St Mark’s Basilica Tickets: It Is Not Free Any More
St Mark’s Basilica stopped free entry in July 2025. The base ticket is 10 euros, online only, named to you, and there is no door sale.
Sammie O
Most guidebooks still say the basilica is free. It is not. Since July 2025 the church charges a €10 “Biglietto Margherita” for general entry, and that ticket is sold online only. There is no queue at the door to join and no cash desk to pay at.
What each ticket covers
- Basilica only — €10. The nave, the mosaics, the floor. This is the one most visitors want.
- Basilica + Pala d’Oro — €20. Adds the gold altarpiece behind the high altar.
- Basilica + Museum and Loggia — €20. Adds the upstairs museum and the balcony over the piazza with the bronze horses.
- Everything — €30. All of the above in one ticket.
If you only buy one add-on, make it the Loggia. The view down onto Piazza San Marco from the balcony is the thing people remember, and the museum route is the only way onto it.
The ticket is named to you
Bookings are nominative — each ticket carries a name and is checked against ID at the entrance. You cannot buy four and hand them out, and you cannot resell a slot you no longer need. Book the names you are actually travelling with.
The dress code is enforced here
Shoulders and knees covered, for everyone. Staff turn people away at the door in summer, and a paid, timed, nominative ticket does not exempt you. A light scarf in a bag solves it. Large backpacks are not allowed inside either — there is a free left-luggage point a short walk away on Calle San Basso, and the queue for it is often longer than the queue for the church.
You do not need to pre-register for the city
Venice’s day-tripper access fee has been suspended since 27 July 2026. Older advice telling you to register and carry a QR code to enter the city no longer applies. Nothing about the basilica ticket depends on it.
Source: basilicasanmarco.it, checked 26 August 2026.
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