St Mark’s Basilica tickets: what entry costs and what costs extra

The Basilica charges a small admission for the church itself, issued for a timed slot. That gets you the nave, the domes and the four thousand square metres of gold mosaic above you, which is the overwhelming part and the reason to be there.

Then there are three separate tickets, each bought on top:

The Pala d’Oro, behind the high altar — a screen of gold and enamel set with thousands of stones, built up over four centuries. You go behind the altar to see it, which also gives you the only close view of the apse.

The treasury, a side room of chalices, reliquaries and carved hardstone, a great deal of it brought back from Constantinople after 1204.

The loggia and the museum, up a steep stair: the four original bronze horses indoors, and the balcony above the main door with the view down over the Piazza.

Which of these your tour includes is on the listing, and it is the line to read. A tour that says “St Mark’s Basilica” without specifying usually means the church only, which is a perfectly good visit but not the whole one.

By ten in the morning in season the line for basic entry runs along the whole front of the church and turns the corner into the Piazzetta. It moves, but slowly, and it is standing in the sun on stone.

What removes it is a timed slot booked in advance, which costs very little more than walking up, or a guided tour with the ticket included, which enters as a group. There is no third option; arriving early works in February and does not work in June.

Two smaller things also slow people down at the door and neither is negotiable. The dress code — shoulders and knees covered, for everyone — is enforced by staff who turn people away all day. And large bags are not admitted: there is a free deposit a minute from the church, which guides route their groups through automatically and independent visitors discover at the front of the queue.