Hotels near St Mark's Basilica

Topping every list of places to visit in Venice, St Mark's Basilica is the cathedral of the Venetian patriarchate and the city's central religious building since AD 828, when Venetian merchants smuggled the relics of St Mark the Evangelist out of Alexandria. The current Italo-Byzantine structure dates from 1063 and bristles with 8,000 square metres of golden mosaics, 500 marble columns looted from across the Mediterranean, and four bronze horses (replicas - the originals are inside) brought back from the sack of Constantinople in 1204.

The interior is dim, gilded, and otherworldly. Pay the small upgrade for the Pala d'Oro - the Byzantine altarpiece set with 1,927 gemstones and 250 enamel panels - and the upper terrace, which puts you eye-level with the bronze horses and gives a privileged view straight down Piazza San Marco. Standard entry is free but requires a timed reservation, and the basilica turns away walk-ins on busy summer days.

Pro Tip: Book the EUR 3 timed-entry slot for 9:30 am on the official Basilica website - you skip a 90-minute queue and the morning sun ignites the mosaics on the ceiling above the entrance.