Top Things to See at the Doge's Palace - 15 Highlights

Short on time? Follow this highlight loop and you'll leave with the essential story and the best photos.

The list

1. Porta della Carta (exterior)
2. Courtyard wellheads
3. Scala dei Giganti
4. Scala d'Oro (Golden Staircase)
5. Anticollegio (Veronese)
6. Collegio (Veronese allegories of Venice)
7. Sala del Senato (ceiling programs)
8. Sala del Maggior Consiglio (Tintoretto's Paradise and Doge portraits)
9. Sala dello Scrutinio (elections and naval history)
10. Council of Ten rooms (security state)
11. Armory (defense and pageantry)
12. Bridge of Sighs (tiny windows to the lagoon)
13. New Prisons (cells, graffiti)
14. Old Prisons passages
15. Lagoon exit on the Riva (final photos)

Visiting tips

• Move briskly through corridor transitions to spend time in the four big rooms.
• Benches are strategic—sit and scan ceilings, then canvases, then details.
• Save the gift shop for last; many books include clear floor plans.