Basilica di San Marco
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ABOVE: The main visitor entrance is on the
Piazza side of the church; look for the crowd-control barriers and the
stanchions with signs.
Visitor information
 The
Basilica di San Marco is open for tourist visits from Monday through Saturday
from 9:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. and on Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. (On Sunday
mornings, you can attend mass, but wandering around isn't allowed.) Visiting
hours can vary slightly by season; the sign in front of the Basilica will show
current times.
Admission is free, but it's polite to leave a donation in one of
the coinboxes. Unless you're on a budget or in a hurry, consider visiting the
San Marco Museum, the Treasury, and the Golden Altarpiece. (You'll need to buy a
separate ticket for each.)
Avoiding the queue:
The line to enter the Basilica through the main door can be long during high season
and on weekends. To minimize waiting time, try one of the following strategies:
-
Reserve a free ticket in advance. See Alata.it's
Basilica di San Marco
booking page for details.
-
Check your bag or backpack at the Ateneo San Basso, a former church
just around the corner and down the Calle San Basso from the Basilica's main
entrance. (You'll need to do this anyway if you're carrying anything larger
than a purse.) When you check your gear, you'll be given a
plastic claim check that can be used to bypass the queue at the front of the
Basilica.
-
Visit when the Basilica opens or late in the afternoon, when
it's less likely to be packed with tour groups and daytrippers. (Downside: The gilded mosaics are most impressive at
midday, when the church interior is illuminated.)
-
Join a tour. Book a sightseeing tour in advance
through Viator, or look for freelance
guides in front of the Basilica.
More tips:
-
Dress conservatively. Tank tops, shorts, and other
"scanty" clothing aren't allowed. (Mankind may have been created in God's image,
but the church authorities apparently think God has a body-image problem.)
-
Keep moving. The Basilica's interior is smaller than the
typical cathedral's, and visitors are expected to shuffle more or less
continuously along the roped-off sightseeing route. (In high season, you'll be
lucky if you have more than 10 minutes to see the main floor of the church.)
-
Visit on a sunny day, or at midday if crowds aren't too
heavy. (The lights are normally turned on between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and
the illumination makes the gilded mosaics shine.)
-
"Pre-sightsee." Rick Steves has a PDF
map of the
Basilica on his Web site. You'll also find a Rick Steves
audio tour
in MPEG-4 (iTunes) format.
Official Web site:
The Procuratoria in Venice has an
official English-language
Web site about the Basilica, with historical information, a 3D "Virtual
Basilica" tour, a liturgical calendar, etc.
Next page:
More photos with captions
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