St. Mark's Square, Venice
(St. Marco, Venezia)  1-2

Doges Palace is the former headquarters for the government of the Republic of Venice. The two wings of the building facing the grand canal were rebuilt in 1340 and 1424 respectively. Chateaubriand once wrote "As you walk through the rooms of the palace, you come upon one marvel after another." Indeed, each room is as beautiful as the next with painted ceilings, gilded decorations, breathtakingly beautiful architecture. The Ducal palace reflects all the grandeur and political power of the former Venetian Republic. From the great room of the grand palace, with stops at its prisons and the bridge of sighs, the visitor can get a taste for himself of the atmosphere that reigned during the era of the Republic. Entrance costs about £5. Keep your ticket because it will get you in free to the glass museum in Murano and the lace museum in Burano.

The bridge of sighs has a very romantic reputation, but it is in fact the bridge which connected the prisons to the courtrooms where sentences were handed out. As they passed over the bridge, the prisoners sighed at the fact that it may be the last time they would see the city and the grand canal. You can walk across the bridge during your visit to the Doges Palace, just before your visit to the prisons where such famous people as Casanova were incarcerated.( He didn't sigh for very long, he escaped.)

The Basilica is, in our opinion, the most beautiful building on St. Marks's square. The beauty of its exterior is an invitation for the visitor to come inside and discover the unbelievably gorgeous and ingeniously conceived interior. Gold mosaics cover more than 39,000 square feet of the internal facade. Warning! It is best to visit the basilica early in the morning. The queues become unbearably long as the day goes on.

The clock tower:
Built in the 15th century, it not only gives the time, but also the phases of the moon, sun and stars. At the top of the tower are the two giant statues called "the moors" which strike its enormous bell.