Get off the beaten path of Venice, away from the crowds. With a guide, explore the heart of Venice, including lesser-known areas, rich with history such as the Rialto Bridge. First, discover Campo Santa Maria Formosa, one of the largest squares of the city, and explore the nine streets and 11 bridges that branch from it. Cross the Campiello degli Orbi, where once lived presumably a blind people Confraternity. Next, arrive at the Saints John and Paul area, now the site of Venetian hospital. Visit the labyrinth of calli and campi (narrow Venetian streets and squares) and find Marco Polo's House, a building believed to be the home of the famous explorer, marked by a white plaque and now used as a theater. Finally, pass through St. Mark's Square with its stunning monuments as well as Doge's Palace. Choose an optional gondola ride on the canals to admire Venice's highlights, such as the Mozart House, the Fenice Opera House, and the Grand Canal. End your tour at Piazza San Marco.

Walk through the most characteristic and important places for the history of Venice through the millennium life of the Serenissima Republic, recalling the past full of charm for an essential tour to understand Venice. Visit Piazza San Marco and learn about its origins, history and description of the main monuments such as the Basilica San Marco, Palazzo Ducale, Bell Tower, Clock Tower and Procuratie. Then head to Santa Maria Formosa Square. Hear about the history and anecdotes related to this wonderful and characteristic square such as the Campo SS. Giovanni e Paolo, the "Doge’s Pantheon," the Great School of Charity, the Captains of Fortune, Marco Polo’s House and Malibran Theatre. Learn anecdotes of the past and recent history cross each other in this beautiful corner of Venice. Then, return to San Marco Square through the Mercerie, a vital connection between the Rialto and San Marco and the main street for city shopping. For the St. Mark’s Basilica, one of the most majestic cathedrals in the world. Enjoy the visit of this masterpiece of Byzantine art, unique of its kind in Italy. Have the pleasure to savor beautiful gold mosaics and marble inlays of the floors, sitting comfortably while the guide will show you the represented biblical scenes, the history and the particularities of this ancient basilica.

Start the tour in the historical heart of Venice with a morning promenade from Saint Mark’s Square to some of the most important monuments in Venice. See Santa Maria Formosa, the Basilica di San Giovanni e Paolo, known as the Venetian Pantheon, and much more. Learn about the amazing history of these monuments from your professional guide. Pass through the main shopping street, until you reach Rialto Bridge. Stroll through the typical markets which were once the commercial center of Europe. Continue your experience with a gondola ride on the Grand Canal, towards the Salute Church, and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. See some of the stunning Venetian palaces that run along the canal like Mozart’s house, Gritti Hotel, and many others. Pass by Punta de la Dogana before making your way back to the start point in front of Campo San Moisè. Enjoy commentary on your gondola tour by downloading the mobile App onto your phone. The App will provide audio commentary to explain all about the magnificent palaces and attractions around you. Later, enjoy the audio guide with digital map to discover the five districts of Venice and their best attractions and squares, day or night, on a self-guided tour. Listen to the automatic audio narration of the city’s highlights, with more than 200 points of interest including the glorious La Fenice theater, Rialto Bridge, Jewish Ghetto, the Arsenale, the majestic Accademia Bridge, and much more. Thanks to this app, you will also enjoy the most secret and picturesque places of Venice known only by true Venetians.

Starting in St. Mark’s Square, this atmospheric walking tour will whisk you away from the crowded streets into the treasure filled pockets of the Castello area. A qualified guide will walk you through the hidden squares, winding canals and historical buildings providing you with a perfect introduction to the origins, symbols, traditions, architecture and life in present day Venice. The tour will start with a historical introduction of St. Marks’s Square and its architectural delights, allowing you to discover the history of the majestic St. Mark’s Basilica, the illustrious Doge’s Palace, once the seat of the power of the Republic of Venice, and the extraordinary, Renaissance clock tower. Leaving the square, you will be guided into the residential Castello area, allowing you to discover this part of Venice in all of its elegance, through its labyrinth of narrow alleys known as calli, its many bridges, winding canals and wide picturesque squares called campi. Discover campo Santa Maria Formosa and campo San Giovanni & Paolo, with its stunning Basilica, where the doges of Venice were buried. At the end of your walking tour, come back with your local guide in San Marco's square passing through the Mercerie, the shopping connection street between Rialto and San Marco.

