• Private Tour
• Instantly Confirmed
• Carbon Neutral

You’ve probably heard that Venice is well-known for its influence during the renaissance era, but do you know the stories and origin behind it? Or how much influence it has on the locals daily life? On this private city tour, you are in for a cultural treat!

Destination

Venice, Italy

Category

City Highlight Tours

Duration

2.5 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

English, Italiano, Deutsch, Español, Français, Русский, Hrvatski, Српски, 中文

Included

• Private Guide
• 1 Local Tasting
• All Withlocals Tours are Carbon Neutral

Excluded

• Tickets Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli

What you can expect

Choose your local

Get to know these 15 passionate locals, each bringing unique perspectives and talents. Choose your favorite, check their availability, and book to create an unforgettable adventure tailored to you.

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.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at In front of Ruzzini Palace Hotel, Campo Santa Maria Formosa - 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. Culture of the City

   On this private tour, you’ll experience and discover Venice through its culture. Whether it’s focused on a tradition, a special part of town with a story to tell, cultural beliefs, or around a cultural activity that shaped the city into what it is - this tour will be a cultural awakening you can’t miss!

4. Renaissance era in Venice

   Your tour will focus on the renaissance era, a very important cultural subject in Venice. Thanks to your local host, you’ll learn and see how the renaissance era made an impact in Venice, making you experience the city from a different perspective.

5. Cultural Highlights

   As you deep dive into the subject of your tour, you’ll make stops to visit unique spots that will give you a full picture of the city. Visit San Marco Square, Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, Paradise Arch, and more and see how these cultural highlights are part of the local life but have so much history behind them!

6. Storytelling Journey

   As you discover the cultural side of Venice, you’ll be able to embrace it thanks to the amazing stories and storytelling skills of your local host. Feel free to ask any questions and feel as if you are relieving history in the present time.

7. 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

Joel🇺🇸 United States

(About local Romy)

16 May 2024

We had a great time learning all about her hometown of Venice from Romy. She brought an excellent perspective to the tour about the history of Venice and modern life there. Romy spoke English very well and was easy for us to understand. She responded well to our questions and gave us tips for enjoying the rest of our time there. Prior communication was quick and efficient, too. We'd recommend Romy as a guide without hesitation!Informative tour by a true local expert

james🇺🇸 United States

(About local Romy)

4 May 2024

We had a wonderful tour with Romy. She tailored the walk to our interests giving us an over of the influence of the Renaissance on Venetian art and architecture. Then, showed us many examples of each. She also gave us a helpful explanation of the significance and role of the state in Venice throughout its history. We will highly recommend Romy as a tour guide to all our friends considering a visit to Venice. Venetian Renaissance

Anne 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Romy)

9 December 2023

Our tour really was value for money. Romy's extensive knowledge of the history of Venice and the role of the Venetian Renaissance artists was so interesting. We visited numerous sites of interest and with our new found knowledge we were better able to plan the rest of our trip. Fascinating History and Value for Money

Sarah🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local rocco)

25 June 2023

I found out about withlocals when we visited Florence last year and I’ll now book a tour whenever I go somewhere new. Rocco was a great guide - knowledgeable, engaging and clearly loves his home city. We learned so much about the history of the city and also lots of ideas of what we would enjoy seeing during the rest of our stay. I feel that we only scratched the surface of Rocco’s knowledge! A really good experience - thank you!Walking tour with Rocco

Lynne🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Nicoletta)

15 March 2023

We spent a great morning with Nicoletta discovering so much of Venice that we had never seen on previous visits, real hidden gems. Her knowledge of Venetian history and architecture is very impressive. We even learned how to navigate our way through the labyrinthine streets of Venice - a little! She took time to ensure that our tour met our expectations even contacting us a few days before and sending us links and information after the tour. Excellent guide who we would highly recommend Knowledgeable and helpful

James🇺🇸 United States

(About local Romy)

11 October 2022

Romy, our host, was very passionate about the Venetian people and their history which made our tour so much more informative. Since we already had a tour of the Basilica and the Doge planned, Romy was able to take us to less touristy spots and learn so much about Venice’s incredible history. We were lucky in our selection of her and would hi recommend her to others. Venice a remarkable city in many respects

Mike🇺🇸 United States

(About local Marco)

8 September 2022

Marco is a wonderful tour guide! He is from Venice and incredibly knowledgeable about the history and culture of Venezia. He is fluent in a number of languages including Russian He has my highest recommendation Marco is the best!

