The Ultimate Venice Day Trip: St. Mark’s, Doge’s Palace, Murano & Gondola Ride
7 hours
Day Trips
Venice
Choose one of 9 locals available
Experience hosted by Genny, Roberto & other locals
Private Tour
Carbon Neutral
Are you curious to know what treasures you can find in Venice? Let a local show you around! On this private day trip, experience Venice from a local perspective, enjoy a classic gondola ride, and discover the stories and unique details that make this city a must-visit.
Destination
Venice, Italy
Category
Day Trips
Duration
7 hours
Transport mode
Walking tour
Available languages
English, Español, Italiano, Deutsch, العربية, Français
Included
Private Guide
Vaporetto to Murano & Burano
All Withlocals Tours are Carbon Neutral
Excluded
Entrance to Attractions
1 hour Gondola Ride
Meals
6 reasons to book this tour
Explore Venice with a local
Get insights straight from a local source
No big groups: just you and your local host
Can be 100% personalized to your wishes
Forget about big tourist groups & audio guides!
See Venice from a local perspective
What you can expect
Venice is packed with wonders—why not discover them all in one unforgettable day? With your favorite local host by your side, get ready to dive into the very best the city has to offer, from iconic landmarks to hidden gems, colorful islands, and a classic gondola ride!
This private full-day experience is your shortcut to seeing Venice the right way—no giant tour groups, no audio guides, just real stories and authentic moments with a local who knows the city inside out. You’ll explore Venice’s crown jewels like St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace, stroll the charming alleys of Castello, hop aboard a boat to see the glassmakers of Murano and the vibrant houses of Burano, and top it off with a scenic gondola ride through the canals.
Along the way, you’ll also discover those special local touches—like the quirky charm of Bepi’s house, favorite local spots for snacks, and personal stories that bring the city’s past to life. It’s a day of culture, history, color, and fun—tailored just for you.
Whether you’re here to soak up history, admire artisan craftsmanship, or just fall in love with the magic of Venice, your host will make sure it’s a day to remember. And if you’d like to tweak the plan a little? Just say the word—this day is all about you!
Choose your local
Get to know these 9 passionate locals, each bringing unique perspectives and talents. Choose your favorite, check their availability, and book to create an unforgettable adventure tailored to you.
Genny
The Language Lover
4.9177 reviews
English・Español・Italiano
Roberto
The triathlon Doge
4.8116 reviews
Deutsch・English・Italiano
Lucia Bondetti
The Passionate Art Historian
5.0147 reviews
Italiano・English
Valerio
A venetian deTourist guide
5.0238 reviews
English・Deutsch・Italiano・Español
Elisabetta
Crazy Venice Walker
4.912 reviews
English・Italiano
Mina
Official tour guide
4.916 reviews
العربية・English
Adair
Cultured Island Hopper
5.0152 reviews
Italiano・English
rocco
Venetian Anthropologist
5.013 reviews
English・Français・Italiano
Federico
The Globetrotter
5.010 reviews
English・Italiano
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 the host of your choice.
Meeting point
Meet at In front of Caffè Lavena - Venice to start your journey
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.
Your Day in Venice Starts Here
Meet your local host and dive into the highlights of Venice—St. Mark’s, Doge’s Palace, Murano, Burano, and a gondola ride
Venice Exploring
Let your local host show you around Venice. Here you can find must-sees, hidden gems, history, cultural treasures, and more! Your host will make sure to provide you with all the answers and insights you might have along the way
Venice Off the Beaten Path
The best part about this private day trip is that you get to experience Venice from a different perspective - away from the big tourist groups, audio guides, and through the knowledge of a local!
Ask Away!
Your day trip is 100% private, meaning that it’s only you and your local host exploring Venice. Take advantage of this opportunity and get all the answers and insights to your questions about Venice
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.
