Saint Mark’s Square

General view of Saint Mark’s Square

Saint Mark's Square is one of the most famous squares in Venice and it is one of the most important tourist attractions on a global level. It attracts thousands of tourists to marvel at its great beauty each year.

Even Napoleon himself was a lover of this plaza, its huge space and the adjacent buildings have a massive historical and cultural importance to the country: to be able to visit this place is a gift in itself.

The amount of people this plaza contains in only one day is very impressive, I have been twice and on both occasions I have met so many people from different countries, mostly Japonese and Chinese who do not go anywhere without photographing it. I love meeting people like this on my travels because if they are there, it means that the place is famous and deserves celebrating.

One of the times that I visited here, the plaza was a bit flooded with water as it is in one of the first areas of Venice to flood when the sea rises due to it being very close to the lake. In order for people to walk through the flooding, they have placed a footbridge, which seems a bit funny to me, and sometimes they need to place more than one due to the masses of people that walk around the plaza everyday.

St. Mark’s Basillica

Inside the plaza we can find various important buildings, on one side we have St. Mark’s Basillica, very famous and very beautiful, and it is what gave the plaza its name. It is the most relevant religious building in Venice and the most beautiful of all of them, religious or otherwise. It was converted into the Cathedral of Venice long after its inauguration.

It dates from the 11th century and it has suffered numerous modifications since then. The basilica is Latin cross plan with five domes in total. The name of it came from Saint Mark where his body is buried inside.

The interior shows off all of the mosaics that represent scenes from the Old and New Testament, with more than 4, 000 metres. There are also 500 columns from the 3rd century as well as being home to the following:

-The Museum of St. Mark’s Basillica

-The Bizantine Treasure from Constantinople

The two times that I have been to this beautiful basilica but has been under construction and being remodelled, it is a shame, there are cathedrals that you want to see completely remodelled, with the façade in perfect condition. As well when I saw the Sagrada Familia and the Colonia cathedral. It damages the panoramic and the memory, but it is necessary.

Visiting hours are between 9:45 and 17:00 during the week and 14:00 to 16:00 on Sundays. Entry to the basilica is free but there are parts that you have to pay entry for, like if you would like to see the treasure (2 euro) or the museum (4 euro). Take into account that you cant go through with bags, but I think there are lockers where you can put them in before you go inside.

The rest of la Saint Mark’s Square

We also have the Bell Tower of Saint Mark’s Square on the other side, which in reality is the bell tower of the basilica of the same name, and I have spoken about this in a different article. Don't forget to climb the tower and see all of Venice from the sky!

A great experience if you are not tight for money is to get a coffee in one of the cafés around the plaza, one night I did that and it was captivating. You are sat listening to music while enjoying the tourists, you can see the basilica, the bell tower, it is all so beautiful. The most famous cafés are ""Cafetería Florian" and "Cafetería Lavena", , I chose the second one beacuse it is closer to the basilica and bell tower, but they both offer the same kind of things.

The only inconvenience is the price of everything there, it is so expensive, I asked for an ice cream and it was 15 euros and I had to give the orchestra a tip too. Even so, you can stay here all the time if you want to listen to the music, it is really good and they play different songs, classical music and other styles that light up the night. They alternate with the other orchestras of the other cafés and so there is always one playing which the tourists pay for as they sit at the cafés. They even played Happy Birthday for one client who I think must've been a VIP. The night was ruined a little because it was on this evening that Spain announced its first case of Ebola virus, and we spent a large part of the time talking about this.

There are loads of waiters in this area who are very well dressed, with white suits like sailors and they serve you very amiably. They always ask if you would like something more to drink, the tables closest to me were asking for wines and champagnes. It sent shivers down my spine to think of how much each bottle cost, around 300-500 euros. From the start, you have to pay for the orchestra which costs you 3 euros, although we didn't know that this was 3 euros per person! Meanwhile you can walk through the Saint Mark’s Square and listen to an orchestra for free instead. I don know how it seems to you, but to have to pay for music just for hearing it and being sat there isn't really fair, I think it would be more elegant to include the price of the music in the prices on the menu, but I don't think they could do that because already a small bottle of water costs 8 euro. However, I think I would still go back and sit there if I returned!

Very close to the plaza on one of the exists, you can see the gondolas that are moored in the big lake, on the pavement there is a sort of street market very close, with typical Venetian masks, figures, hats, stamps, among other items, it is quite good and it is worth going through, especially for its views of the lagoon and the island of San Giorgio Maggiore.

Personal opinion

In my opinion, and most of the tourists who have been in Venice, this plaza is a must-see during your visit to Venice, it would be madness to come here and not visit the plaza given that with the gondolas and the Rialto Bridge, it is the most famous. I would say that it is more beautiful and famous than the bridge. You have to sit on one of the steps around the edge of the plaza, especially if you don't want to pay for the cafés, you can stop here and look at the plaza well.

The most beautiful part of the plaza is the main façade of the Saint Mark’s basilica and the rose part of the side. I had never seen anything like it, and these are the kinds of buildings that stay in your memory. Furthermore, the quality of the paintings pleasantly surprised me, most of all the one that can be found in the main entrance hall, it is Jesus Christ on the Cross, surrounded by angels and apostles. If I had to pick, I would stay here with that and with the views of Venice and the plaza under the bell tower.

How to get to the Saint Mark’s Plaza

To get to the square, it will take a while from the entrance of Venice, which is usually in the Piazza de Roma, but the good thing is that there are some signs in the main streets, or when it is necessary to the change, it will indicate how to get to the Saint Mark’s Square and up to the Rialto Bridge above all. And if you get lost, you just have to follow the largest group of tourists you see. Another option that is more expensive, but more fun and fast, is to go on a ferry, and get off at "San Zaccaria" or "San Marco", the lines that will take you here are 1, 2, 41, 42m 51 and 52.