Your tour, your interests
A private Hidden History tour can be anywhere in central Venice, at any time of day, and concentrate on the topics which interest you.
I can meet you at your hotel in the morning, or at the restaurant where you’ve had lunch, or wherever it suits you in Venice, and we’ll walk around the city together, searching for messages from the past.
If you have any particular interests, we can concentrate more on those subjects.
A two-hour private tour is minimum €200 for the group, or €40/person. Longer tours are charged at €75, or €15/person, for each additional hour.
Payment is normally at the end of the tour. I accept most credit cards (Visa, Master, AmEx, etc.) and, of course, cash. Payment in advance is also possible, but not a requirement.
You can book by email to info@historywalksvenice.com.
Alternatively, you can browse the available times, and book your private tour directly in my calendar. You’ll get a confirmation email, and I will be notified immediately when you click the link in that email.
These articles are examples of some the topics we can discuss on a private tour:
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Prostitution in Venice
In ancient Venice prostitution was considered a necessary evil, where more harm would come from a ban than from a de facto acceptance
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Differentiated rubbish collection in Venice
Venice had an organised system of differentiated garbage collections from the 1400s, to keep the city clean and the canals open.
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Daghe adosso, Nino!
An Austrian admiral giving orders in Venetian, in a naval battle against Italy, which eventually led to Venice becoming Italian
What others said
Thank you, Rene’ for sharing your enthusiasm and expertise!
Thank you, Rene’ for sharing your enthusiasm and expertise! You gave us a great history lesson that made our trip so much more meaningful. The life of the city has had so much turmoil and yet so much good. Rene’ was very accommodating clients and answering questions. He was engaging and easy to follow. His stories grabbed your attention. I recommend his tour for learning about the history of the development of the Venetian Culture, the development of the city, and the many historical figures that made it what it is today. We found many secrets of Venice in our tour. It was fun!
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Excellente excursion avec plein de détails.
We enjoyed our tour very much
René is a historian and if you bring history/political-based questions to the tour, he’ll give you details you might have not found in the books you read. He is full of wonderful stories, as he obviously is passionate about this unique city. We had a private tour, and we’re happy we did it at the beginning of our week-long stay— we were able to look at Venice with a much more informed insight. Thank you, Renè!!?
A different and unique way to spend a few hours in the city
My fiancé went on this tour and loved it. He loves history so it was a unique and interesting way to spend a few hours. René was courteous and knowledgeable and we would recommend the tour to anyone looking for a different way to learn about the beautiful city of Venice.
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René was extremely knowledgeable about the history culture and social and economic conditions of Venice and was able to connect everything to world issues and make Venice a place of historical importance and connection to the whole world. His knowledge of history culture and languages was amazing! He truly has an in-depth and detailed knowledge of his subject. He was able to show us in the Square we visited how these facts connected to the actual place, Venice and give examples of what he talked about. he told us so many things that none of the other guides or tours have included so it was a very unique experience. René also was very kind and thoughtful and enable me as a visually impaired person to touch physical parts of the buildings and give detailed visual descriptions of things I could not see. He was able to answer any questions and moved in a way that was easy to follow. I would recommend his tour to anyone who is interested in knowing more about Venice and its historical place in the world and how the Venetian’s have come to be who they are today.
Meeting with Rene is a complete learning experience
Meeting with Rene is a complete learning experience. He has the knowledge of a university professor with the friendliness of a grad student. We spent the two hours going beyond cute stories from past – and really exploring some of the complexities of Venetian history. In the end this is much better than the typical rote recital of some common history. Probably not for kids, unless they are high school history nerds.
I strongly recommend this tour
I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to understand aspects of the city outside the purely tourist circuits. Rene has an extensive knowledge of the city, its construction and secrets that escape most eyes.
Interesting anecdotes and small details that escape the eye
Interesting anecdotes and small details that escape the eye. Lots of historical background information on why things are the way they are. we booked a 2 hour tour but ended up spending 3.5 hours together sitting in a small non tourist baccaro drinking and eating.