Private walking tours for small groups
Discover the lesser known history of Venice
Venice is steeped in history like few other places, and yet much pass unnoticed.
History Walks Venice will help you notice some of this.
Hidden History
A walk around Venice, exploring the many messages from Venice of yore, often hidden in plain view.
Plague Island
A guided visit to the island Lazzaretto Nuovo, where quarantine was invented to fight the Black Death.
Venetian Boats
A walk between shipyards, oar makers and model shops, looking at boats and talking about traditions.
What others said
Rene beats all other guides here 10 to 1
I took every available tour of Venice during my three days here. Rene beats all other guides here 10 to 1, he is simply the BEST story teller, accurate research, curious facts and attention to detail, very passionate about the city and loads to learn even for a book worm like me. If I could give him ten stars I would. He will definitely be my guide next time in Venice. You can miss out on all the other tours here but you will not have seen Venice if you don’t go on his tour. Thank you so much Rene for making this visit so special!
— Anna (Nov 2021)
Book this experience, you’ll thank me later!
Rene is a phenomenal story-teller and possesses such a wealth of knowledge on the history of Venice. If you want something more beyond the basic facts you learn on the mainstream history tours, this is the experience for you. He opened our eyes to a Venice we would have never seen otherwise and kept us engaged the entire time and even long after we finished the tour. From climate-change and political/socio-economic forces that shaped the city to ancient graffiti and chips on a blank stone that mean way more than you would think they do. This was, hands-down, one of the most valuable experiences we had as first-timers and lovers of history in Venice.
— Michael (Nov 2021)
Rene is incredible knowledgeable
Rene is incredible knowledgeable about history in common and Venice in particular! he knows a lot about The history but also how it is to live in a city that is so special! ask questions and you will get tons of answers and he is someone who won‘t stop after the time is over, when he has time he will go on telling you stories about things you probably would not notice. we have done another typical tourist tour which wasn‘t good at all, so we can only recommend this kind of tours, if you are interested to hear something off the beaten path and where you don‘t have the feeling to being ripped off.
— Jörg (Dec 2021)
Latest blog posts
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The Doge
The doge was the elected head of the Venetian Republic. He was elected for life by an arcane process that also included drawing lots.
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Why did Venice become a republic?
Venice was a republic from the beginning, but in a time when hereditary power was the norm, why did Venice become a republic and not a monarchy?
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Streets in Venice
Streets in Venice have different names from in the rest of Italy, because Venice wasn’t a part of Italy for most of its history.