The Doge’s Palace is accessible to visitors with disabilities, except for three areas: the prisons, the armory and the Bridge of Sighs.
To allow disabled access, a private lift located in a secondary area of the Palazzo is provided.
Entrance is free for disabled persons and an accompanying person.
Let’s take a detailed look at the accessibility of the Doge’s Palace in Venice.
Doge’s Palace Venice skip-the-line ticket: quick access
Buy online. Choose your preferred time. Visit Venice’s Doge’s Palace, Bridge of Sighs, prisons and more.
You can cancel for free up to the day before your visit.
Table of content
Access and visit of the Palace for people with disabilities
Entrance
Wheelchair access to the Doge’s Palace in Venice is made possible through an especially accessible entrance.
There is only one step at the main entrance to the Doge’s Palace. A member of staff is available to provide assistance, such as installing a portable ramp or accompanying you through a step-free entrance, which is located near the exit.
Once inside the building, you will encounter 3 steps to reach the ticket office, so visitors in wheelchairs will need to be accompanied to purchase tickets and to rent an audio guide.
Lift
A member of staff will accompany you to the lift to access the upper floor, where the different rooms of the building are located.
The lift takes you to the two accessible upper floors of the Doge’s Palace. Please note that you must use the same lift to pass between these two floors.
Courtyard
Inside the inner courtyard of the Doge’s Palace there is a large staircase that most visitors use to access certain areas.
However, for wheelchair users, there is an alternative: you must use the specially provided lift to reach the same areas.
The rooms of the Palace
Most of the rooms are obstacle-free and can be visited without steps.
While the Armory and the Bridge of Sighs are only accessible via a staircase (without an accessible alternative), no steps are encountered when visiting the Doge’s flats (often the site of temporary exhibitions), the splendid Hall of the Four Doors (which welcomes visiting ambassadors), the Senate and College rooms (with their gilded frames and paintings by Paolo Veronese and Tintoretto) and all the other splendid rooms of the Palace.
Toilets
On the ground floor of the Doge’s Palace there is a toilet specifically accessible to the disabled. In addition, visitors can rent a wheelchair directly at the Doge’s Palace in Venice.
List of accessible and non-accessible areas
Accessible areas:
- Entrance
- Courtyard
- Ground floor toilets
- All palace rooms (except Armory, Prisons and Bridge of Sighs)
Non-accessible areas:
- Prisons
- Armory
- Bridge of Sighs
- Ticket office (limited accessibility)
How to reach the Doge’s Palace in a wheelchair
The Doge’s Palace is located in St Mark’s Square, adjacent to St Mark’s Basilica, which is also accessible to visitors with disabilities. Several restaurants are available in and around the square.
The area is usually reached by the Venice vaporetto, with accessible lines 1 or 2, to the Venice Vallaresso landing stage.
Doge’s Palace and the disabled: reviews
Here is a review by the accompanying person of a visitor in a wheelchair who has visited the Doge’s Palace:
In the Palace there is a lift reserved for wheelchair users and a guide who accompanies you during the tour. Really great. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the prison or cross the Bridge of Sighs, but we completed everything else. When you are in a wheelchair, you learn to adapt and accept limitations. I want to express my gratitude to the staff who made access to a 13th century building possible for people with disabilities. We had a wonderful afternoon.
Free ticket for people with disabilities
Access to the palace is free for both people with disabilities and an accompanying person.
To use the free ticket, you must go to the Palace ticket office and show the necessary documents.
For everyone else, it is strongly recommended to purchase your ticket online to avoid the long queues that may form at the ticket office.
FAQ
Yes, free tickets for regular admission can be made by phone.
A companion is free if the disability requires it and must be specified in the document.
A document issued by a national health company must be shown at the entrance.
The number to proceed is +39 848082000 (from Italy); +39 041 42730892 (from mobile or from abroad), operating Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Conclusions
The Doge’s Palace meets basic accessibility requirements for wheelchairs.
Although presenting a step-free entrance and guaranteeing access to most areas, it does not obtain the maximum rating due to the limited accessibility of the ticket office area, the need to notify the staff to use the lift and the presence of steps to reach the Bridge of Sighs and the Armory.
Doge’s Palace Venice skip-the-line ticket: quick access
Buy online. Choose your preferred time. Visit Venice’s Doge’s Palace, Bridge of Sighs, prisons and more.
You can cancel for free up to the day before your visit.
Photo credits:
- Foto di Falco Negenman su Unsplash
2 Comments. Leave new
Good morning
My adult son has Down Syndrome. Does he qualify for a free ticket to the Doges Palace? If so..does he have to queue up?
Thank you for your help
Hi Sharon, free tickets for regular admission can be made by phone.
The accompanying person is free if the disability requires it and must be specified in the document.
You will need to show a document issued by a national health company at the entrance.
The number to proceed is +39 848082000 (from Italy); +39 041 42730892 (from mobile or from abroad), active Monday through Friday 9am-4pm and Saturday and Sunday 9am-1pm.
Kind regards