• Private Tour
• Instantly Confirmed
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Want to discover the mysterious side of the floating city? Step into the dark history of Venice with me! Find out how the plague struck Venice, as I bring this era to life through local stories and legends. Wander off the main path and uncover the hidden places of my city!

Destination

Venice, Italy

Category

Art Culture Tours

Duration

2 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

English, Italiano

Included

• Private guide

What you can expect

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with Valentina.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo - Venice to start your journey

   View on Maps

2. Itinerary

   This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

3. Island View

   Let's talk about Lazzaretto and Poveglia Islands from Fondamenta Nove and listen as I tell you their spooky history and local legends

4. Plague Doctor

   Admire Venetian masks and listen to the captivating history about the masks that The Doctor of the Plague wore

5. Red Stone Legend

   Visit one of Venice’s hidden treasures, the red stone

6. Famous Square

   Enjoy the retelling of historical testimonies from the Black Death

7. Gothic Church

   Listen to an exciting explanation of the significance of this Gothic Church

8. Beautiful Basilica

   Bask in the beauty of the this Basilica that is believed to hold mysterious and magical properties

9. Make it yours

   Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

   Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

   Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

I can personalize this tour for you

• Tell me your preferred date and group size
• Tell me your preferences and wishes so I can customize the tour for you
• Wait for my personal offer in your inbox!

Contact me

Flexible cancellation policy

• Feel confident booking

  Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

• Change of plans?

  Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

• Loved by travelers worldwide

  Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

jonzy1🇺🇸 United States

27 January 2025

My son loved this tour. His favorite memory of the trip. Valentina was so kind and informative. Amazing tour. My son loved it.

pam🇺🇸 United States

19 August 2022

We enjoyed our plague tour. Valentina shared history and took us to unique and hidden spots we never would have found on our own. Fascinating afternoon.

Ellen🇺🇸 United States

23 April 2022

Great tour, lovely guide!

Ramona🇩🇪 Germany

16 August 2021

Very nice tour through the lesser crowded spots of venice. Valentina was very friendly and well informed. The tour was a wonderful experience and I would definetely recommed!Great Tour and Guide

Gerlinde🇮🇹 Italy

1 November 2020

Very nice guide, lots of stories and information!Very nice tour

Tim🇧🇪 Belgium

23 July 2020

Really amazing tour! Very relax, amusing and interesting guide Valentina! Hidden stories, urban legends and unexpected stories about Venice! Top!!!Top experience!

Speedy🇺🇸 United States

1 November 2019

Valentina was amazing. She took us around Venice and showed us things that we would of never found. And explained the spookier side of things of history. She was really knowledgeable, you can tell she likes doing this tour. It is also cool because she brings her iPad and shows us photos of things from the past . Would definitely do another tour with Valentina Fun/spooky tour

Ian🇦🇺 Australia

26 September 2019

We spent a wonderful and informative two hours with Valentina and learnt a lot about the city, it’s dark history and details that only a local would know. Valentina is a very knowledgeable, friendly and personable guide. Thanks Valentina!A different side of Venice

Shelley🇨🇳 China

2 July 2019

Valentina was super friendly and knowledgeable about the subject, and had many interesting stories to tell!Friendly & knowledgeable

SHEILA🇺🇸 United States

9 May 2019

Valentina definitely delivered on this tour. My husband and I both love the macabre, I have always been very interested in times during the plague and how that affected the city of Venice, the plague doctors and the overall darker history of the city. Not only was Valentina very knowledgeable about the history of the Plague as it relates to Venice history, but she also was able to tell us a lot of ghost stories and myths about the city of Venice. My husband and I absolutely loved this tour as we both love ghost stories, hauntings and dark history, it was like a little bit of dark tourism. We very much liked her knowledge about the islands surrounding Venice that were used as cemeteries and holding centers for the ill and dying. If you want a little bit of dark when you are getting to know this wonderful city, take this tour with Valentina; she is very sweet and a great tour guide.Dark and lovely

Michelle 🇺🇸 United States

6 April 2019

Valentina is a wonderful guide. We thoroughly enjoyed seein areas of Venice we would not have found without her. We toured with her our last day and I only wish we’d started our time in Venice with her. Highly recommend Plague tour

Klára🇩🇪 Germany

15 January 2019

Valentina was a really enthusiastic guide for our trip. She prepared us a mix about her ghost and plague tour, and it was really exiting. Our tour wasn't only about dark history - she showed us a funny place as a present and the best tiramisu of Venice! She was keen on to answer all of our questions as well. As we mentioned that we would like to visit the neighbor islands as well, she was really thoughtful and sent us an email about recommendations of Murano and Burano. Thank you again for this lovely night tour! An enthusiastic and lovely host!

