St Mark's Campanile, Venice - Ticket Prices, Opening Times

Venice Campanile tower top (www.free-city-guides.com)

This is the large bell tower you’ll have seen in almost every photo taken of St Mark’s Square. It was originally built as a lighthouse, but now it offers terrific views of the roof tops of Venice. It’s the tallest building here, but we’d recommend trying not to be up there when the bells ring – it’s deafening! This is an extract from our free Venice City Guide.

Venice St Mark's Basilica from the Campanile (www.free-city-guides.com) — St Mark’s Basilica from the Campanile

The tower is St Mark’s Campanile (Campanile di San Marco in Italian) is 323 ft tall which is nearly 100 metres and when you’re looking down on Venice, the thing that strikes you is just how red the rooftops are. The campanile, which simply means Bell Tower, does get very crowded at peak times but we think it’s worth the wait to see this amazing city from a new angle. Open daily from 9am, closing at 9pm from July to September, 7pm in the late spring and autumn and 3.45pm in the winter (November to Easter). Adult admission is 8 Euros (2012 prices). Before or after your visit to the bell tower, consider taking the St Marks’s Square Highlights Tour which puts the history of the square in perspective and includes “Skip the Line” admission to the Basilica.