Venice · VENICE SIGHTSEEING & CITY TOURS
20 reviewed
For a first day in Venice, one well-run overview beats a week of guesswork. Below are the best sightseeing and city tours ranked: which cover San Marco, Rialto and the Grand Canal in a morning, which add a gondola or a church interior, how long each runs, and what it costs to get your bearings before the crowds build.
A half-day motorboat tour from Venice to Murano, Torcello, and Burano, with glassblowing and lace, plus quick stops for Byzantine sights.
“The different islands are lovely to visit, but there is very little to do and the time on each island us limited. Sometimes you have to make a choice of either wandering around or stopping for refreshments - 50 mins doesn't allow for both.”
A one-day Venice tour that links Rialto markets, a Grand Canal gondola ride, St Mark’s skip-the-line, and Doge’s Palace.
“Mateo was a wonderful guide. He is extremely knowledgeable and shared the knowledge with us in a funny way keeping the whole experience extremely engaging. I would definitely recommend this tour.”
A 2-hour small-group Venice walk through Cannaregio, the Jewish Quarter, and Rialto, with real local stories and quieter canals.
“Excellent tour and well worth going for the private tour in my view. Excellent knowledge of the area, really nice guide who couldn't have been friendlier or more helpful. It was great to get someone to show us around the lessor known areas away from the crazy crowds!”
Walk St. Mark’s Square and Rialto calli, add VR history, and optional gondola. A smart Venice center tour for $14.
“Guide Natalia was very knowledgeable and made the historical facts very interesting.”
2-hour English-only Venice walking tour with a local expert. Rialto, Frari, and St Mark’s Square, plus Titian and the doges.
“Valentina was an excellent guide very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. She make the experience wonderful.”
2-hour English walking tour in Venice for $44, covering Rialto Bridge and St. Mark’s Square with small-group local stories.
“We were greeted by our guide Flavia, who absolutely made the tour fun and educational. Highly recommend doing this as it gives you a good perspective of Venice. We did this at the beginning of our visit which helped us immensely find our way around.”
Skip the line for St. Mark’s Basilica and get a 2-hour Venice overview with a local guide, quiet alley stops, and radio headsets.
“The inside of San Marco Basilica and information. It is a unique basilica in the world. Qqqqqwwwwwwerrttttyyuuiiiiooooiiuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuygfcvvvbbbbnnbvcxcxxxxxx”
A 2-hour small-group Venice walk with a local guide, hitting Rialto Bridge, Marco Polo, Frari, and St. Mark’s Square.
“Non-stop, walk thru the city. Few opportunities to snap a picture (you will fall scarily behind). Don’t expect a rest or comfort stop—no opportunity to grab a coffee or soda on a hot, humid day.”
Skip-the-line St. Mark’s Basilica, Doge’s Palace with an art historian guide, then a 30-minute gondola canal ride in Venice.
“Marco was fantastic as our tour guide we loved the whole tour Highly recommend, very informative and fun”
Venice Deluxe Tour covers Piazza San Marco, Doge’s Palace, and St. Mark’s Basilica with skip-the-line access plus a guided look at Venice’s best icons.
“Words will never express our gratitude for our guide Antonio. When you sign up for a tour, you hope and pray that you spent your money wisely. Antonio gave us more than the value of our ticket. His knowledge of Venice and its people is truly a gift. He is a professional in all sense of the word. He is passionate about what he shares which shows in his attention to detail. His charismatic style further enhances the experience. We learned so much about each building or area we visited and the history behind it. He gave us great ideas of how we can experience every part of Venice by…”
Skip-the-line St Mark’s and Doge’s Palace plus a 30-minute gondola ride and Rialto walk. Small group for a fast, art-filled day.
“Very knowledgeable guide, who took great time and care in giving very detailed descriptions of all landmarks, historical relevance, and modern opinion on certain features.”
Venice city-center walk with a Rialto Bridge viewpoint, spritz in a bàcaro, then a 30-minute gondola and VR finale.
“Paula conducted a very good tour leading us through the maze of streets outside San Marco square. The tour was very informative, she I cured relevant history and modern day vignettes. Audio worked perfectly throughout the tour. Awesome guide! Thank you Jerry from Toronto”
Venice in 3 hours with Rialto, Castello, Acqua alta, St. Mark’s skip-the-line, and a gondola ride through quieter canals.
“This was a great tour... The guide was very knowldegeable and engaging. We actually booked 2 tours so a total of 17 people ages 9 months to 70. The guide did go at our pace, was able to stay in shade and kept us all together. We had a great time and learned a lot! The Gondola ride was great as well - it is part of the tour so you just go on at the end... no waiting. Some things to know - it is a lot of walking with lots of steps - strollers not possible so if going with small kids you will need to carry or…”
2-hour guided walk through Venice’s San Marco area, with the Bovolo stair and San Moisè Church, plus a 100+ stop audio app route.
“Don’t like using the radio, but understand that it is probably the best delivery system”
A small-group Venice day with skip-the-line Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica, a Castello walk, plus a shared 30-min gondola.
“In general we were very pleased with the tour. The highlight was the tour of St. Marco Church and the Doge's Palace. The tour guide Andrea ?? has a degree in architecture and shared many interesting insights into the buildings and the general construction of the city of Venice. He was fabulous. The gondola ride is a have to do in Venice, but was pretty underwhelming. The canals are jammed with other boats. Our boat driver never spoke a word to us, but spent plenty of time talking with the other gondola drivers. The boat tour of the Grand Canal was interesting.”
