Duration - 11.5 hours

Type - Best of Venice with St. Mark’s Basilica Day Trip from Florence - small group tour

Begin your day by high-speed train to Venice, where on arrival you’ll meet a member of our team. Then it’s time for your first taste of the city by taking a quick trip by vaporetto to St. Mark’s Square, your guide will be waiting so you can begin exploring. Next, take advantage of our Skip the Line entry, bypassing the tourist lines to enter St. Mark’s Basilica. Accompanied by your guide, discover inside the basilica and gaze at the gold-laden mosaics that decorate the interior and ceilings. A bonus that is not often included on standard tours, is a trip up to the Basilica Terraces, from the terraces see breath-taking views over the piazza and the city.
Explore the twisting back streets, cobbled squares, and small arched bridges on foot, as your guide shares stories from Venice’s colorful past. Learn why the city was built on a lagoon, how it came to be an important center of trade and what events conspired to end its domination over much of the Mediterranean.
Seeing Secret Sights - Stroll across the church and palace-lined piazzas of Campo SS Giovanni e Paolo and Campo Santa Maria Formosa, where Byzantine, Renaissance, and modern elements fuse together their timeless portraits of the city. See the house where the world-famous explorer Marco Polo once lived and hear about his explorations and his epic journey to Asia.
When you arrive at Rialto Bridge, take some time to explore Venice at your own pace. Your guide will offer advice on the best restaurants you can try for lunch, or where you can go to sample the famous cicchetti: like tapas and best enjoyed with a glass of Prosecco.
Experience the City by Water - Once you’re done exploring on foot, we’ll take to the water for a truly memorable moment: a panoramic cruise for our transfer from Rialto back to the train station, on board a private water taxi. Through its waterways Venice really shines. During your water taxi ride, cover part of the Grand Canal, starting from Rialto, getting a unique perspective of the city. We end the tour at the main station, where we board our high-speed train to head back to Florence.

What's Included
• Skip the Line Access to St. Mark's Basilica
• Water taxi experience on Grand Canal
• Small groups of 20 people or fewer
• High-speed train return tickets
• 2-hour guided tour with an expert, English-speaking guide
• Headsets when appropriate, so you can always hear you guide

Sites Visited
• St. Mark’s Basilica (inside)
• Terraces of St. Mark’s Basilica
• Views of Grand Canal
• Rialto Bridge
• Marco Polo’s house
• Campo SS Giovanni e Paolo
• Campo SM Formosa
• Bridge of Sighs
• Columns of San Marco and San Teodoro

Things to Know:

• Tour is offered on Monday, Thursday and Saturday
• Tour begins at 8:00am
• Meeting Point Location - Piazza dell'Unità Italiana – more details are provided upon booking
• Travel to Venice on a comfortable high-speed train, saving you over 2 hours in transit each way, therefore allowing you 7 full hours in the Floating City where our local expert English-speaking guide will make sure you get the most out of your day
• Venice will be introduced to you as it should be, from the water! Take a private water taxi ride to the Rialto Bridge where you will begin a walking tour of the most important sites in the city with groups no larger than 20 and headsets to ensure you hear every detail
• Bring tour voucher and identification with you to tour check-in
• Please wear tennis shoes or comfortable flat walking shoes
• Dress Code for visiting St. Mark’s Basilica Church in Venice – both knees and shoulders must be covered for both men and women
• Casual Dress Attire
• Travel to Venice with ease on a high-speed train