St Mark’s Basilica ticket types and prices

Which ticket to choose

• The church only, €10.00. Enough if you are short of time. You will be inside for 20 minutes at most inside the Basilica, along the roped route (Pala d’Oro not included).
• Basilica and Museum, €20.00. The best value for most people. The Museum holds the original bronze horses and opens onto the Loggia dei Cavalli, the terrace above the main doors, with the whole square below you — and it has no time limit.
• Basilica and Pala d’Oro, €20.00. For the gold altarpiece behind the high altar. You get 10 minutes at most in front of it.
• Full ticket, €30.00. Church, Pala d’Oro, Museum and terrace.
• Bell tower, €15.00. The Campanile, across the square, sold on its own.

Pala d’Oro or Museum?

They cost the same with the Basilica, €20.00, and they are very different visits.

Compared	Pala d’Oro	Museum and Loggia
What it is	a gold altarpiece of about 250 enamels and 1,927 gems	the original horses, tapestries, the terrace over the Piazza
Time	10 minutes at most	no stated limit
Best for	Byzantine art, goldwork	the view, the horses, time to linger
On a Sunday morning	closed with the church	open, with its own ticket (€14.00)

If you can only add one, the Museum gives you more time and the view — what to see inside shows what each ticket reaches; the Pala d’Oro is the rarer object. The full ticket, €30.00, is the answer if you want both. More on the Museum and the horses.

How to buy

Buy on the official ticket shop, choose a date and a time slot, and enter a name for each visitor. Entry only in the time slot you booked. The conditions of sale allow up to 15 minutes before or after; the ticket shop’s own FAQ speaks of about 5 minutes, so arrive on time.

The tariff also lets you buy a slot at the automatic ticket machines of the partner churches that the ticket includes. There is no ticket desk at the Basilica: since the reform of 1 July 2025 tickets are sold online only, and in July 2026 the First Procurator confirmed that the new info point in the Ateneo San Basso will not sell them either. Book before you arrive. If your date is full, see what to do when tickets are sold out.

The ticket opens more than the Basilica. Since 1 July 2025 every ticket that includes the Basilica also opens more than thirty other Venetian churches and sites within six months of purchase, and the Casa di The Human Safety Net in the Procuratie. See the full list of churches.

Children, reductions and free entry

Ages 10 to 18: a further 50% off the private price; Students up to 26: a further 50% off; Over 65: a further 50% off; Groups of 4 or 5 adults: a special discount (the tariff names it without an amount). Reductions do not combine and apply only to private-visitor prices, and the document that gives the right to them is asked for at the door.

Free: Children (see the age note); People with a disability and their companion, with certification; Residents of Venice, Caorle, Cavallino-Treporti, Eraclea, Jesolo, Mira and Quarto d’Altino, and of the parish of Cittanova, with an ID; School groups, parish and religious groups, clergy and religious; Police with their card, institutional guests, and guides accredited by the Procuratoria. Children under 10 enter free according to every official document; for a child of exactly 10 they disagree — the tariff charges the youth rate, the ticket shop says free under 11.

Changes and refunds

The official conditions of sale that we could read do not set out whether a date can be changed or a ticket refunded, so read them in the shop before you pay. One rule is explicit: a ticket cancelled because its holder broke the rules of conduct is not refunded.

Before you go

Bring ID, a bag no larger than 40 × 30 × 20 cm and covered shoulders and knees. The details are on the dress code and entry rules pages, the hours on opening hours, and everything else in short on the FAQ.

Tours and guides

Tour operators and guides pay more than you for every ticket in the tariff (€12.00 for the Basilica), and a guided group may not use audio guides or apps inside. A tour is worth it for the explanation, or for a place when the shop is full — not to save money. See skip-the-line tickets and tours.