🇮🇹Doge's Palace and the Bridge of Sighs: Is the €35 Ticket Worth It?
The seat of the Venetian Republic, its prison, and the bridge between them. What you get for €35, how to save €5 booking early, and when photographing it from outside is the better call.
2026-09-05
The Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale) was the government of the Venetian Republic: council chambers, law courts, prison and the Doge's own residence, all in one building. The Doge was the Republic's head of state — elected by the nobility and serving for life.
A palace has stood here since about 810. After fires destroyed earlier versions, the present Gothic building went up between 1309 and 1424. Another fire in 1574 gutted much of it; the rebuild kept the Gothic exterior but added classical elements inside. In the 16th century a new prison was built to the east, and the two were joined by the Bridge of Sighs. Palace, bridge and prison are now a single museum.
Visitor information
Tickets: €35 adult, €15 concession. Booking 30 days ahead on the official site gets the early-bird rate of €30 adult.
Opening hours: November–March 9:00–18:00; April–October 9:00–19:00. Last entry one hour before closing.
Time needed: 2.5 hours. This is a long visit, and worth knowing before you commit an afternoon.
Doge's Palace ticket
GetYourGuide · from $41
4.6 from 45,372 reviews. Sold by Venezia Unica, the city's official operator, and flagged by GetYourGuide as an official ticket. Covers the Correr Museum, National Archaeological Museum and Biblioteca Marciana as well as the palace. A free audio guide downloads inside (around 500MB — get it on Wi-Fi first). Non-refundable and non-reschedulable; under-6s and disabled visitors with a carer go free but must collect tickets at the box office
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The Bridge of Sighs
Built in 1614 to connect the interrogation rooms of the palace with the new prison. The name comes from the story that prisoners sighed as they crossed it and caught their last glimpse of Venice through the stone lattice — a romantic invention of the 19th century, but a good one.
To walk through it: you need the palace ticket. The interior route takes you across.
To photograph it: the best spot is Ponte della Paglia, the small bridge on the waterfront just east of the palace. Free, and always crowded.
So — is it worth the money?
Skip it if your time in Venice is short. €35 and 2.5 hours is a serious commitment when the city outside is the main attraction. You can see the facade from the square, photograph the Bridge of Sighs from Ponte della Paglia, and spend the afternoon on the water instead.
Do it if you're interested in how the Republic actually governed itself — the scale of the council chambers, the Tintorettos, the armoury, and the walk over the bridge into the cells make the political history concrete in a way reading about it doesn't.
Where it fits
The palace, St Mark's Basilica and the campanile together make up Day 1 in Venice, all within the same square. See the Venice travel guide for the two-day plan including the islands.