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!

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.

René is really knowledgeable and has lots of stories to tell that will help you better understand the history of the city and how to see the city. I’ve really enjoyed my tour!

Excellent. Fun and content

The tour was packed with information. Rene really knew his stuff. We learned to spot ancient graffiti and identify the age of buildings by their architecture, and we kept thinking about these things throughout our Venice trip. The walking was less than we anticipated and I would have liked to walk a bit more, but I think Rene can tailor to his audience. I’d definitely book another tour with Rene for more insights next time I visit Venice.

René took us on his boat to the hospital ruins on Poveglia island, and we had a fantastic time exploring this beautiful lost place. Not only is René deeply versed in the lagoon’s history – his stories really brought the crumbling walls to life for us – but he also clearly cares about his community and preserving the Venetian style of living. If you want to visit Poveglia, René is your man. Thank you!

A fascinating, informative talk about the history of Venice – highly recommended! A knowledgable tour guide who was able to answer any questions, so this felt like a bespoke experience. Great storytelling, held my attention for the whole time, and the two hours flew by! Well worth it.

Rene was great

Rene knows everything about Venice. You should definitely do a tour with him, specially at the begging of your trip so you can play detective when you’re waking around the town by yourself. We asked a lot of questions about history, economy and contemporary daily life in Venice and he had very deep and complete answers for everything. I wanted to do a double tour to know more. Much more intimate and personalized experience than the big guided tours. And at the end he was so kind to walk us to the restaurant we had to go. Soooo much better than walking and looking google maps ❤️ Book it now!!

We thoroughly enjoyed our walking tour with Rene. Rene is a highly knowledgeable historian and an excellent storyteller. He gave an engaging and comprehensive account of the history of Venice, expertly using location to support his narrative. He expertly answered a diverse range of questions and engaged adults and children equally well. He was friendly, generous and accommodating. Easy to find the meeting place, and it was clear from the introduction that Rene was interested in what we already knew about Venice in order to adjust the narrative as needed. Honestly – we could not believe our luck to have joined this tour. Excellent value and gave a new dimension to our experience of Venice. Highly recommended.

Très bonne expérience. René est un fin connaisseur de l’histoire de la ville et sait parfaitement la faire partager en s’appuyant sur des détails architecturaux environnants. Peu de marche, accès facile.

René was an excellent and passionate story teller. Took us back in time with his stories. Goes into a great detail about the Venetian and world history. Highly recommend this experience.

We had an amazing time with René – he went into great depth, tracing the trade routes, histories and intermeshing timelines of Venice. We saw parts of Venice we would have completely missed otherwise. René answered all our questions with much enthusiasm and even dropped us off the water taxi, helping lug our child’s stroller in the rain. We loved every minute!

I was the only client, but Rene was just as enthusiastic as if he had a whole group. He’s very knowledgeable and focused on my interest in architecture. His sweet dog was a bonus.

This was a fantastic tour, one of our favourites with a detailed history of Venice. Rene was so well informed and responded to all of our questions. We loved it! Highly recommend!

Rene is fascinating, entertaining and very deeply knowledgeable. We have done two hours with him (the Lazzaretto Nuovo and around the Rialto market area) and strongly recommend.

Rene was very knowledgeable and passionate about the rich history of Venice and beyond. He is a great storyteller and knows how to engage with audiences by sharing interesting facts. We would have enjoyed it more if we had a chance to walk around the city. Standing two hours in the heat was challenging.

Attention, cette expérience n’est pas un tour dans Venise. C’est une conférence extrêmement recherchée, précise, fournie et très intéressante sur la grande Histoire et les petites histoires de Venise, à travers les prismes de la politique, la société, la sociologie. Nous sommes restés sur la même place et une rue à côté. Je m’attendais à une véritable balade avec anecdotes et Histoire, ce qui aurait été encore plus extraordinaire. C’était tout de même une expérience très enrichissante grâce à René qui n’a pas compté son temps et a su animer la matinée avec un système de questions réponses adaptées à son public.

René was great – clearly very knowledgable and enthusiastic. Flexible with us and some of the difficulties we experienced (completely unrelated to René or the tour). Recommend to history buffs and people with curious minds.

We can’t stop thinking about the first morning of our 11-day stay in Venice. How lucky we were to discover an introduction to this unique place – “History Walks in Venice: Hidden History in Plain Sight” with René Seindal. We did not need to walk much. A simple turn around the campo illustrated centuries of history — political, economic, architectural, religious — over two hours. If you care to understand what you are seeing and why it’s there, beyond the standard tourist experience, don’t hestitate to book some time with René. Grazie mille!

This was a lovely few hours! If you want to see the little things that make Venice fascinating and special, book this tour with René. While you don’t walk far, you journey deep into Venice’s past. I learned so much about the beginnings of Venice, it’s struggles (fires, crime, prostitution, nobility). René is a fantastic storyteller and history nerd (like me), so it was enjoyable for me. As a dog lover, he also brought along his adorable pup, which made the experience x10 better.

WOW, Rene is super knowledgeable and an amazing storyteller, historian and a scholar. He knew everything we asked and we had many questions:) he gave us a perspective on how Venicw became to be what it is today, debunked myths about Venice and showed us how to appreciate the architecture around us in Venice and to recognize ourselves the different periods and styles that surrounds us. IF you are a history lover like us, don’t hesitate to book this tour!

Rene非常有耐心，知识也很渊博，我和孩子都得到了非常好的照顾，也学到了非常多知识，很开心能遇到Rene和他的狗狗

We had two full days in Venice, and we took Renee’s walking tour so we could walk around with a local and learn about the city’s history and architecture. He spent hours walking around with us, telling us fun little tidbits, showing us areas of the city we NEVER would have found if we were just walking on our own.