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
Dorothy🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
9 September 2025
Elisabetta was very responsive, on time and very knowledgeable. We really enjoyed her tour and learned a lot about Venetian history. She also added a couple of hidden gems that were delightful! At the end, she also gave us dinner recommendations that were great.Wonderful Experience!
Jennifer 🇨🇦 Canada
(About local )
5 September 2025
Rocco was a wonderful guide. He was extremely knowledgeable and informative in an interesting way. He was kind, funny and a pleasure to spend time with. Would highly recommend Roco for a tour of Basilica St Marc and the Doge Palace. Rocco was terrific
Richard
(About local )
18 August 2025
Valerio was a terrific guide who customized the experience for our small group and allowed us to see a great deal of Venice. In my view, absent a guide you will wander and not fully appreciate what you are seeing. Valerio was not only knowledgeable but managed to give us context and make all the arrangements necessary to see all of the important sites. He then gave us time on our own to explore but again providing the us the guidance as to how to get around and what to do and see. He was enormously helpful in arranging for great restaurants and ensuring we had great experiences there and the food at all of the establishments was excellent. I would highly advise using Valerio as he greatly enhanced our total experience both through his knowledge and making the arrangements to see a great deal of Venice and the islands of Murano and Burano. He also guide us to places to shop that were reputable. Venice is a marvelous city but crowded and absent someone to guide, would be, in my opinion, overwhelming. Valerio truly enhanced our entire experience and our entire little group was very appreciative of his knowledge and providing us an unforgettable experience. Outstanding experience
Christine🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
18 August 2025
Genny was a great guide. She did an amazing job of just not showing the known points of interest but also those off the beaten path while at the same time providing the history that led to the wonderful creation of Venice! Would highly recommend! Great Experience with Great Guide!
Eugen🇷🇴 Romania
(About local )
14 August 2025
Genny was absolutely fantastic.Not only she knows everything about the place but she made the entire experience incredibly fun.Highly recommend!
Tiffany🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
14 August 2025
Genny was an amazing tour guide! We did a walking food tour with her - her knowledge of the area was excellent and the food choices superb. It was a wonderful way for our family of four to learn about local Venetian culture and history. We tasted authentic Venetian food that we never would have sampled otherwise. It was the perfect way to kick off our time here in Venice. Genny was warm, interesting, funny and knowledgeable. Wouldn’t change a thing!Genny is the Best!!
Henry
(About local )
13 August 2025
We met Valerio at the Murano Faro lighthouse with three other friendly participants. He began by providing an engaging historical overview before guiding us to an exclusive display of glass art and impressive chandeliers, showcasing the potential beyond vases and cups. Highlights included visiting a the Wave glas factory to watch authentic production (not a staged demo), followed by a lovely lampworking demo + workshop with Monica that contrasted nicely with our own technique background. Valerio also arranged a stop at the Effetre Murano factory we really wanted to see since we used to source our lamp working rods there and was super helpful with logistics before the trip and tips afterward.
An awesome, memorable experience—highly recommended.Fantastic tour for glass lovers!
Bettina
(About local )
13 August 2025
Wir hatten eine sehr gute Zeit mit Roberto, hingen an seinen Lippen, wenn er uns vom alten Cannaregio erzählte. Und auch die Geschichte Venedigs und die dadurch entstandenen Veränderungen konnte er interessant vermitteln. Nicht zu vergessen sind die Einkehrmöglichkeiten, wo wir Venedig kulinarisch kennenlernten. Die Cicchetti und die dazu passenden Getränke, insbesondere der Spritz Select, gefielen uns sehr. Wir können Roberto sehr empfehlen.
