 Durant
& Cheryl Imboden'sVenice for Visitors veniceforvisitors.com |
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Basilica di San MarcoPage 2
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
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 late in the day, when the daytrippers and tour groups have gone home. (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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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.