3. I can unsubscribe any time using the unsubscribe link at the end of all emails. Magnificent interiors of the Doges Palace. All trademarks mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. In about 1.5 hours this tour will take your Doges Palace experience to another level. If you have a question, you can leave me a comment. Long queues and preferential admission to the Doges Palace these are the significant keywords. Be one of the first, or last, to enter the Doge's Palace so you can avoid larger tour crowds. Of course, in the late autumn and the cold and rainy months from January to March, there is a bit less activity than usual. This tour is organized into smaller groups for up to 25 people so make sure you make your bookings ahead. Unfortunately, many tours are not fully adequate for wheelchair users or people with reduced mobility. Visit the Doges Palace as part of your cruise ship organized Shore Excursion. Tintoretto's Paradise fills the entire wall behind the seats of the Doge and the highest officials, its dimensions of 22 by seven meters ranking it as the world's largest oil-painting. The staircase was probably begun by Sansovino in 1583 and completed by Scarpagnino around 1550. Check out where to stay in Venice and book an accommodation of your choice. Regular public admission to the palace does not include the infamous prison cells where Casanova made his legendary and daring escape in 1755. The Porta Della Carta, entrance to the palace, from where important announcements were read out to the public.
This really enriched our visit. The afternoon we arrived we went to the Correr Museum and picked up our pass. I don't believe you can reserve a specific time for general admission, but you can pre-purchase your ticket. The Doges Palace was, as the name already suggests, the official residence of the Doge. It was their task to interrogate offenders, if necessary with the aid of "inducements" to encourage confessions. For a little help with seeing the Doge's Palace on your own, download a free mini audio guide here. The walk over the Bridge of Sighs and the visit to the prisons should not be skipped. I can unsubscribe any time using the unsubscribe link at the end of all emails. Tip: If you would like additional information such as an info book or an audio guide, you will find the right tickets in Skip-the-Line Entry with info book or ticket and audio guide for Doges Palace. Over the Doge's throne is the large 1578 Veronese painting showing the Doge giving thanks for victory over the Turks in the crucial Battle of Lepanto. Here I give you valuable tips for the lagoon city in the Adriatic Sea. Doge's Palace Address: San Marco, 1, 30124 Venice, Italy, Doge's Palace Contact Number: +39-0412715911, Doge's Palace Timing: 08:30 am - 11:00 pm, Best time to visit Doge's Palace(preferred time): 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, Time required to visit Doge's Palace: 01:30 Hrs. Archive - The stump of a column beside the gate was used as a podium for proclaiming laws of the Republic. The staircase is named not for its own grand dimensions, but for the two larger-than-life figures of Mars and Neptune by Jacopo Sansovino, created in 1567 and symbolizing Venice's power on land and sea. We can't wait for our first visit to Venice! Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion. Visitors with an interest in Venice's military history and those with a taste for the bizarre won't want to miss the Armory, which began its collections in the days of the Council of Ten, as a storehouse for weapons of the not-insubstantial palace guards, and their back-up forces from the shipyards of the Arsenale. Look out for our newsletters with travel tips and special offers. The flow of visitors rarely goes down. The symbolism is strong here, showing that in the Venetian Republic, the individual bowed to the power of the state. Today it is considered the second largest. Every year, millions of tourists come to Venice with the goal to visit St. Marks Basilica, to take pictures of themselves with the pigeons at St. Marks Square and to visit the legendary Doges Palace. The sentences given by Venetian judges were known to be as unmerciful as the laws of the Republic. Advertising - Although the Doges Palace is considered a masterpiece of Gothic, you can also find Byzantine and Renaissance elements. Day trippers, city visitors, cruise ships, holiday season, weekend, nice weather, etc.
They achieved that visual balance by creating a remarkably light-looking upper story, its surface made to appear almost lacy with patterns of pink Verona marble, pierced by graceful arching windows. All the details are available on the librarys website. It worked out well. Make sure to buy your skip-the-line tickets online before your visit! I know that this area is very busy (especially with the cruise ships). Looking at such fragile, lace-like architecture as the Doges Palace one would never say it was once the seat of a powerful, shrewd and, some might say, cruel government of the Venetian Republic also known as La Serenissima.
As if all this doesn't testify enough to the brutal nature of Venetian life under the Doges, there's a huge sword that was used for public executions held in St. Mark's Square. In many cities, there is limited capacity for the main attractions. Not included in the general admission are the Chamber of the Three Heads of the Council of Ten; Inquisitors Hall; and the Stanza della Tortura, where confessions were forced from prisoners as the judges watched.
