• Private Tour
• Instantly Confirmed
• Carbon Neutral

Discover Venice through the eyes of your family on a fun-filled, interactive journey through St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace. With games, stories, and hands-on activities led by a local expert, this tour keeps kids engaged while offering fascinating insights for adults. It’s the perfect way to explore the magic of Venice together!

Destination

Venice, Italy

Category

City Highlight Tours

Duration

2 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

العربية, English, Español, Italiano, Deutsch

Included

• Private guide
• Entrance ticket St. Mark's Basilica
• Entrance ticket Doge's Palace
• All Withlocals tours are carbon neutral

What you can expect

Choose your local

Get to know these 7 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 Canova Restaurant - 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. For Your Kids

   Your local host is great with kids and has prepared a fun interactive tour to keep them entertained. Enjoy from trivia questions, fun facts, treasure hunts, new words in the local language to many more ways to show your kids how fun Venice can be!

4. For the Grown Ups

   Every stop has a story to tell, and your host will tell you all about it. Get familiar with the city and how to enjoy it best with your family. Plus, there’s no better way to experience Venice than to see it through your kid’s eyes

5. Fun Museum Tour

   This Venice tour is all about the best in town! Check out Doge’s Palace, St. Mark's Basilica and other highlights and hidden gems through the knowledge of your local host. See everything from a different perspective, like a local family!

6. Family Recommendations

   Before saying goodbye to your local host, get more tips and tricks and recommendations on what to do in Venice with your family. From where to eat, how to navigate the city, and where to go with kids - your host has got you covered

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

Jennifer 🇨🇦 Canada

(About local rocco)

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

Dorothy🇺🇸 United States

(About local Elisabetta)

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!

Mark

(About local Romy)

22 August 2025

My wife and I had a great tour with Romy. She customized the tour that not only addressed my wife's mobility issues, but also gave a great overview of Venice. I highly recommend Romy. Mark W. August 20, 2025Romy in Venice

Richard

(About local Valerio)

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 Genny)

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!

Daniel🇺🇸 United States

(About local Romy)

16 August 2025

Very knowledgeable and her passion for the city is very contagious. It was so informative and made the gondola ride wonderful Thanks Romy! Knowledgable

Eugen🇷🇴 Romania

(About local Genny)

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 Genny)

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 Valerio)

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!

Francesca

(About local Romy)

11 August 2025

Romy was lovely but we did not feel this experience was worth the money. The flexibility in the itinerary was nice; however, as first timers to Venice, it’s hard to know what to see and how to structure an itinerary. Romy did not offer a structured plan for the tour, we just walked around and chatted briefly about each landmark. It was not the more in-depth history tour we were expected. We felt like we had to ask questions to get information, instead of having the tour guide present information. It felt a bit half hearted and we were disappointed with the tour. If you are looking for a casual tour or have been to Venice before, this might be more fun.

Katie, Bill and Lexie🇺🇸 United States

(About local Genny)

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 Lucia Bondetti )

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 Mina)

29 July 2025

He did a wonderful job. It was perfect Just perfect

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!

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

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!!

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!!

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

Corinna🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Matteo)

7 July 2025

Matteo hat uns auf unserer "your way" Tour durch Venedig sehr begeistert! Er ist ein sympathischer, kompetenter Führer mit einem riesigen historischen und kunsthistorischen Wissen über die Stadt. Auf unsere individuellen Wünsche und Fragen ist er zu 100 Prozent eingegangen. Die drei Stunden mit ihm vergingen wie im Fluge. Der Höhepunkt war die von ihm vorgeschlagene einstündige Bootsfahrt durch Venedig zum Abschluss unserer Tour. Vielen Dank, lieber Matteo, für diesen wundervollen Nachmittag! Wir kommen sehr gerne wieder! Ein toller Nachmittag mit Matteo

Randy and Jen🇺🇸 United States

(About local rocco)

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!

Brooke🇺🇸 United States

(About local Matteo)

3 July 2025

Matteo was such an amazing tour guide for our first time in Venice. He was extremely detailed and flexible with my family. What a lovely experience he gave us! We were so grateful for the tour and loved having Matteo!Understanding, Kind, & Lovely!!

Nicole🇺🇸 United States

(About local Matteo)

28 June 2025

Matteo is a dream!! He really knows and loves the city, showed us so many hidden gems, catered to all our requests and by the end of our day he was a friend. We didnt want him to leave us! Thank you so much for making our day that much more memorable, Matteo!!! Highly recommend. Amazing City with an amazing guide!!