Margaret

25 February 2025

my husband and our two teenagers were only in Venice for less than 24 hours, so we're looking for a walking tour that would give us a nice overview of the city. Valentina worked with us to devise an itinerary that fit in the things we most wanted to see. she was super knowledgeable and very kind and engaging--helping us with dinner reservations and making many other recommendations for what to do with our limited time on our own. Highly recommend her!Great overview of Venice with Valentina!

Alex

24 February 2025

Valentina was wonderful! I was looking for a romantic experience to share with my girlfriend and Valentina went the extra mile to help me make that happen. I told her that my goal was to finish the tour with an unforgettable proposal and she helped me make that happen by organizing a photographer and a romantic, private, gondola ride at the end - complete with serenade from the gondolier! The tour was focused on a less crowded area of town which was really appreciated and she included lots of little historical bits of information and folklore about some of the things we saw. Valentina is very accommodating, flexible, and seems to really enjoy what she does. I have no problems at all recommending her!Wonderful Romance Tour of Venice!

Renee

23 February 2025

Thank you Valentina for a lovely afternoon full of interesting facts and spectacular scenery. It was a pleasure meeting you and wandering around Venice. Spectacular!

David🇫🇷 France

22 February 2025

Valentina a su transmettre ses connaissances de la basilique et du palais, en nous captivant. C'est une jeune femme très sympathique et très compétente. Nous recommandons vivement ses services pour profiter à fond de la visite.Parfaite maîtrise de son sujet

Jane

17 February 2025

Valentina agreed to meet us at our hotel and arrived promptly. She gave us an interesting and informed tour of several of the main areas of Venice and indicated other areas we might want to visit during our stay. The 3 hours past really quickly but gave us a great grounding for the rest of our stay. Many thanks Valentina!Great 3 hour tour

Elisabeth 🇺🇸 United States

29 December 2024

David🇺🇸 United States

29 December 2024

We were a family of five with young kids and Valentina made the tour very engaging for all ages. She was very patient and kind, and overall made the tour a great experience for everyone. Very knowledgeable and family friendly.

Stephanie 🇺🇸 United States

3 November 2024

Valentina was the best tour guide we had on our entire 15 day trip. She was extremely knowledgeable and allowed us to customize our tour to accommodate my physical ability. She took us to the best Tiramisu Cafe on the planet! We had the best time and would highly recommend taking her personalized tour! A personal thank you Valentina!Excellent Tour!

Michael🇺🇸 United States

19 October 2024

Even though cut short because of our own schedule, Valentina made the most of our time together. She gave us a perfect glimpse of Venice and left us wanting more. We highly recommend Valentina and will definitely be selecting her as our guide the next time we are in Venice! We loved our time with Valentina

Shawn

16 October 2024

Valentina was an amazing host. She was like a walking encyclopedia (wiki for you young folks) but her facts were not dry. She was relevant and informative with a sensitivity to our family and how much we wanted. Her pace was amazing. We covered so much ground, saw everything we wanted, and yet never felt rushed. This was our first With Locals tour. Because of Valentina I will do one again!Great Dosoduro experience

Unknown

10 October 2024

We really enjoyed our tour and training with Valentina. She trained in a kind way and it was a very enjoyable way to see the city.Great way to see Venice

Janis🇺🇸 United States

27 August 2024

Valentina is a knowledgeable guide who takes you off the beaten path to share her city. She adjusts the tour to fit her clients interests. Valentina encouraged us to explore on our own after the tour. We have fond memories of our time with her in Venice.Valentina the Great!😊

Sandi🇨🇦 Canada

15 August 2024

Valentina was fantastic . She told us about the history of Venice and many interesting anecdotes . We heard about Casanova and visited the former red light district. She answered all our questions and was extremely knowledgeable . I would highly recommend this tour and Valentina as a guide.Wonderful tour with Valentina

Rossano🇦🇺 Australia

10 August 2024

Valentina tailored a tour specifically orientated to my 8 year old and 6 year old nieces. She was informative and patient, she kept them engaged and interested in the tour. Can throughly recommend her to anyone travelling with children,Venice with Valentina

Kathy🇺🇸 United States

3 August 2024

Valentina was so great! She was patient with our schedule needs and changes, customized our tour for us with having a large group, was very communicative before the tour with planning, very knowledgeable, super kind, and even sent us suggestions for shops and restaurants for the rest of our day. We had a fantastic experience with her and our tour!Fantastic experience!