Bettina & Wolfgang aus HamburgRoberto ist ein Super-Guide
Katie, Bill and Lexie🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
9 August 2025
Genny is a wonderful tour guide! We felt like we were with a family member. She was great and including our 8 year old - glass blowing was a hit. It was hot but she made it fun and had so many helpful recommendations- plus she was flexible with time! She is awesome! Perfect - like family
Antonio🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
7 August 2025
Lucia was the most gracious, cheerful, knowledgeable guide tour ever!!!… You could not ask for a better one, more that a guide she treats you like an old cherished friend, always available and attentive of your needs, even before arriving to Venice and during yoir whole stay, she is always there for you, recommending places, making sure you find your way around and most importantly, that you enjoy Venice and learn about its amazing history at the same time… my whole family agreed that Lucia’s tour was the highlight of our trip to Venice, so, if you see her available do not hesitate… she is simply amazing!!!… Thank you so much Lucia!!!Simply Amazing!!!
Laurent🇧🇪 Belgium
(About local )
29 July 2025
He did a wonderful job. It was perfect Just perfect
Jay & Juliet
(About local )
27 July 2025
Excellent tour with Adair, we went to Murano and Burano, saw how the famous Murano glass is made, stopped for a lovely lunch in Burano whilst walking round the island.
Adair is extremely knowledgeable and shows us various other islands as we went on the boats for the tour.
Highly recommended Island Tour with Adair
Sue🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
23 July 2025
Lucia was a fantastic guide to Cannaregio and the Jewish ghetto. She clearly loves her city and she is extremely knowledgeable. We felt like we were visiting the neighborhood of a friend, getting to meet the people who live and work in the neighborhood and experience a completely different—and quieter!—side of Venice. We learned a lot. Lucia even helped us discover the perfect gift to bring home to our daughter. We will come back to Venice, and we will book with her again. Grazie mille, Lucia! A dopo!Wonderful afternoon in Cannaregio!
Charri
(About local )
20 July 2025
Mina’s knowledge, friendliness and ability to tailor a tour to his group”s knowledge, age and capacities was much appreciated by our group. He is the best tour guide we have ever had in 30 years of travel 😊 we highly highly recommend Mina as a guide to Venice. Amazing experience
David🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
15 July 2025
We spent our first full day in Venice with Adair, and it was the perfect introduction to the city. She helped us get oriented, showing us both the must-see highlights and hidden local spots off the beaten path. Adair was warm, engaging, and made a real effort to include everyone in the conversation — from our 13-year-old daughter to our mother-in-law.
She thoughtfully customized the tour to avoid bridges as much as possible, which was incredibly helpful since we had a wheelchair with us. (Yes, Venice is manageable with a wheelchair — especially if the person can handle steps and someone is available to carry the chair over bridges.)
We couldn’t have asked for a better guide to start our time in Venice.Introduction to Venice
Stephanie🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
15 July 2025
Elisabetta met us where we were staying, the day we arrived in Venice. It was the perfect way to start our trip, we walked most of the city, learning bits of history along the way. We stopped at what became our favorite cafe of the trip - with the most delicious pastries and cappuccino. It felt like walking through the city with a friend, so relaxed and welcoming.
Elisabetta gave us a wonderful restaurant recommendation, which ended up being one of our best meals on the trip.
I feel like we hit the jackpot with Elisabetta, and couldn’t have asked for a better way to see Venice through a locals eyes. Our kids (10 & 8) enjoyed it, too!
Thank you for such a great experience! Wonderful!
James🇱🇺 Luxembourg
(About local )
13 July 2025
After being transferred to 3 different guides and them trying to negotiate a different time to what we requested, we were finally allocated Mina as our guide. And he did not disappoint!! He was incredibly knowledgeable, took us to all the popular tourist points but also took us down roads that were more local with less people. We tried some local food and he showed us where they sell the best Aperol! Thank you so much, Mina, for bringing Venice to life for me and my family!!
