Unlocking Venice's Treasures: Private Doge's Palace Walking Tour
On our Private Venice Doge's Palace Walking Tours you'll be accompanied by one of our local expert Venice city tour guides to enjoy the most comprehensive tour of Venice's most important building, the Doge's Palace. On our private tour of the Doge's Palace, visit the sumptuous and splendidly decorated rooms of what used to be the "brain" that governed the Republic of Venice.

Its open architecture testifies to the unbeatable power of Venice, queen of the sea, while its lavish chambers display the immense wealth that the city possessed.

Cross the Bridge of Sighs in this Private Doge’s Palace Tour
As we tour the public rooms of the Doge's Palace your eyes will be captured by the beauty that is around you. You'll learn about the diverse roles played in society by the Doge and his counsellors, who helped create the many institutions that made Venice the most modern and liberal state in Europe. During Doge’s Tour, you'll cross the famous Bridge of Sighs and visit the prisons of the Doge's Palace. You'll hear about the infamous Council of Ten, and be entertained by the legends and stories of the characters who played a role in creating the most serene of Republics.

On our private walking tours of the Doge's Palace you'll also see the Doge’s offices, were a multitude of Secret documents were kept and where you'll be able to admire the interior decorations of the rooms built by workmen from the Arsenale who applied their unique shipbuilding skills to a building on dry land.

Next Stop in Your Doge's Palace Tour: Torture Chambers and Casanova’s Prison Cell
The next stop on your Private Tour of the Doge's Palace is the gruesome Torture Chamber, where enemies of the State would be tortured before the State Inquisitors. Learn about the single form of torture that the Venetians used and still on display, and why no-one was able to resist the pain! Learn also how prisoners awaiting the same punishment were entertained as they waited their turn! From the torture chamber we head up into "I Piombi" Prisons, so called because they lay directly below the lead roofs of the Doge's Palace. These wooden cells beneath the lead roofs would be intolerably hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter months.

It was in these cells that the famous lover Casanova was incarcerated and here you will learn about the trumped-up charges that Casanova's enemies used against him to imprison the world's most famous lover. On our Doge's Palace tour we will see both the prison cells that Casanova spent time in and you will be entertained by the stories of his two attempts to escape and how finally, he made his way to freedom. If you are interested in Casanova’s story and legend, please check out also our Casanova Tour in Venice.

As we explore the prisons, we'll venture into the attic area of the Palace, navigating a narrow gangway. Along the way, we'll walk over the massive 16th-century timber beams supporting the roof. Discover the ingenious methods employed by the Venetians to preserve their timber and construct such a weighty structure without additional support.

Doge's Palace Tour: Admire the Works of Tintoretto and Veronese
The last two rooms of the Doge's Palace belonged to the State inquisitors & three judges of the council of ten. Here we can again admire the works of Venetian masters Tintoretto & Veronese.
You'll also have the opportunity to admire a few original pieces of furniture within the Doge's Palace, such as a charming cabinet designed for court documents. Notably, it features three keyholes, requiring all three judges' presence to unlock — a fascinating glimpse into the palace's intricate governance system. The Venetians fear of corruption knew no limits — which is probably why the Venetian Republic survived longer than any other, until its demise in 1797.