It was really a unique experience walking around and having him just speak about whatever we noticed! We definitely recommend this tour.

Amazing tour! René is a wonderful storyteller, and knows so much about Venice. He stayed extra to answer our questions and was so generous with his time and knowledge.

Rene is very knowledgeable, and it was fascinating listening to his take on the history of this island. We learned to identify the age of a building based on certain architectural details, the way trade was conducted down the ages, and the many layers of construction that this island has received based on how many major floods have occurred in the past, and more such stuff. I would totally recommend this experience!! 👌👍

René is very knowledgeable. history is a passion of his, he has deep knowledge and puts the info in historical context. fantastic tour

La balade avec René était très intéressante. René, en plus d’être un très bon conteur qui connaît sa ville , est attentif et s’adapte à son audience. Pour notre arrivée à Venise , commencer par cette balade en dehors des rues bondées de touristes était parfait.

An outstanding exploration of the complex history of Venice. Rene is passionate, his breadth and depth of knowledge is impressive and his capacity to explore a plethora of subjects, with regard to the changing nature of Venetian life over the centuries was quite inspiring. We walked away with a far greater understanding and appreciation.

I wish we would’ve discovered René’s guided tour earlier and not only on our last day in Venice. We definitely would’ve rebooked another tour with him. René is very knowledgeable, and we learned so much about Venice’s history from him. We explored many hidden signs in the city, and he was able to answer all of our questions in much detail. You can really see that he is passionate about history! We would highly recommend this tour.

René told us a very exciting and living story about Venice. René’s way of telling made the long story of Venice manageable, easy to understand, and so interesting that we wanted to spend the whole day alone with René. Thanks for some very exciting hours in Venice!

My wife and I went on a tour this weekend with Rene (and his delightful dog!). Rene was a font of knowledge and was able to answer questions on any period of Venetian history. Helps to see Venice in a different way once you understand its history. Highly recommended.

Amazing tour. A true historian with a font of knowledge. Gave us a lecture on the history of Venice starting with the ancient Roman empire…a perfect example of someone who believes you need to understand where you’ve been in order to know where you are now.

Although we’ve barely scratched the surface, the tour was a fascinating introduction to Venice history, culture and complex society. René is extremely knowledgeable, very articulate and most importantly, a passionate storyteller. This experience has triggered our curiosity and I immediately purchased a couple of books to read more about the city. I also recommend René’s numerous blog posts, articles, newsletters, lists and translations, providing an idea of the range of possible subjects for discussion during the walks.

Excellent encyclopaedic knowledge. I wish I had prepared a list of questions, because I’m sure Rene would have had the answers!

René is SO knowledgeable about history in the area. René also does an outstanding job of connecting events and movements from around their world and their connections to Venice.

We had a very interesting couple of hours. Rene is clearly a skilled historian able to meet his groups on their level of knowledge and preparation. We are sure that you will appreciate the small groups and the individual design of the tours. We learned a lot Recommended

Not that much to say because this tours actually delivers. It is exactly a tour with Rene with an incredible wealth of knowledge, be it from the architecture to the political system of Venice. Book here if you want to understand more about the past of Venice. And the title does not lie at all,- a lot is present in plain sight but easily to overlook. Definitely recommended!

We enjoyed our stroll around Venice with Renee. Renee is very knowledgeable about European history. We learned a lot about Venice and its trade relations with other nations. We also learned a lot about how Venetian palaces were organized and run, which I found fascinating. Would have liked to have heard more stories about the families that occupied those palaces and their influence on the city state in its prime. Still, we had a lovely time and truly enjoyed Renee’s company and insights.

Good experience with René, he’s passionate about the history of his beautiful city and I recommend you take this experience if you are fond of history as well. We expected a more contemporary visit but ended up learning a lot about the construction of the city and its institution.

It was very interesting to learn about the history of the city through tiny architectural details that you’d miss if you weren’t looking for them! René does a fantastic job.

Renè è preparatissimo e nonostante questo molto curioso e la sua curiosità è contagiosa! Ti fa venire voglia di guardare ogni angolo di muro e i nomi di tutti i campi e le calle per conoscerne la storia Esperienza consigliata!

If you are looking for a very detailed history of Venice then this is for you!

It was so much fun to listen and walk around with René. He has a quite entertaining way to explain past events and show how it impacts Venice today. We learned a lot (goal achieved) and can definitely recommend his tour!

Rene is a first class guide with a deep understanding of Venetian history and culture. A Dane having lived for many years in Venice, he combines the wider perspectives of an “outsider”, with a love of his new “home”. So many guides have only a superficial knowledge of the more famous aspects of Venice, Rene takes you back in time to explain how Venice grew and why, to its gradual decline from a position of a trading supremacy that funded its art and culture. Our time passed too quickly. I would without reservation recommend Rene if you really want to understand this unique city.

I love history and architecture and always want to know the history and stories behind all the unique details on Vancian buildings and streets. So happy I found Rene’s tour! It’s the best tour we had all our trips to Europe. Will definitely take another tour with Rene If we come back to Venice! Highly recommend!

This is my second time taking the tour with Renee, he has a vast knowledge of Venice history. My friend been his fist time, thought the tour was wonderful as well. You will discover the real history of Venice and how people lived at the start of the island. A must take tour while in Venice, you won’t be disappointed.

Rene was a gem! A vast knowledge of history of Venice. A desire to share his knowledge with us. Very pleasant manner is story telling. Great interest to details. Thank you Rene! We learnt so much with you!

Had a great time touring a small part of Venice with Rene. His deep knowledge and passion for history are evident and would recommend to anyone looking for a detailed dive into the history of Venice.

Wonderful tour. Rene was intelligent, friendly and adapted the tour to my interests. I would highly recommend to anyone interested in the history of Venice.