Basilica di San Marco, Venice

St Marks square is one of the most happening places in Venice. This was one of our last destinations in our Europe tour. It was calming and relaxing to wind up our vacation. They have some wonderful seafood places near by. This basilica is one of the oldest 9th century AD architecture. The mosaics glow different shades at different times of the day. The reason is they are made of actual gold. One interesting fact about the basilica is the outer dome that you see from outside is not real. Since Venice cannot build massive structures they constructed a light weight lead composite dome to give the grand visuals. Once you step inside you will notice the roof to be much lower. Right after we left Venice there was a major flood which flooded the whole square including the inside of the church. You should never miss this one if you are in Venice.

The facade was under renovations when I visited. I initially booked a tour but due to stuff ups, we ended up entering by ourselves. Entry was only €3, but there is another section to the inner area that requires another payment of €5. Despite parts being renovated/fixed/closed off.. I really enjoyed the beautiful artwork within. The murals were so beautiful and I was also a huge fan of the tiles and sculptures. I’m not sure about the extra €5 fee to view the inner parts. I think paying the €3 initial entry fee was the best value €3 I ever spent… Queue was extremely long and busy in the morning so I visited in the late afternoon (2.30pm) and the queue were not as long. It also moved really fast.