St. Mark’s Square is without a doubt one of the most famous spots in Italy. The view of the impressive red-brick Campanile, the Doge’s Palace and the old Procuracy Buildings is basically Venice at its most quintessential.

Still, I’d say the square would only be half as beautiful without the medieval St. Mark’s Basilica. With its many domes and playful architectural details, it’s one of our favourite church buildings in Italy and that means some tough competition.

It’s also one of the sights that you definitely shouldn’t miss while you’re in Venice. Read on for everything you need to know about visiting St. Mark’s Basilica.

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Guided Tours of St. Mark’s Basilica

If you want to visit the church with a local guide (or beat the crowds with a fast-track ticket or after-hours tour), there are plenty of guided tours of St. Mark’s available. You can check out some options below.

The History and Importance of St. Mark’s Basilica

St. Mark’s Basilica has been at the centre of Venetian life for more than a thousand years. The church served as a symbol of the republic’s powers and important state events were held here time and time again, so it played an important policical role in addition to its religious significance.

The first church on this site was built in the 9th century to house the relics of St. Mark the Evangelist, which Venetian merchants had brought back from Alexandria in Egypt.

According to the traditional story, they managed to smuggle the saint’s remains past Muslim customs officials by hiding them beneath pieces of pork, which the officials supposedly refused to inspect.

Whether every detail of that story is true or not, acquiring the relics was a huge deal for Venice. St. Mark soon replaced St. Theodore as the city’s patron saint, and the winged lion associated with him eventually became one of the most recognisable symbols of the Venetian Republic.

The original church was destroyed by fire in 976, and the basilica that exists today was mainly built from the 11th century onwards. It doesn’t follow the design of a typical southern European church from that time, but was heavily influenced by Byzantine architecture, which makes sense considering Venice’s close political and commercial ties with Constantinople.

What to See at St. Mark’s Basilica

The Exterior

I’m always impressed by how quaint the basilica manages to look despite its significant size, which is probably because of the many domes and spires atop the roof and the countless small architectural details along the façade, which make the church look like a conglomeration of much smaller buildings.

Both the main entrance in the western wall and the portals that frame it on both sides have beautiful mosaics that show the transportation of St. Mark’s Relics from Alexandria to Venice.

Venice once was a powerful force in Europe and the Republic showed its might by “borrowing” objects from vanquished nations and displaying them in public places, like on the facades of St. Mark’s Basilica.

For instance, the four Bronze Horses that stand over the entrance at the western side of the basilica nowadays are copies, but the originals were taken from Constantinople during the 4th Crusade in the 13th century.

If you walk around the corner to the right in the direction of the Doge’s Palace there’s a small group of four figures at a bottom corner of the façade. These are supposed to be the four tetrarchs, co-ruling Roman Emperors of the 3rd and 4th century AD. Like the horses, these figures were also taken during the Sack of Constantinople in 1204.

The Nave

The inside of the basilica follows Byzantine architectural traditions with its cross-shaped ground plan. In fact, the building was modelled after the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, but some parts still had to be altered slightly. The church hardly has any windows, so the inside is perpetually gloomy.

The 14th-century altar screen is topped by statues of the Twelve Apostles, the Virgin Mary and St. Mark. Our favourite feature were the five big domes above the nave, which are covered in ornate mosaics of biblical scenes (once again following Byzantine styles).

The Presbytery and Pala d’Oro

If you want to enter the Presbytery (which is the area surrounding the altar), you need to pay an extra fee. In my opinion, it’s worth doing so, as this is easily the most attractive part of the Basilica.

The high altar, which holds the relics of St. Mark, is covered by an impressive ciborium (baldachin), whose pillars are covered in super detailed reliefs of scenes from the lives of Jesus and Mary.

The real star attraction in this part of the church can be found behind the altar, though. The Pala d’Oro (eng. Golden Cloth) is a huge, decorated 14^th century screen that’s made from gold, silver, enamel and almost two thousand gemstones.

There’s a central panel showing Jesus, who’s surrounded by lots of saints and angels. It’s incredibly intricate and we found it super impressive, although our enjoyment was slightly hampered by tons of jostling people taking selfies in the small space behind the screen. I recommend bringing a bit of time, so you can have a decent look.

