Lords of the Night Prison Palace: tour to the cells and torture tools
Attractions & guided tours

Lords of the Night Prison Palace: tour to the cells and torture tools

4.4/5

Excellent
53 reviews
from
£9.00
Free cancellation
Language: English, Italian, French, Spanish
Mobile voucher accepted
Duration: 45 minutes
Why you’ll love this…
  • Explore the old prisons of the Venetian Republic
  • Listen to myths, legends and stories about the prisoners
  • Discover legends and secrets of Casanova and its jailbreak
What to expect

Discover the secret itinerary in the mysterious Prisons of Piazza San Marco, connected to the Doge’s Palace by the Bridge of Sighs.

The Palace is "populated" by life-size figures of the Lords of the Night, prisoners, Judges, Lawyers and all the characters who worked in the Prisons, painstakingly drawn from ancient manuscripts.

The guide will bring you through exclusive places: you will have the opportunity to enter the torture room and see authentic torment items used by the torturers in the past to make the criminals confess. There, you will discover the stories about the Lords of the Nights: the terrible Venetian police who oversaw the crimes and brought criminals and betrayers in front of the courtroom.

You will go down to the cold cells to see the lifestyle of the prisoners: what they ate, drank and where they slept. Here you can also admire the original graffiti left by the prisoners and listen about the thrilling Casanova’s escape: he managed to evade from the maximum-security jail known as “Piombi”!

You will discover the alternative that prisoners had between staying in a cell or serving their sentence on board a Venetian galley. Each year of boarding as a Galeotti was worth the same as spending 2 years in a cell.

Listen to the histories and legends that still reside inside these cells and halls. Along the itinerary, you’ll enjoy the explanation of the powerful “Council of The Ten”, composed by the highest Venice Politicians that ran the justice in all Venetian domains.

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What's included
  • check Skip-the-line entrance
  • check Guided tour of the Prison's Palace
What's not included
  • x_not_included Doge's Palace
Where

Circolo Artistico - Palazzo Delle Prigioni, Riva degli Schiavoni, Venice, Metropolitan City of Venice, Italy

Meeting point:
Prison Palace is close to San Marco Square, beside Doge's Palace. Please note, do not go to the entrance of Doge's Palace. To reach the Prisons Palace, cross the bridge on the right side of the entrance of the Doge's Palace. Please enter Prison's Place and head upstairs to the first floor.
What to remember

Know in advance:

  • The tour can be canceled in case of exceptional high tide. In this case, the tour can be rescheduled for the day after, otherwise the client will be refunded
  • The tour could be multilingual. The live commentary is provided in English and Italian
  • The audio commentary is provided in French and Spanish
  • Temporary Update (Valid from 18/04/2025 to 01/07/2025): On selected dates, visitors to Venice are required to pay an access fee unless exempt. For details on applicable dates, payment methods, and exemption criteria, please visit the official Comune di Venezia website
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Booking fee
Good news! No extra fees are applied to this booking.
Cancellation policy
Receive a 100% refund if you cancel up to 24 hours before the experience begins.

What people say about this experience

Excellent

4.4 /5

Based on 53 reviews from verified customers


Review categories

Value for money

3.8/5

Staff

3.6/5

Safety

3.6/5

Service

3.6/5


51%
38%
11%
0%
0%

Sort by:

  • M

    Meike

    Verified booking

    4.2

    30 July 2025

    Travelled with family


    Ein interessanter und auch gruseliger Besuch in den alten Zellen. Haben die deutsche Erklärung via Handy separat gekauft (5€ vor Ort) und konnten so ohne Begleitung im eigenen Tempo gehen. Fanden wir angenehmer als eine Führung. Waren ca 30-40 min unterwegs und fanden den Besuch lohnenswert.

  • T

    TUI Musement Traveler

    Verified booking

    5

    8 July 2025

    La guida veramente brava

  • T

    TUI Musement Traveler

    Verified booking

    5

    29 August 2024

    We cannot recommend this tour enough! Our tour guide was amazing & gave so much history in a short amount of time. We were immersed in the history and found out so many interesting facts. The tour guide definitely made our experience a memorable one! We had time to ask questions & take pictures too!

  • T

    TUI Musement Traveler

    Verified booking

    3

    24 July 2024

    Biglietto acquistato come visita guidata,ma all'arrivo abbiamo scoperto che era un ingresso libero. Abbiamo deciso di pagare la differenza ( 5 euro in più a persona) ed entrare con la giuda. Consiglierei più chiarezza . Il personale in loco gentile e attento.

  • T

    TUI Musement Traveler

    Verified booking

    5

    24 February 2024

    Visite atypique mais très intéressante et captivante. Le guide, un étudiant en criminologie nous a ramené dans lvie des prisonniers vénitiens.

  • T

    TUI Musement Traveler

    Verified booking

    5

    8 January 2024

    Ottima esperienza che ti fa entrare nella Venezia di altri tempi: più misteriosa e, forse più, autentica

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