katy🇧🇪 Belgium
(About local )
12 July 2025
Adair is a very nice guide👌🏻 she takes the quiet roads and bridges. Finds the perfect spots to take nice pictures. Being an American who lives in Italy for 15 years she brings the best of both worlds! Hidden gems Venice
Krystal🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
7 July 2025
We had a fantastic off-the-beaten-path tour of Venice with Valerio, guiding our mixed group that included kids and grandparents. He was incredibly knowledgeable and engaging, tailoring the experience to our pace and interests. Valerio kept the kids curious and entertained, answered all our questions with enthusiasm, and was more than happy to make extra stops when we needed. His patience, warmth, and sense of fun made the tour a highlight of our trip. Highly recommend!Great, family-friendly guide
david🇩🇪 Germany
(About local )
6 July 2025
Randy and Jen🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
3 July 2025
Rocco, was right on time for a very hot afternoon. Kept us in shade and told us amazing stories about popular and hidden spots in Venice. It was like having an afternoon with a professional historian, would highly recommend to everyone!Wonderul Hidden Gens Tour!
Christiane🇦🇹 Austria
(About local )
29 June 2025
Ich hatte Roberto bereits zum zweiten Mal als Guide durch Dorsoduro gebucht - für Roberto kein Problem: Er hat für mich die Tour sehr abwechslungsreich mit einer Mischung aus bereits bekannten "Pfaden" und neuen Wegen gestaltet, an Details der ersten Tour angeknüpft, angereichert und ergänzt durch weitere sehr interessante Blickwinkel.
Da ich regelmäßig in Venedig bin, interessiere ich mich auch für die Veränderungen, die in der Stadt passieren. Auch hier ist Roberto wirklich gut informiert und teilt dieses Wissen sehr gerne. Sehr empfehlenswert!
Dean🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
27 June 2025
Genny is wonderful, very educational and kept our 14 and 16 year old interested .. she is the sweetest and just a Great tour guide!! Highly recommend!! Fun and Educational
Beate
(About local )
27 June 2025
Unsere Tour mit Roberto war ein absolutes Highlight unseres Aufenthaltes in Venedig.Schon von Beginn hat man gemerkt, mit wie viel Leidenschaft und Wissen er durch "seine" Stadt führt. Roberto spricht fließend deutsch und konnte jede Frage schnell beantworten. Er hat uns versteckte Ecken gezeigt, die man in keinem Reiseführer findet. Man merkt, daß er Venedig liebt.
Vielen Dank Roberto, für diesen wunderbaren Einblick in die Seele der Stadt. Wir würden jederzeit wieder eine Tour mit dir machen. Absolute Empfehlung !!!
Beate und HerbertUnvergessliche Tour mit Roberto
Erica
(About local )
22 June 2025
Rocco was a great guide showing us the hidden areas of San Marco area of Venice. He was super flexible when we ran into some travel delays. Highly recommend!Knowledgeable and Accommodating Guide
Chuck🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
22 June 2025
When we had a mixup with our originally scheduled guide, Genny stepped in for us at the last minute, and we are so glad she did! Sure, this isn't the cheapest way to see Venice, but our time was limited and we thought it was very worthwhile to have such a lovely personalized tour of just the parts of Venice we were most interested in, rather than waste a lot of precious time trying to figure it out on our own. Thank you, Genny!Excellent, personalized local flavor
Nicole🇸🇬 Singapore
(About local )
21 June 2025
Great skip the line tour seeing and listening to Venetian history in a fun way. So much history
david🇩🇪 Germany
(About local )
19 June 2025
Rocco's tour of St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace in Venice was very informative and enjoyable. His explanations of the artwork, architecture, and room functions of both the church and the palace were highly contextualized from the perspective of the Doges of Venice, which helped us to imagine life during the times of the Doges. We appreciated how he navigated our small group through the palace amongst larger tour groups—we always felt like we were getting a personal tour and not lost in a crowd. The Doges' Perspective
Barbara
(About local )
18 June 2025
Mina was a very informative guide for the ducal palace and the basilica. I learned so much more than I expected and learned some wonderful stories about St. Peter and St. Marc. My background is art and architectural history so Mina was the perfect person to lead us through the 2 sites. Great morning with a fun and really interesting person.Wonderful morning
Mike🇸🇬 Singapore
(About local )
16 June 2025
A Cool Tour For Both Kids & Adults
Valerie
(About local )
15 June 2025
If you want to see Venice through the eyes of someone who truly understands its soul, book a tour with Rocco. His expertise, warmth, and enthusiasm make this iconic city even more magical. His insights into the political intrigue and the city’s legal system added a whole new dimension to the experience. Rocco’s expert storytelling made the glittering mosaics and intricate altars even more impressive. He shared fascinating details about the religious motifs and the basilica’s unique architectural blend of Gothic and Byzantine styles, ensuring we appreciated every detail. Five stars without hesitation! Definitely a trip highlight for us!Unforgettable and just perfect!
