We booked the Secret Itineraries Tour directly through the official Palazzo Ducale website. Much cheaper than other listed tours. We skipped the line, met our wonderful guide Marcello and he led us through the former prisons of the palace. Great history of the Doge and government of Venice from a few centuries ago. We learned what type of people were prisoned here and what their life was like. Casanova was a previous ‘resident’. Lots of stairs up and down, lots of former cells to peek into, secret doors and passages, all just on the other side of the wall from the main palace. You’d never know without this tour. Tour takes just over an hour, 25 people maximum and you are free to explore the rest of the beautiful palace at your leisure. Well worth doing something a little bit different!

This was a great stop on our trip to Venice! We spent a few hours here, learning about the history, admiring the artwork, and seeing the wonderful architecture and details. We definitely learned some facts that we would’ve never known about Venice if we had not stopped here. We went around 3 PM on a Tuesday and we did not have to wait in a line. We just bought the tickets, we did not buy any additional audio guides, and I don’t think it was really necessary. Highly recommend!

This palace was absolutely breathtaking, but we couldn’t get the audio guide which would have made it much more interesting. We did the secret itineraries itineraries tour, but I wish we would have done a tour of the main palace itself instead. I think that would have been more exciting. Although our ticket included access to the general public areas of the palace as well, it didn’t include any tour of those areas and to make matters worse, we couldn’t get an audio guide because we didn’t have our passports with us, and they only let you take an audio guide if you hand over an identity document that they hold onto until you return the guide. I offered for her to keep my mobile phone or credit card but she wouldn’t accept them.

we took the 10am secret tour and enjoyed the history lesson. after the tour we were free to walk the palace exhibits and really enjoyed the art (they have a bosch!!) thoroughly enjoyed the palace and the exhibits.

We booked a guided tour and I’m really glad we did. The frescos and ornate rooms are fascinating but we wouldn’t have noticed or understood half as much without our guide. It’s such an interesting place and really helps you to understand the history of Venice.

I traveled to Rome,Florence then Venice with my daughter to celebrate her birthday. We had a wonderful time. There is so much to see and do. Plus the rail network is second to none. We will have to go back as we only had one week. We have so many great photos and memories to cherish forever

We had a guided tour of St Marks and Doge’s Palace. Our guide Stefano was full of knowledge and wit. We learned so much, saw wonderful paintings, and got to walk the Bridge of Sigh’s! Memorable for sure!!!

The information boards are a very interesting and useful new resource. Lots to see and a very interesting building with an amazing history. Busy. Far too many guided tour groups. Small queue in the bridge of sighs. Loved the life of the doge rooms.

We did the Secret Itineraries tour with Take Walks. The anecdotes about the prison, Casanova’s escape etc were all very fascinating. Our guide Juliano was also an excellent story narrator who kept everyone engaged with the story of St Mark’s dream and then “The Italian Job” as he put it , of stealing St Mark’s relics to bring them to Venice. It was very interesting to hear about Venetian history and about the position of the Doge.

I booked early for the Secret Itineraries Tour and am really glad I did; the group size was small, we were able to see some really interesting areas of the palace that you can't see with a normal ticket, and the tour give gave some great context to what we were seeing. It was quite a shock emerging from the 'secret' areas into the main areas though- it was so packed with people! Sometimes it was hard to get to the signs to read about the room you were in. The palace is very interesting though and would definitely recommend a visit.