The Museum of St. Mark and Loggia dei Cavalli

There’s also a small museum inside the basilica, which contains some interesting mosaic fragments and religious tapestries, but for us the best part of visiting it was the chance to step out on the Loggia dei Cavalli, which is the balcony along the western side of the church.

As you might expect, the Loggia has some fantastic views of St. Mark’s Square, plus you can have a close look at the copies of the four Bronze Horses that the balcony is named after. The originals of the surprisingly lifelike sculptures (complete with visible muscles and veins) are displayed inside the museum.

If you pass through the museum, you can also walk along the gallery to see the nave from above. Here, we also liked the huge family tree of the Virgin Mary that is painted on the northern wall on one of the balconies.

The Campanile

The Basilica’s Clock Tower sits a bit apart from the main building, which is often the case with Italian cathedrals of the time (think of the Leaning Tower of Pisa). It’s 98.6m (323ft) tall and from the top there are some amazing views of the square, the Basilica and the Lagoon.

There isn’t even any climbing involved, as you’re zipped up to the viewing platform via an elevator. The tower originally dates to the 10th century, but it collapsed in 1902 and was rebuilt in its original medieval form ten years later.

The spire and the belfry are from the 12th century and the golden figure atop the spire is supposed to be the Archangel Gabriel. The Tower is open from 9.30am to 9.15pm daily with the last admission at 8.45pm. There’s a separate entrance fee of 15€ for the viewing platform.

Practicalities

St. Mark’s Basilica Entrance Fee

The entrance fees depend on what exactly you want to see. You can either get a combination ticket or separate tickets to the nave, the Pala d’Oro and the museum and Loggia dei Cavalli

Previously, I would have recommended just getting a combination ticket for all the sights, but they’ve dramatically raised their prices in the last two years and the combination ticket is now 30€ (it was 15€ just a couple of years ago).

If you don’t want to spend that much, I recommend having a look at the official website to find a combination that suits your interests and wallet. To visit the viewing platform atop the campanile you’ll need a separate ticket, which is now 15€.

You can also visit the Basilica for free during prayers, mass and services from the Porta dei Fiori at the north side. However, you can’t really explore the building during that time (especially not the beautiful presbytery).

What Are the Opening Times?

The Basilica is open from 9.30am to 5.15pm from Monday to Saturday and from 2pm to 5.15pm on Sundays and religious holidays. Last admission is at 4.45pm. You can double check the current opening times here.

Best Time to Visit

Apart from the Rialto Bridge and the Doge’s Palace, this is probably Venice’s most famous sight and people will start queuing about an hour before opening time, so you’ll never really have the place to yourself.

We still found it better to come in the morning, as the lines seemed even longer in the afternoon. Another good time is probably in the last half hour before it closes at 5.15pm (The last admission is at 4.45pm).

If you don’t feel like waiting in line, you could get a skip-the-line ticket like this one.

How to Visit St. Mark’s Basilica Without the Crowds

If you want to enjoy the basilica in peace, you could take a guided tour outside of the regular visiting hours, like this after-hours tour.

How to Get to St. Mark’s Basilica

The Basilica is slap-bang in the centre of Venice at the eastern end of St. Mark’s Square. You can get to the square in about half an hour by foot from the train station.

You can also reach the Square by Vaporetto (Water Bus). Many Lines stop at St. Mark’s Square, including Line 1 and the faster Line 2. You can check the connections and times online here.

Is there a Dress Code?

Yes – as with lots of religious buildings around the world, you’ll need to wear clothes that cover shoulders and knees. Sleeveless shirts, shorts, skirts above the knees, and uncovered shoulders are not allowed.

Storing Bags at St. Mark’s Basilica

Something else to know is that bigger bags, backpacks and suitcases are not allowed in the Basilica. You can store bags at the Ateneo San Basso theatre directly to the north of the Basilica for free.

As it opens half an hour after the Basilica at 10am, I recommend leaving bigger bags at your hotel or guesthouse, if possible. Otherwise, you certainly won’t be able to beat the crowds.

Where to Go Next

Padua, a pretty university city that is home to a series of beautiful 14th-century frescoes

Vicenza, every architecture lover’s dream destination

Verona, setting of the most famous love story of all time