Most city tours combine the basilica and the palace, and are timed so that you enter the 1,000-year-old Byzantine church during the noon hour, when the lights are switched on, illuminating the soaring gold mosaics. To underscore old Venice’s wealth, a 12th-century painting gifted from Imperial Greece, and studded with emeralds, rubies and amethysts, is on display. “You cannot build a city like this unless you are completely loaded,” said our guide Andrea.
A Guide to Venice: 10 Things to Do
What to do, where to stay and what to see
St. Mark’s Basilica
Full List
10 Things to Do
Places to Stay
Finding the Perfect Souvenir