Nicole🇦🇹 Austria

(About local Marco)

30 July 2022

We had a very interesting tour with Marco. He gave us a lot of insights about the history of Venice but also about how live is now in Venice. We saw some places away from the tourist spots 👍🏼History tour

Peter🇮🇪 Ireland

(About local Romy)

18 May 2022

We had a really wonderful and informative time with Romy. She took us through the city at a very relaxed pace but we were able to see a lot of fascinating areas and historic landmarks. She was able to answer all our questions and she made the whole tour very enjoyable.

James

(About local Mattia)

18 December 2021

Mattia, was a true professional who tailored our day to our needs and wants. Nothing was ever to much trouble for Mattia and he took time to explain clearly what we wanted to know. Mattia was kind enough to purchase the tickets for us to a number of attractions as we did not have time to do so before leaving the UK. If you wish to experience this beautiful and passionate city with a guide that shows the same amount of passion, then there is no need to look any further.Passionate guide for a passionate city

Frederic🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Nicoletta)

10 October 2021

Great guide with lots of passion for the history of Venice and it’s hidden art treasures! Thank you for the tour

jennifer🇺🇸 United States

(About local Romy)

26 January 2020

pleasure to spend a few hours learning about Venice. it makes the city come alive. thanks very informative of the history of Venice

Simone

(About local Roko)

8 January 2020

Thank you Roko for all these interesting informations about venice. It was a pleasure to walk with you through this wonderful city. The result of sharing your advanced knowledge which us in such a kind and friendly way is that venice is now even more closer then ever to our heart. We can highly recommend doing the tour with you. Thanks again, Simone, Hannes, Felix & Lars Amazing afternoon with Roko

Diane

(About local Roko)

5 January 2020

Can not speak highly enough of Rokko. He was knowledgeable and personable. If you’re looking for a tour guide to show you around Venice, I would highly recommend Rokko.Excellent tour!

Annette🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Veronica)

13 July 2019

Wir (2 Erwachsene und 3 Jugendliche) haben bewusst die Rennaisance-Führung gewählt, weil dies auf den ersten Blick nicht unbedingt unserer Interessenlage entspricht. Welcher Jugendliche ist besonders interessiert an den unterschiedlichen Epochen der Baustile und Epochen? Wir wurden nicht enttäuscht: Veronica hat uns mit ihren kurzweiligen Erklärungen zu den Palazzi und Kirchen eins ums andere mal verblüfft und anhand zahlreicher Beispiele die Unterschiede und Besonderheiten erklärt. Nebenbei haben wir auch allgemeines über Venedig erfahren, von der Wasserversorgung bis zu den venezianischen Masken. Das Tiramisu-Tasting war auch sehr lecker. Vielen Dank für die schöne Führung!Kompetent, abwechslungsreich und überraschend

Nancy🇺🇸 United States

(About local Mattia)

24 June 2019

Mattia did a great job of showing and explaining the highlights of the Accademia to our 2 teenage kids and ourselves. He is from Venice and loves his city so there were so many other interesting things he showed us. And he was very flexible with the tour, which I truly appreciated, showing us a Gondola building site instead of the Ca Rezzonico was the perfect idea as we easily visited it later. He also told us about the mask painting, which many people know about but I did not. He was so lively and fun and we all really enjoyed the 2 hours we spent with him. And he pointed us in the direction of a great little restaurant that was off the beaten path as well.A really great local guide, really knows and loves his city

DON🇺🇸 United States

(About local Romy)

8 April 2019

We had a wonderful tour with Romy! Even on a rainy day, she made the town of Venice Shine!! Her attentiveness to understanding of what we knew about Venice, or more importantly didn't know; and then customized the tour around that, made it awesome! Her knowledge of the history, people, buildings and churches of Venice is incredible. What we all marveled at, was her genuine excitement to share it with us. It was a great tour and the highlight of our trip to Venice. Guaranteed, when we go back to Venice, we will be setting something up with Romy!!!Great Tour with Romy!!!

