former banqueting hall of the doge. Besides the original horses, it holds Paolo Veneziano's weekday altarpiece (mid-14th century), Persian carpets, illuminated codices, tapestries and detached mosaic fragments.
The terrace of the Loggia looks over the Piazza and the Piazzetta. The Basilica plus Museum ticket is 20 €.
The Campanile
The bell tower is 98.6 m high. It collapsed on 14 July 1902, was rebuilt in 1905-11 and reopened on 3 March 2025 after work on the lift. It has a separate ticket, at 15 € on the official site.
Goethe climbed it on 30 September 1786 and saw the lagoon, the Lido, the sea and the mountains of Padua, Vicenza and the Tyrol.