The tour will start at the San Marco Column. You can see for yourself why people consider this square to be the most beautiful drawing room in the world once you go there. A brief historical overview of the largest maritime empire in the Mediterranean Sea will be provided in the guide. The guide will point out some of the most well-known buildings in this square as you move on with the tour. The St. Mark's Basilica, the cathedral church of Venice, will be unveiled to you in this square. This building is the city's iconic symbol with its Byzantine-style cupolas, golden mosaics, and priceless bronze and gold horses imported from Constantinople. The exterior of the church was designed in a severe Gothic style, as the tour guide will explain. The Doge's Palace, another monument located in St. Mark's square, is the next thing you'll see after passing the Cathedral. Here, the tour guide will explain to you the history of this stunning palace, the fire that occurred there, as well as the layout and architectural design of this magnificent structure. Then proceed on foot to the Campanile (Bell Tower), Venice's tallest structure, which once served as a lighthouse for ships. You will continue your tour of Campo SS. Giovanni e Paolo, home to the Pantheon of Venice, the biggest church in the city. The tour guide will show you the church's stunning sculpture-designed exterior. The Scuola Grande di San Marco ("Great School of Charity"), Venice's most prominent and exquisitely decorated structure, is located just a short distance from the church. The tour guide will go over the significance of this building to the Venetians and its importance to them. The house of Marco Polo, a famous traveler and author, is one of the hidden gems you'll find as you meander through Venice's streets and pretty alleys while crossing over tiny bridges. When your tour guide describes the place's historical significance and the contributions the man who once lived there made to the world, it's difficult not to feel a sense of awe. You won't stop there; the guide will lead you to Mercerie, the busiest and most well-known shopping street in Venice. This former hub of the city's commerce is located between San Marco Square and the Rialto Bridge. After passing the Rialto bridge, proceed along the grand canal to the Teatro La Fenice, the most renowned and well-known theater in Italy. Here, you can read the legend of a mythical phoenix that the people of Venice have long told. On your way back to St. Mark's Square, stop by the external, gothic Scala Contarini del Bovolo later. Your walking tour will come to an end at this point after a pleasant two hours of walking without feeling overwhelmed or tired because you have learned about the city's perfect blend of art, architecture, and history as well as its priceless artistic heritage.

Discover the most important historical places and buildings of Venice on this combined tour. This tour is guided and divided into 2 parts. Your tour starts with a historical introduction of St. Marks’s Square and its architectural delights, allowing you to discover the history of the majestic St. Mark’s Basilica, the illustrious Doge’s Palace, once the seat of the power for the Republic of Venice, and the extraordinary, Renaissance clock tower.  Leaving the square, head to the residential Castello area and explore this part of Venice in all of its elegance, through its labyrinth of narrow alleys known as calli, many bridges, winding canals and wide picturesque squares called campi. Expect to see the Campo Santa Maria Formosa, one of the largest squares in Venice with its church named after its visitation of the Holy Virgin. Visit the Campo San Giovanni and Paolo, the equestrian monument of Bartolomeo Colleoni, the former residence of Marco Polo, and the Malibran Theatre. After returning to Saint Mark's Square, an official guide will provide you with a detailed tour of the Golden Basilica. During the tour, you will be able to sit down in the church and absorb the atmosphere whilst listening to your guide who will describe the biblical scenes represented throughout the building, together with the history and particularities of this ancient basilica.  Afterward, have the chance to add a classic gondola ride. This combined tour concludes outside the basilica in St. Mark's Square.

After meeting with your professional guide, you will begin your fascinating tour of the most characteristic places in Saint Mark's Square, focusing on the history and architecture of St. Mark's Basilica and the Renaissance-era clock tower. You will leave the square and head to the Castello area, strolling through its labyrinth of narrow alleys, bridges, winding canals, and picturesque squares. You will see Santa Maria Formosa Square, one of the largest squares in Venice, along with its church, named after its visitation of the Holy Virgin, the Saints Giovanni and Paolo Square (where several dukes doges lie buried in the church). You will also encounter the equestrian monument to Bartolomeo Colleoni, a mercenary captain, as well as the former residence of Marco Polo, probably the most famous Venetian merchant of all time. After this 1.5-hour walk, you will head to the Doge's Palace, once the seat of power of the Republic of Venice, for a 1-hour guided tour. Once inside the Palace, you can wander the halls where the duke and his council controlled the fate of the Serene Republic, while surrounded by hundreds of artistic masterpieces detailing the political history of Venice and its people. Admire paintings by some of the most important artists of the Italian Renaissance, including the world's largest oil painting by Tintoretto. You can also pass through the famous Bridge of Sighs, and see the new prison. Your guided tour concludes in the courtyard of the Doge's Palace, however you can linger in the Palace if you like, absorbing the history and mystery of days gone by.