Carlotta🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
(About local )
14 June 2025
We had a fantastic experience with Genny in Venice! She was incredibly knowledgeable and flexible, helped us skip the lines, and made the entire tour engaging and fun. What really stood out was how kind and thoughtful she was with our daughter—she made the history come alive and truly tailored the experience for her. Highly recommended, especially for families!Wonderful family tour with Genny
Jennifer L🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
14 June 2025
Federico provided my 19 year old daughter and I with an outstanding personalized tour of the Basilica and Palace. He shared the history and stories associated with this two locations to make the tour enjoyable, educational, and memorable. I highly recommend private tours with Federico. It’s saves you precious vacation time and makes the Basilica and Doge’s Palace approachable and understandable without feeling overwhelmed.
Jennifer L. K. (United States)Dont miss this tour with Federico!
Jill🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
14 June 2025
We had a marvelous tour with Elizabetta. She was knowledgeable, friendly and so helpful. We toured St Mark’s cathedral and the Doge palace. She included the perfect amount of facts and information. She went above and beyond helping to answer a phone call and translate information for us. Elizabetta was the best
Barbara
(About local )
13 June 2025
Our group of five toured Venice with Genny.
She was amazing!
She took us through so many places that we would never have found and made the experience come alive with her knowledge of each area.
We did not just have a guide for the day, we made a friend.
The best guide ever!
Vera🇸🇰 Slovakia
(About local )
11 June 2025
It was a great pleasure to have tour with Rocco! Very interesting, oriented and flexible guide!
Philipp🇩🇪 Germany
(About local )
8 June 2025
Wir hatten eine großartige Tour mit Roberto durch das authentische Venedig abseits der Touristenmassen. Besonders gefallen hat uns der Einblick in das ruhigere Viertel Dorsoduro mit seinen charmanten Gassen und versteckten Ecken. Roberto hat uns mit spannenden Fakten, interessanten Geschichten und einem echten lokalen Blick auf die Stadt begeistert. Er ist sehr gut auf unsere Wünsche eingegangen und hat die Tour ganz auf uns abgestimmt. Eine tolle Möglichkeit, Venedig einmal von einer anderen Seite kennenzulernen - absolut empfehlenswert!Tolle Tour - abseits des Bekannten
Mark🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
6 June 2025
Lucia is a warm, knowledgeable and organized guide who tailored our tour to our requests. Her energy and enthusiasm made for a wonderful way to see major sites in beautiful Venezia.A beautiful experience
Ann
(About local )
5 June 2025
Our day with Valerio was amazing! After meeting at the local fish market, we went to his home on murano to prepare a meal. It was delicious and so fun to feel like a local. Our tour of murano included stops to learn about glass blowing. Our daughter got to make her own glass bead and then we toured a glass showroom which was beautiful. Don’t hesitate to book this memorable tour- Valerio is outstanding!Amazing Day
Susanne
(About local )
5 June 2025
Adair was a wonderful guide who tailored the tour to our group. She is very insightful and we really liked to get her view on living in Venice. Her unique perspective on Venice greatly contributed to our enjoyment of our stay. Great tips and she hooked us on cicchetti!Great and very personal tour!
