St Mark's Basilica

Step out of the bright piazza into St Mark's Basilica and your eyes take a moment to adjust, because the whole upper church is gold. Vaults and domes are covered in mosaics of gold glass tesserae, laid over centuries, telling the stories of Genesis, the life of Christ and the legend of St Mark, whose body Venetian merchants smuggled out of Alexandria in the ninth century, according to tradition hidden under a load of pork to discourage inspection. The church built to house him was the doge's private chapel, not the city's cathedral, and that explains its extraordinary richness: for centuries the Republic poured its wealth and its plunder into it. Five great domes on a Greek-cross plan echo the churches of Constantinople, the uneven marble floor ripples with geometric inlay, and every surface seems to have arrived from somewhere else, columns and carvings brought home by Venetian fleets. Behind the high altar stands the Pala d'Oro, a Gothic altarpiece of gold and enamel set with hundreds of gems, and upstairs the Museum of St Mark houses the original four gilded bronze horses, carried off from Constantinople in 1204, taken to Paris by Napoleon and later returned; the ones on the facade today are copies. From the Loggia dei Cavalli outside, beside those replicas, you look straight down over Piazza San Marco, one of the finest views in the city. Entry to the basilica itself is modestly priced, with separate supplements for the Pala d'Oro and for the museum and loggia. Book a time slot online, dress modestly, and leave every bag behind.

The rules matter more here than anywhere else in Venice. No bags of any kind are allowed inside — not backpacks, not camera bags, not even small handbags — and they must be left at the free deposit at the Ateneo San Basso, a few steps from the entrance on the side of the piazza; collect them within the allotted time. Shoulders and knees must be covered, and guards turn people away. Photography rules are strict in the church, and visitors follow a one-way path roped through the nave. Opening hours run from mid-morning on weekdays; on Sunday mornings the church is reserved for worship, and tourist visits to the nave begin in the early afternoon, though the museum and loggia may open earlier.

Booking a time slot online, either on the basilica's official ticket portal or as a hosted or guided entry through Tiqets, saves a long wait in the queue that wraps the piazza on summer mornings. A good guided tour earns its keep here, because the mosaics are a vast picture book that is hard to read alone, and some tours include parts that individual visitors do not normally see. Prices are set by the basilica and change from time to time, so check the current list; children and some local categories enter free. Remember that this is a working church: services take priority, and parts of the building can close at short notice for liturgies.

Venice and the sea are never far apart at St Mark's. The narthex and piazza sit at the lowest point of the city, and during exceptional high tides water used to flood the atrium and damage the mosaics. Glass barriers now protect the basilica's perimeter, and the MOSE mobile flood barriers at the lagoon inlets are raised for the highest tides, so visits are much less often affected than they were. In autumn and winter, check the tide forecast anyway and carry a pair of light boots. Pair the visit with the Doge's Palace next door, then climb or ride up the Campanile for the view down onto the basilica's domes.