Private Welcome to Venice Tour with St. Mark's & Gondola
- 3 hours
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
- Private tour
Highlights
Experience the best of Venice on a private tour designed as the ideal introduction to the city. With an expert local guide, explore both iconic landmarks and hidden neighborhoods. Wander through the lively Rialto Market, where Venetians still shop for fresh seafood. Admire Rialto Bridge and discover quiet canals, palaces, and charming courtyards that many visitors miss. You'll even stop by a bookstore considered by many to be the most beautiful in the world, with a stunning canal view, quirky decor, and friendly resident cats. Afterwards, soak in the lively atmosphere at St. Mark's Square before stepping into the famous Basilica itself. Enjoy a guided tour of the church and see its stunning gold mosaic ceiling. End your tour in true Venetian style with a 30-minute private gondola ride, gliding through tranquil waterways for an unforgettable view of the city. Perfect for first-time visitors, couples, or families, this experience offers the best of Venice at a relaxed, personal pace.
Inclusions
What's included
- Famous local bookstore
- Rialto Fish Market
- Gondola Ride
- Local English-speaking guide
- St. Mark's Square
- Skip-the-line access to St. Mark's Basilica (12€)
- Rialto Bridge
- Grand Canal
- Expertly guided walking tour
- Palazzo Grimani (exterior)
What's not
- Gratuities
- Hotel Pick-Up/Drop-Off
- Guide (during gondola ride)
Itinerary
Explore one of Venice’s liveliest local markets, where vendors have sold fresh seafood for generations. See how Venetians still shop and enjoy this slice of daily life.
Stroll across the city’s most iconic bridge and enjoy sweeping views of the Grand Canal while your guide shares the story of Venice’s rise as a maritime power.
Continue to a peaceful neighborhood filled with quiet canals, artisan workshops, and hidden courtyards. This sestiere reveals a side of Venice that few visitors see, full of atmosphere and history.
Pause to admire a unique mansion that belonged to a powerful Venetian family.
One of the highlights of your guided walk is a visit to a famous bookstore that feels authentically Venetian and uses gondolas and boats for decoration. Your guide will wait for you outside, allowing you to wander the stacks of books, see the friendly cats, and admire the view of the peaceful canal.
Skip the line inside St. Mark’s Basilica with your guide to admire the gold ceiling, altarpieces, and incredible artwork. At each stop, your guide will reveal how this dazzling church came to symbolize Venice’s power, devotion, and artistry.
After saying goodbye to your guide, conclude your experience with a serene private gondola ride through the city’s tranquil back canals, offering a timeless perspective of Venice from the water.
Cancellation
All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
Reviews
5.0
- 59
- 40
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- 10
Ratings come from 9 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Please arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of your tour, your guide will be holding a yellow WalksDevour sign. This tour meets outside the entrance of the Church of San Giacometto at Campo San Giacomo di Rialto (also known as Campo San Giacometto).
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- Walks - Italy & Spain
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Unfortunately due to the nature of this tour it is not suitable for guests with mobility impairments or with wheelchairs, or strollers.
- During times of high tides, flooding, or heavy rain, the gondola ride may be substituted for another experience.
- The Rialto Fish Market is closed on Sundays.
- Walks and Devour comply with all local government regulations. Please refer to local government guidelines for the most up to date information.
- Please note that a photo ID is required to visit the St. Marks Basilica. Failure to bring an ID can result in the security staff refusing your entrance to the monument.
- The full names of all participants must be provided at the time of booking and must match the names on the ID/Passport. Name changes are not permitted.
How it compares in Venice
- Its from-price is 108% above the median of the 1991 experiences we list in Venice.
- It is longer than most of them.
- By number of reviews it ranks 572 of 1991.
About Venice
Venice floats on a lagoon of more than a hundred islands, a city of canals, palaces and bridges with no cars, where every walk ends somewhere unexpected.
The Grand Canal sweeps through the city in a great reversed S, lined with palaces and crossed by the Rialto Bridge. Near its mouth, Piazza San Marco gathers St Mark's Basilica with its golden mosaics, the Doge's Palace, the Bridge of Sighs and the tall brick campanile. Water buses and gondolas show the city from the angle it was built to be seen.
Top-ranked sights in Venice: St. Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco), St. Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco), Grand Canal.
Special offers in Venice
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