John

19 July 2024

Valentina was sweet as pie. She was very knowledgeable, accommodating, and flexible. Highly recommend

Boyd🇨🇦 Canada

21 May 2024

Valentina gave us an awesome tour of Venice on a rainy, crowded day. She took us off the beaten path to give us a sense of Venetian life while ensuring we saw the ‘tourist highlights’. She recommended a place for lunch and kindly called the restaurant to ensure it could accommodate my gluten intolerance!Awesome Venice Tour

David🇺🇸 United States

19 May 2024

I was admittedly a little nervous about scheduling our first tour in Venice only three hours after our arrival at the airport, however everything went like clockwork, and it was an absolute pleasure spending our first hours in the city with Valentina. She was very friendly and very informative, and the three hours just flew by. We saw and learned a lot.Wonderful Tour!

Christopher🇺🇸 United States

18 May 2024

We only had 6 hours in Venice the day before leaving for our cruise, so we booked with Valentina to give us insight on Venice while we were there. Not surprisingly, Valentina was knowledgeable about Venice and provided a fundamental understanding of the City and culture. The best part of Valentina, in my opinion, was that we had someone in our family who is less mobile, and she took the opportunity to use our 24 hour water bus tickets to change our itinerary to accommodate her needs. We were still able to see many sights without having to walk as much, which made for a better overall experience. I would highly recommend this for someone who only has a short time in Venice. Thanks Valentina!Very informative guide and tour!

Leena🇫🇮 Finland

15 May 2024

We had a fantastic and inspiring tour of Venice with Valentina! She took us to some of the main sights but also to many hidden parts of Venice which we enjoyed tremendously. The pace was perfect and we had good time to admire what we saw. She kindly provided some very good suggestions for our coming days as well which made it easy to get around on ourselves. I recommend Valentina warmly for a very inspiring tour in Venice.Inspiring tour of Venice!

Dave🇮🇪 Ireland

2 April 2024

Valentina provided us with a top-class experience in our personalised tour of the area of Venice in which we stayed. She took the time to discover our interests and tailored the tour accordingly. It was more like a stroll around the area with a very knowledgeable friend than a guided tour. It was an afternoon really well spent and set us up nicely for the remainder of our stay. Valentina is warm and friendly. After we finished, Valentina sent us some recommendations for places to eat in Venice and Treviso (which were visiting a few days later) as well as tips for getting around both cities. A really worthwhile experience with a wonderful, friendly and informative guide.Brilliant introduction to Venice

Mike🇺🇸 United States

22 March 2024

Valentina provided a terrific tour of the Dorsoduro neighborhood in Venice. Although right across the Grand Canal, this neighborhood is a bit off the beaten path. It contains many wonderful buildings, canals, shops, and restaurants. The Peggy Guggenheim & DaVinci museum are in this area as well. Valentina was full of information of historical nature and advice for modern times as well. She’s a great choice for your Venice tours.Awesome Dorsoduro Tour

Jennifer🇺🇸 United States

22 November 2023

My husband, 25-year-old daughter and I toured Dorsoduro with Valentina. She gave us just the right amount of history and information. She brought an iPad to help explain the area and view historical pictures. She was patient in answering our questions. Was a joy to spend the morning with her. We learned so much about beautiful Venice! Valentina is outstanding

Heather🇺🇸 United States

29 October 2023

I loved going through the parts of Venice with the most vibrant history with Valentina. I can tell she is passionate about this city and is wonderful at customizing the tour to meet the needs of your interests. Highly recommend!Informative and friendly

Tammy🇺🇸 United States

23 October 2023

Valentina is exceptionally knowledgeable and articulate as she shares the culture and history of her city of Venice. She has a natural way of moving the tour along, as well as spending the right amount of time in each area. She was able to share pictures from her iPad to help give us a better understanding of various topics. Great guide!Valentina is a fabulous guide!