See Venice at its best from the eyes of a local in just 3 hours. Check out prime landmarks like the Doge’s Palace, Marco Polo’s house, Campo San Francesco della Vigna and hear unique insights that only a local would know. Uncover hidden gems and city secrets along the way that will show you an authentic side of the city with the help of a knowledgeable local guide. Fully experience the local flare with an included local treat to make your city tour a complete experience.

We will start with Vivaldi in the sestiere of Castello visiting the church of the Pietà where he served as priest, music teacher and composer, as well as other places related to him such as the ruota degli esposti, where unwanted children were left in the orphanage, the campo della Bragora, the old Greek market where you can find the beautiful church of San Giovanni where he was baptized. We continue our walking tour towards the house of the Polo family where Marco Polo himself lived in the sestiere of Cannaregio, here we will discover a little of the adventurous life of this curious young man who left the Serenissima together with his father and his uncle, to return after 24 years with Hao Dong, his wife. He wrote about his experiences during these years which are captured in his famous book Il Milione, dictated during his imprisonment in Genoa to the Pisan writer Rustichello, his fellow prisoner, and also the first information about this then unknown world. Walk through the small “calle” we make our way towards the sestiere of San Marco to get to know the places frequented by Giacomo Casanova's in his childhood and youth, such as the house where he was born and the theatre where his parents worked, where he spent long hours learning the difference between fantasy and reality and where his love for music was born. We will get to know better the eclectic man who lived conscious of the decadence of the Serenissima, the freemason, the gambler, the cosmopolitan, the playwright, the writer, the intellectual, the libertine and the faithful and generous friend.

With the start of this combined tour, the guide will escort you to the docks where you’ll climb aboard on a gondola for a 45-minute ride on your own punt along the canals of Venice. Be lulled by the gentle sway of the lagoon as you move deeper into the minor canals, and coast past lesser known areas to see quaint corners and majestic palaces from a new perspective. Later the walking tour will begin at St Mark's Campanile. The guide will give a brief historical introduction of the most powerful maritime empire of the Mediterranean Sea. In this square, there are some of the most famous buildings that the guide will point out to you as you continue the tour. In this square, you’ll be introduced to the St Mark’s Basilica the cathedral church of Venice the symbol of the city with its Byzantine-style cupolas with its golden mosaics and priceless bronze and golden horses coming from Costantinopoli. The guide will explain the church’s exterior designed in the severe form of Gothic. Next, you’ll continue to see the Doge’s Palace which is a few meters away from the Cathedral, yet another monument suited in the St. Mark’s square. Here the guide will reveal you the story of this beautiful palace and the fire that took place, and the structure and the architectural style of this magnificent building. And then walk to see the tallest building in Venice, The Campanile (Bell Tower) which once used to be a lighthouse for the sailors. After the discovering and learning of the at must-see architectural gems like a stunning basilica and more, you’ll continue to tour to Campo SS. Giovanni e Paolo, where the largest church of Venice is located, the Pantheon of Venice. The guide will take you around the church’s exterior, which is designed by marvelous sculptures. Just nearby the church you can admire the most prominent and most beautifully decorated the building in Venice known as the Scuola Grande di San Marco (“Great School of Charity”). The guide will explain to you the importance and the significance of this building to the Venetians. As you stroll the streets and pretty alleys crossing across small bridges of Venice, you’ll uncover hidden gems along the way, like Marco Polo’s house a great traveler and writer, the guide will tell you the historical significance of this place, and the contribution made to the world by the man who once lived within these four walls, it is hard not to feel a certain sense of awe. You’ll not stop there; the guide will walk you to the hustling and bustling of the most famous shopping street of Venice known as Mercerie. This historic heart of commercial life in the city is sited between the Rialto bridge and San Marco square. After a pleasant walk without being tired and overwhelmed, your walking tour will stop here, as you have discovered the priceless artistic heritage, a perfect balance between art, architecture, and history, and the perfect introduction to a city that words cannot even begin to capture your walking tour ends.