Keena🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Roko)

23 February 2019

Roko exceeded all our expectations with his excellent approach to a tailor made private tour. He is patient, polite, with a good sense of humour, responsible, reliable and enjoys sharing his vast historic and artistic knowledge of a city he loves and knows inside out. He made the tour exciting, entertaining and fun both for my teenage daughter and myself adapting himself to our needs , wishes and personalities. Nothing was too much trouble. He took us to parts of Venice we would have never seen, as well as all the classic ones, and gave us lots of explanations as he pointed out the most important or unusual details, stories and facts. He is also quite a good photographer, so, don't hesitate in asking him to take some photos. We highly recommend him and would like to say a big thank you for helping us to have a wonderful stay in Venice!Roko Exceeded all our expectations!

Barry🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Romy)

11 February 2019

As a first time user of Withlocals I wasn't sure what to expect. But I was very happy because Romy was a superb guide, and her personality and knowledge was first class. She tailored the tour for our needs, and explained the history and a selection of the sights. There was nothing that Romy did not know. She was very friendly and explained everything to us in a way we could comprehend. We spent about 3 and a half hours with Romy, and it was excellent value for money. I would highly recommend Romy. Amazing tour guide

Joe🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Roko)

5 January 2019

Roko took us on an amazing 4 hour adventure. There were only two of us in our party and we started in San Marco plaza. Roko suggested we explore some lesser known gems in Venice and boy did we discover a world hidden surprises. Our 4 hours went too fast and we were hungry for more. It was wonderful to let down our guard as Roko earned our trust quickly as he guided us on this journey. Roko has a vast knowledge and a detailed history of nearly everything we explored. We will book him again when we return. Roko knows the hidden gems

Anya

(About local Roko)

5 January 2019

Too I was super wonderful. Took us to some not so well known but beautiful places. We spent 4 hours with him, he even indulged us and let us stop for a quick lunch. He is very sweet and super knowledgeable about the area. He let us walk at our own pace and kept us entertained the entire day. Highly recommend you do a tour with him!Fantastic!

Ali🇸🇬 Singapore

(About local Romy)

23 November 2018

Excellent and very knowledgeable.Venetian Renaissance Tour & St. Marco Basilica Skip the Line

Emily

(About local Lucia Bondetti )

16 October 2018

My husband and I were very lucky and got to have Lucia to ourselves! Lucia was an incredible tour guide- she's passionate about Venice and was able to teach us the history and culture in a way that was unforgettable; she's highly knowledgeable. At the end of our Italy trip my husband and I both agreed that this was the best tour guide/tour we have ever experienced. Lucia was great about showing us what was important in Venice and guided us through areas where the locals were and not really packed with tourists. She was also able to recommend places with authentic Venetian food and how to spot more of the ""tourist trap"" places. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone traveling to Venice. I don't think words can adequately express how magnificent of an experience this was.An INCREDIBLE Experience!

Rich

(About local Roko)

16 October 2018

Roko was very responsive whenever I had questions. His knowledge and his ability for explaining things in a simple way is what makes him special. He is also a good conversationalist and spending time with him was enjoyable. He planned an interesting tour, and I highly recommend some time with him.Venetian Renaissance Tour & St. Marco Basilica Skip the Line

Lauren

(About local Veronica)

16 October 2018

What a great tour. Veronica was one of the best guide we have ever had on a tour. She was knowledgeable about the food, the neighborhoods and the hidden insights. She had a great personality too!Venetian Renaissance Tour & St. Marco Basilica Skip the Line

Alice

(About local Mattia)

16 October 2018

The guide was terrific, he gave us a lot of information and me the tour super pleasant.Venetian Renaissance Tour & St. Marco Basilica Skip the Line

Mitchell

(About local Mattia)

16 October 2018

Mattia was excellent, the tour was well thought out!Venetian Renaissance Tour & St. Marco Basilica Skip the Line

Sonia

(About local Mattia)

16 October 2018

Mattia was fantastic, he was so passionate and informative. He made the tour insightful, fun and engaging.Venetian Renaissance Tour & St. Marco Basilica Skip the Line

Blair

(About local Emanuele)

16 October 2018

Our guide Emanuele was tremendous - a real treat getting to spend with the day with a local Venecian!Rennaisance tour

Suzanne

(About local Emanuele)