Fancy a good night's sleep after a tiring day? Each Doge furnished his apartments himself, and Napoleon made off with what was left, but even scantly furnished, the apartments are interesting for their art and dcor. Since 1923, it is now part of Italy and opened to the public as a museum. I live in Barcelona, but as often as possible I am in Venice, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe for me. When you get to the Palace of Doges, you can then bypass the line and go straight in. For more information visit your cruise lines website. The Doge was a noble, elected by other nobles in order to rule the Republic. 2013-2022 Hurikat - All rights reserved. Either with or without guidance, you should plan at least 1 to 2 hours to visit this enormous art museum. I am borrowing 2 ICOM cards from work which allows free admission but I wondered if there was a site I could reserve a time slot on, or if anyone could advise me what time of day the queues aren't so long. Christmas and New Year is high season, as in many European top cities. Privacy Statement - Explore the entire list of places to visit in Venice before you plan your trip. Secret Itinerary tour is highly recommended, better to book your place in advance. This website is not the official website of the Doge Palace. Winter period is the calmest.
In the Sala dello Scrutinio, you'll see Tintoretto's The Conquest of Zara, and the Sala Erizzo has a 16th-century ceiling and marble and stucco chimneypiece. The one you see today was built mainly in the 14th century, and the faade overlooking the Piazzetta dates from the first half of the 15th century. I want emails from Fodor's Travel with travel information and promotions. The room was designed by Andrea Palladio, and the ceiling and frescoes are from the studio of Tintoretto. Today, the Doge's Palace is used as a museum and any Mediterranean cruise ship guest visiting Venice should definitely try to set aside an hour or two to visit and experience it. The Palace, like its accompanying basilica, was built large to showcase Venices indomitable power. You have entered an incorrect email address! Contact Us - To the left of the staircase is the place where the senators used to gather, Cortile dei Senatori, with a Late Renaissance front and beautiful marble ornamentation. Further information is available in this article. In a small picture gallery at the back of the suite are works by Giovanni Bellini, Boccaccio Boccaccino, Tiepolo, and Tintoretto, as well as some painted wood panels of demons by Hieronymus Bosch. The palace for the first of these powerful leaders was a wretched, gloomy wooden fortress with massive defensive towers, and after several fires, the castle was converted into a Byzantine-style palace. Hi, From January to December, the last admission is at 5 pm. Food and Drink: Cafs and restaurants are all around St. Mark's Square and along the. Under the dirt and lime was a painting by Riccardo Perucolo, a fresco painter imprisoned here during the Inquisition in 1549, accused of Lutheran heresy. * All prices mentioned in this article are non-binding. There are outstanding examples of firearms from the 16th and 17th centuries, torture apparatus, suits of armor for horses and armor used in tournaments, crossbows, swords, and Turkish artifacts taken at the battle of Lepanto in 1571. An interesting sidelight to cell number 10 in the pozzi was discovered in a restoration in the 1980s.
Its size was a matter of practicality: when the council was in session, this room had to accommodate as many as 1800 citizens entitled to vote. Students 15-25 years; Escorts (max. The Council of Ten, which sat in the Sala del Consiglio dei Dieci, was the secret state court, in charge of the secret police and with control over every aspect of public and private life. In the courtyard, the Arco Foscari is worth seeing. If youre planning to explore the palace and its many secrets, heres some essential visitor information. DINING-ROOM TABLE TIDBIT: Although the ruler of the Republic, the Doge was quite restricted in his freedoms he hardly had any private life, could not receive foreign ambassadors alone, could not receive personal presents, could not leave Venice at his will, and his descendents couldnt profit from his power or inherit anything. We did an evening tour of St. Marks with Walks of Italy; if you go late enough, there are very few others in the building. Just down the street from the San Zaccaria vaporetto stop and less than a five-minute walk from the Doge's Palace, On a quiet side street and close to the airport water bus stop, the low-moderate-priced, For more top-rated options, refer to PlanetWare's. 20 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Italy, 22 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Venice, Where to Stay in Venice: Best Areas & Hotels, 13 Top-Rated Attractions & Things to Do in Treviso, 15 Top-Rated Attractions & Things to Do in Padua, 13 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions & Things to Do in Vicenza, 12 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Ferrara, 17 Top-Rated Attractions & Things to Do in Verona, 13 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Ravenna, 16 Top-Rated Attractions & Things to Do in Trieste, 14 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions & Things to Do in Trento, 13 Top-Rated Attractions & Things to Do in Bologna, 13 Top-Rated Attractions & Things to Do at Lake Garda, 12 Top-Rated Attractions & Things to Do in Istria, 13 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions & Things to Do in Bolzano, 12 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Modena, 22 Best Places to Visit in the United States, 20 Best Luxury All-Inclusive Resorts in the World, Skip The Line: St. Mark's Basilica and Doge's Palace, http://palazzoducale.visitmuve.it/en/home/.