Erin🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
2 June 2025
Federico was a great tour guide for Venice! We have two kids ages 14 and 10 and they were interested and engaged in the tour. Federico kept the tour interesting and funny! He brought us to an amazing gelato place and gave us great ideas for after the tour. The 4 of us really enjoyed the day and learned so much. After The tour both of our kids said how much they loved the tour and that Federico was by far the best tour guide we have ever had! Fantastic tour of Venice!
Graham🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
28 May 2025
Federico was amazingly knowledgeable and entertaining and the palace and st marks visits were so much better with a guide)
My only question was why we stood in line for 40 minutes listening to the history of Venice (which was super informative) when we could have paid a little extra for skip the line tickets and spent more time walking in the area for a history tour (unless of course that isn’t how skip the line works)
Fun and informative
Tyler
(About local )
26 May 2025
We had a great tour with Roberto. As a local he was able to give great insights and avoid the main tourist areas. Great way to explore Venice
Cornelia
(About local )
26 May 2025
Valerio macht den Spaziergang durch Canareggio und San Polo weit über die Brunetti-Informationen hinaus interessant. Wer weiß schon, wie die Hausnummern zustande kommen oder wo die Bestattungskirche aus dem Film "Wenn die Gondeln Trauer tragen" liegt? Die Restaurant Empfehlungen, die man noch zusätzlich bekommt, sind eine echte Empfehlung. Vielen Dank, Valerio!mehr als Brunetti ...
Heidi
(About local )
23 May 2025
Roberto accommodated us 2 days after our originally scheduled tour, as we arrived a day later than expected. The tour he provided was interesting, but could probably be completed in 2 hours. Roberto is an intelligent person who does have a working knowledge of several languages, but I would not say that most English speakers would be able to absorb all of what he says during a tour. We certainly liked learning about his native city and enjoyed his sense of humor too. The only reason we are providing this level of detail is because the cost of the tour was considerable and we would have appreciated knowing exactly what the pluses and minuses might have e been. We truly appreciated Robeto’s flexibilty.
Sudharsan🇮🇳 India
(About local )
18 May 2025
We were lucky to get an overview of Venice with Adair right on the first day. This helped is connect the dots when we did the indepth types of near by islands, St. marks/Doges palace and the various nooks and crannies. Recommend!History + Architecture + Personal stories
Mara
(About local )
17 May 2025
Adair was absolutely wonderful and perfect for our stay in Venice. She led us through the city and we saw some much more than we could have imagined. She planned the best day and best fit for our family. She was so warm and friendly ... my family of 4 just adored her.
Plus, she knows so many people - we were given extra special treatment on the tour. Book with Adair and it will be one of your favorite memories of your time in Venice. It was one of our most memorable in our 10 day tour of Italy!!!PERFECT DAY IN VENICE!!!
Angela🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
13 May 2025
Adair was just a wonderful guide for us. Attentive, personable and full of information. It was so helpful to understand the formation of Venice and how each area has evolved.
We stopped for chichetti and now our favorite spritz 'Select'. We all shared little bits of info and she shared many stories of her own and of well known Venetians. It was a fabulous afternoon and we are so glad to have had her show us Venice!Fabulous tour! A
Kevin🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
13 May 2025
We had the best time with Genny. We went to spots that we would’ve never dared to enter. She navigated the hustle and bustle with ease and showed us so many different aspects of Venetian eats. We had an amazing time. Every shop we entered, everyone seemed to know her. 10/10 would recommend booking this tour with Genny. Do not book with anyone else
gabriel🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
9 May 2025
Went to Murano and Burano. Adair gave insights into the glass blowing industry as well as the lace. Saw many examples of the two and was amazed. This was our second day with Adair ( done on purpose) and she delivered. Would highly recommend and would definitely use again.Island hoppers
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Private & personalizedNo strangers, just you. Fully customize your trip to your needs.
With a local expertFrom historical facts to the most up-to-date health regulations.
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