16 October 2018

Both Bernie and I wanted to thank you for the wonderful tour you gave us during our stay in Venice! Your passion and love for Venice were infectious. We quickly became enamored with this very special city. Venice is truly a magical city and you did a GREAT job on our tour. Thank you for making our stay so wonderful :) Rennaisance tour

Himanshu

(About local Romy)

15 October 2018

Romy was an amazing tour guide. She is so passionate about the history of Venice that you can't help getting totally absorbed in it. She is extremely knowledgeable and very helpful. She takes the extra effort to explain things and goes out of her way to answer any question we may have. The tours themselves were really excellent but it was Romy who made things come alive. We really enjoyed both tours and really are so lucky that we had Romy as our guide. I highly reccomend her- she was terrific!Rennaisance tour

Karl

(About local Romy)

15 October 2018

This is an in depth guided tour of two very elaborate structures, not a quick overview. Our guide, Romy, was extremely knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and authentic. She was easy to understand yet wonderfully Italian. The amount of artwork and decoration in the palace is amazing, comparable to Versailles, and the site is largely a celebration of the impressively durable republic of Venice. We really loved the experience, thank you!St.Mark's Basilica and Doge's Palace

Bianca🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Emanuele)

15 October 2018

Emanuele is a young and talented guide, he took us on a full experience of Venice and we had a great time exploring the less crowded places, hidden paths and the true charm and beauty of Venice!Rennaisance tour

Bianca🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Alvise)

15 October 2018

Alvise is super energetic, good vibe and very experienced with touring in Venice. We totally recommend him as a guide and friend in Venice.Rennaisance tour

Laurent🇧🇪 Belgium

(About local Mina)

29 July 2025

He did a wonderful job. It was perfect Just perfect

Jay & Juliet

(About local Adair)

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 Lucia Bondetti )

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!

Erma🇿🇦 South Africa

(About local Mattia)

21 July 2025

Maria was lovely, passionate and full of stories about life in Venice over the centuries and at present Our family of 4 ranging from teenagers to the middle aged all loved spending time with him. I can highly recommend doing a first thing in the morning tour with Mattia. A local delight

Charri

(About local Mina)

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

ykgtrysc72

(About local Matteo)

19 July 2025

Matteo is an outstanding guide around the city and able to customize a private tour to your liking. He’s from Venice and knows the city inside and out.He kept us engaged the whole three hours and it was a really great experience spending a couple hours walking around the city and then an hour on the boat seeing it from a completely different perspective. He’s happy to give you recommendations on shopping and dining around the city. Highly recommend him as a guide.Entertaining and informative

ROGER🇺🇸 United States

(About local Roko)

16 July 2025

Roko made our tour of Saint Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace in Venice absolutely unforgettable. His knowledge of the history and details was incredible—every corner had a story, and he shared it with such passion. He was super friendly, making everyone feel at ease, and answered every question we threw at him (well, except for ones about James Bond movies that were filmed in Venice, lol). Highly recommend Roko for an engaging, insightful experience! Thank you RokoHoward family

David🇺🇸 United States

(About local Adair)

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 Elisabetta)

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 Mina)

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 Adair)

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

Stacie🇺🇸 United States

(About local Valentina)

12 July 2025

Valentina was very nice and personable. She had a mini-scavenger hunt for the kids as well. She was very knowledgeable about specific sites but I left the tour wishing I understood a little more about how all the sites we saw fit together to make up the story of Venice. Good Tour

Sarah🇸🇪 Sweden

(About local Romy)

11 July 2025

Fantastic guide tour around Venice including the hidden gems. Now we finally got the picture of the daily life of Venetians through history as well as everything that happened in the area historically. Can strongly recommend Romy! Romy sure knows her history!!

Amanda🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Valentina)

8 July 2025

Valentina was a fantastic tour guide. Spending time with her orientating ourselves in the city was a great experience. We learnt so much. Thanks Valentina. Great tour guide

Krystal🇺🇸 United States

(About local Valerio)

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

Pam🇺🇸 United States

(About local Veronica)

7 July 2025

Veronica was a wonderful tour guide! Very knowledgeable, very friendly. She made a point to connect with everyone in our family group, ages 13-75. We really enjoyed learning so much about the history and culture. We highly recommend her!Fantastic tour!