Saint Mark’s Basilica
This cathedral is in Venice, Italy. It is beautiful and it is free to tour. It’s found in the world famous Saint Marks Square.
Saint Mark’s Basilica is stunning and more than worth the wait to get inside. There is always a line to get in, but it does not take that long. Both times we went, the line has been extremely long, but we were in in less than 30 minutes.
- If you are a lady be sure to cover those knees and shoulders. Otherwise, they will make you pay 1 Euro for a weird cover up. They made me cover up because my shorts were too short. They did not make my 10 year old daughter cover up. I thought I was dressed well enough because I wore a shirt with sleeves. I didn’t realize that the shorts would be an issue.
Admission is Free
It is free to get into initially, but if you want to go upstairs or see certain areas there are separate fees. To go out to the balcony, it’s 5 Euro per person. We did not pay to go into any of the areas. Instead, we just toured the main area that is free.
There are more than 85,000 square feet of mosaic throughout the cathedral.
We are Christians and I really wanted my kids to see this church. It’s a great example of the grandeur that was created for an apostle. On 31st January 828 the relics of the Patron Saint Mark was brought from Alexandria to Venice.
This isn’t as over the top as where Peter was buried at the Vatican, but still amazing. Just imagine what they would have built if there had been remains of Jesus. Of course, there were no remains.
Take a Free Tour of the Basilica
Rick Steve’s has podcast tours of many places in Europe. We listen to these two when we were at St. Mark’s square. It’s a great way to take a tour without paying for a tour!
St. Mark’s Basilica Tour
Listen or Download | Download map
St. Mark’s Square Tour
Listen or Download | Download map