The inquisitors, who met in the Sale dei Inquisitori were the examining magistrates. We recommend these delightful hotels and guesthouses within easy reach of the Doge's Palace: Discover destinations, find outdoor adventures, follow the journeys of our travel writers around the world, and be inspired. Ornate carved ceiling in the Sala degli Scarletti | icelight / photo modified. The admission fee ticket for the Doges Palace includes a visit to the Correr Museum, the National Museum of Archeology and the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana. With its 54 meters of length, it is the largest of the entire Doges Palace, where up to 1,000 nobles elected the new Doge. Remember that spring and fall are the busiest periods in Venice (especially April and May). Waiting times of several hours in front of the two famous sights Basilica di San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale are then not uncommon. The faade is sometimes seen as a metaphor for the city itself, its enormous weight supported by a foundation of wooden piles driven into the floor of the lagoon. Entrance for the public to the Doge's Palace is from the San Marco Piazzetta (facing the Doge's Palace, go to the right-hand side, the entrance is by the faade facing the waterfront). Its usually the best and least crowded time. Hope to visit the Palace on Sat 19th May. People normally club together Saint Mark's Basilica and The Phoenix Theatre while planning their visit to Doge's Palace. There are special times for visiting the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana and borrowing books. Art and culture enthusiasts may want to stay a little longer, others just want to get a quick overview and to discover much more of Venice.
Pre-book the Secret Itineraries Tour - this tour will not give you a general overview of the Doges Palace and its most attractive rooms. The tours starting hours are fixed, check them and other details here. The palace is completely covered with marble. This happens in Paris for the Eiffel Tower, in Barcelona for the Basilica La Sagrada Familia and also in Venice for the Doges Palace. The Palazzo Ducale is open all year round. Vaporetto Gondola, Tours & Opera, The Venice Pass: How It Works, Info, Prices and Services, Vaporetto Water bus in Venice: prices and info. However, the Secret Itineraries tour, the Prisons and the Armory are not wheelchair-accessible. We were in Venice last year for a week and chose to purchase a Venice Museum Pass. - HotelsCombined.com allows you to instantly search and compare room availability and prices from all major travel websites! var _gaq=_gaq||[];_gaq.push(['_setAccount','UA-7127080-2']);_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);(function(){var ga=document.createElement('script');ga.type='text/javascript';ga.async=true;ga.src=('https:'==document.location.protocol? If you have a pre-booked ticket for the Palace then you can skip the queue (ticket booth queue). Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The name of the Sala delle Quattro Porte refers to its four doors, each surrounded by rare marble and capped by sculptures. However, with its pointed arches, tailored windows and columns, the architecture is clearly influenced by Venetian Gothic. It always counts the current offer of the corresponding provider. Here are some other opening hours. Print your voucher at home and present it at the ticket office at the Doge's Palace. If you think your time in Venice is too precious to wander around the Doge's Palace aimlessly, here's our suggestions for informative guided tours Hotels in Venice - HotelsCombined.com allows you to instantly search and compare room availability and prices from all major travel websites! Wandering around on your own accompanied with an audio guide you will like this if you have enough patience and you are genuinely interested in Venetian art and history. We would like to take a tour of St. Mark's and Doge's Palace. Trying to decide to visit first thing in the morning or at 2PM. The interiors of the Doge's Palace are quite spectacular, including numerous magnificent paintings glorifying the Venetian Republic and a multitude of excellent architecture and decoration.
There are a few different types of tickets, so you'll have to choose for yourself based on your interests. The most elaborate is the Sala degli Scarletti with a carved ceiling; a 1501 fireplace by Antonio and Tullio Lombardo; and two frescoed lunettes, one by Titian. The palace also served as archive and prison up until the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797. Especially, the rooms had to convince the visitors of foreign powers about Venices supremacy. I will be happy to help you! To its splendour contributed the most famous artists of their time and created works of immense value. 76.78% of people who visit Venice include Doge's Palace in their plan, 26.83% of people start their Doge's Palace visit around 11 AM - 12 PM, People usually take around 1 Hr 30 Minutes to see Doge's Palace, 91.6% of people prefer walking in order to reach Doge's Palace. The Doges Palace is majestic landmark in Venice and worth a visit. 2022 Rick Steves' Europe, Inc. | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy. There is still time for at least one hours visit. Culturally-rich structures can be found all around the water ways, like the Grand Canal and Rialto Bridge, St. Marks Basilica and the adjoining piazza, and the grand old Doges Palace.