Jane🇦🇺 Australia

5 October 2023

We thoroughly enjoyed our walking tour around Venice with Valentina. She showed us the local fresh food markets, the Rialto bridge, St Mark’s square as well as some far less crowded areas where mainly locals go. After our tour, she sent us information about restaurants, the vaporetto, where to buy jewelry and other things we had asked for help with. We learned a lot and Valentina made our stay in Venice much easier and enjoyable. Venice walking tour with Valentina

Rukmini🇺🇸 United States

9 August 2023

It was an amazing experience. Valentina remembered every request I had made and gave us a completely wonderful tour. She is so knowledgeable and so interesting. She answered all our questions patiently. I am a vegetarian and she had gone to great lengths to find vegetarian friendly restaurants for me. Even before the tour she had been so responsive every time I contacted her. I was constantly in touch with her. I would highly recommend herVenice with Valentina

Steven🇺🇸 United States

29 July 2023

My wife and I decided to use Valentina for the romantic getaway in Venice. We contacted her about what we wanted, and she hired a professional photographer and a gondolier so that we could have an great experience while in Venice and she delivered just that. She was great and easy to work with and was very knowledgeable about all of Venice. We HIGHLY recommend. We loved the fact that it was just us and not a giant group like we saw all over Venice. It was tailored just to us. Great Venice Tour with Valentina

Kim🇺🇸 United States

22 July 2023

I would highly recommend Valentina for this tour of Dorsoduro. Her passion and knowledge of the city made the tour unforgettable. Book her if you are in the city! Dorsoduro

Lisa Skyheart🇺🇸 United States

3 June 2023

We met Valentina in a campo to begin our tour focused on Giacomo Casanova. She told us intriguing stories about his life, in front of a building where he lived for a time. We walked together while she pointed out areas relevant to his story as well as the history of Venezia. She reminded us to pause as we crossed the bridges and have a look around us. We learned a lot and had a great time on this tour. Valentina also gave us some advice about taking the train on our departure. We recommend her for your own tour experiences!A great experience

Kirsti🇬🇧 United Kingdom

25 March 2023

My husband and I enjoyed a fantastic tour with Valentina exploring the main sights and off the beaten track gems of Venice. Valentina was friendly and knowledgeable and gave just the right amount of history and local stories to make the trip engaging as well as giving tips to enjoy the rest of our stay. We would highly recommend a tour with Valentina as a great way to kick off a visit to this incredible city. Waonderful way to explore Venice

Alison 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

22 March 2023

Taking a private tour and having the space and time to listen and ask questions and was the best decision we made. Valentina listened to what we wanted to get from a tour and tailored the experience to exactly what we we were looking for. She was so lovely and easy to be with, and answered the many questions we had. She even made a special experience for us at the end of the tour. To be honest it was more like being out with a friend, full of knowledge about her City. We would definitely recommend taking a private tour with Valentina. Fantastic!

Holly🇺🇸 United States

9 March 2023

It was a pleasure to have Valentina take us around Venice! She was very knowledgeable about the city and showed us some special shops and areas. I highly recommend using her for your tour!Great tour!

June🇺🇸 United States

27 December 2022

Valentina met us off the train and started us off on a wonderful tour of Venice. She knows the history and fun details about the various spots we went in Venice. She kept us away from crowds but in the excitement. I highly recommend her to show you the amazing city she obviously loves. Excellent guide

stefan.gerteis🇩🇪 Germany

21 November 2022

Valentina ist ein ortskundiger Guide, welcher uns ein paar versteckte Orte in no Venedig gezeigt hat. Wir würden jederzeit wieder mit ihr mitgehen.Tour durch Venedig

Carrie🇨🇦 Canada

14 November 2022

Enjoy our tour of Venice. We were given a little bit of history and then we were on our way walking through the walkways in Venice. Beautiful Perfect little tour!

xxxxxx

17 October 2022

This is our First time using WithLocals and loved the tour and the whole process leading up to the tour! We contacted Valentina before we arrived in Venice to say we were available earlier and where we were staying and she adapted to the tour to us!! She was at the meeting point 10 minutes early, gave us a brief introduction and a few personal recommendations and then the tour started. Her English was perfect and was always able to answer our questions and was well informed. I would highly recommend Valentina if in Venice! Perfect introduction to Venice!

Rebecca🇨🇦 Canada

17 October 2022

Valentina was wonderful. She gave the right amount of information. She was delighted to answer our questions. Was very happy!! Thank you 😊 Amazing Guide