Dean🇺🇸 United States

(About local Genny)

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

Erica

(About local rocco)

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 Genny)

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

Andrew

(About local Matteo)

22 June 2025

My wife and I had three requirements for our Venice guide: 1) Strong English language proficiency, 2) A well-thought out itinerary for how to see and experience the most in our brief time together, and 3) An engaging personality with clear and readily apparent expertise of everything Venice. Matteo exceeded our expectations in every aspect! He has lived in Venice his entire life, has a university degree in art history, and he’s an absolutely charming man. For anyone looking to hire an English-speaking guide in Venice, my wife and I enthusiastically recommend Matteo. He met us at our hotel, walked with us for a couple of hours around the highlights, arranged for a speed boat tour of the lagoon, and then arranged for a trip to Murano for glassware shopping. Perfetto!!The PERFETTO Half-Day Tour!!

Nicole🇸🇬 Singapore

(About local rocco)

21 June 2025

Great skip the line tour seeing and listening to Venetian history in a fun way. So much history

Patrick🇺🇸 United States

(About local Matteo)

19 June 2025

Matteo was warm, friendly and fun and engaged with each member of our family, young and old. We were really impressed with his depth of knowledge about the history of Venice but also entertained by his stories, both personal and specific to historical events or persons. I was worried that our tour might be too long for our weary group but the time flew by and we all came away fulfilled and inspired. Thank you Matteo! Matteo exceeded expectations

david🇩🇪 Germany

(About local rocco)

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 Mina)

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 rocco)

16 June 2025

A Cool Tour For Both Kids & Adults

Valerie

(About local rocco)

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 Genny)

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

Jill🇺🇸 United States

(About local Elisabetta)

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 Genny)

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 rocco)

11 June 2025

It was a great pleasure to have tour with Rocco! Very interesting, oriented and flexible guide!

Mark🇺🇸 United States

(About local Lucia Bondetti )

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 Valerio)

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

Cornelia

(About local Valerio)

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 ...

Debbie

(About local Romy)

13 May 2025

Romy was a great guide. We have traveled all over the world for 40 years. Our best guide yet. If you are traveling this far, make the trip worth it. Let Venice come alive—this city deserves your attention. Romy’s makes the Venice tourists don’t get

Kevin🇺🇸 United States

(About local Genny)

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

Lisa🇺🇸 United States

(About local Mina)

5 May 2025

Mina is a great guide. Very knowledgeable. Very personable. We highly recommend his tour.Great tour!

Cristina

(About local Lucia Bondetti )

4 May 2025

Il tour privato con Lucia è stato meraviglioso, siamo andati con un figlio din7 anni che si era svegliato alle 4 del mattina per prendere l’aereo a venezia, e durante tutta la sperienza con lucia è stato attivo senza dire sono stanco e super involve con tutto ciò che diceva lucia e la caccia del tesoro! Abbiamo imparato tanto, conosciuto grazie a lei la zona più bella di venezia e tutti i segreti! Lucia è una donna molto speciale che sa interagire tanto con adulti e bambini! se venite a visitare la città dovete fare per forza el tour con lei! sarà una esperienza bellissima per tutta la famiglia! non perdetevela! Lucia grazie mille, durante tutto il resto delle visita abbiamo trovato pisciabrague, altane…. e pensavamo a te! un forte abbraccio della familia spagnola molto alta! 😊Lucia e meravigliosa esperienza altretanto

cczg6gvypf

(About local Valerio)

30 April 2025

Jeder der überlegt, ob sich ein Private Guide lohnt, möchte ich sagen: Auf jeden Fall!! Man darf Venedig von einer ganz anderen Seite erleben. Wenn man möchte, ganz entspannt fernab der Touristenmassen. Venedig ist eben nicht nur Dogenpalast und Markusplatz! Wunderbare Zeit in Venedig, danke Valerio!

HENRYK🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Valerio)

27 April 2025

I am a big fan of Inspector Brunetti, the Venetian policeman created by Dona Leon. A friend enthused about the "Brunetti" tour presented by Valerio in Venice. We hired Valerio and embarked on the expensive two hour tour (over two days unfortunately). We walked by five relevant sites and enjoyed espresso at Brunetti's local coffee bar. From my friend's enthusiasm, I had expected more from the tour. Perhaps, we didn't get the full tour?Inspector Brunetti tour

Evelyn🇦🇹 Austria

(About local Valerio)

27 April 2025

Valerio hat mich unterhaltsam und charmant durch diesen mir nicht bekannten Teil Venedigs geführt . Er hat mir alle Facetten , Kultur, Geschichte, Religion und Kulinarik näher gebracht, sowie alte Filme, die da gedreht wurden wieder aus meinem Gedächtnis geholt. DORSODURO ENTDECKEN

Erinn🇺🇸 United States

(About local Matteo)

23 April 2025

Matteo was fantastic!! We had just landed and were extremely jetlagged, but Matteo kept the tour so engaging that we didn't even notice. He was incredibly knowledgable and personable. He also tailored the tour completely to us, including coffee stops, gelato stops, drink stops and more. The boat at the end was the perfect way to end - seeing the city from a whole different perspective Absolutely recommend Matteo's tour to anyone and everyone. 10/10 would recommend

Jose Francisco🇲🇽 Mexico

(About local Matteo)

20 April 2025