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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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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Le Arti che vanno per via (1753) — Gaetano Zompini
The “Arti che vanno per via nella città di Venezia”, by Gaetano Zompini, is a fantastic source for how people appeared on the streets of Venice in the mid-1700s.
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Long live the doge
Viva il doge – Long live the doge – the writing on the wall celebrating the election of Andrea Gritto as doge in april 1523
What others said
Thank you René
Excellent tour guide! We didn’t walk much but more importantly, Rene’s insights helped me perceive more of Venice.
Amazing!
We’re very lucky to have René to tell us stories and history about Venice, he is extremely knowledgeable and friendly in person. He could tell us details of one building in terms of it’s history, design and how it was built. Amazing!
Thank you for your wonderful tour
We love this tour! He was so knowledgeable and passionate about Venice and his enthusiasm and knowledge were superior. He even kept us in the shade on a very hot day 🙂 if you love history, or Venice, or you are just interested in learning more about what you are seeing and experiencing there we recommend this to her 100%!
I completely recommend this tour
This is an awesome tour to start understanding the historical importance of Venice and can explain every little detail that you may ask. I completely recommend the tour for anyone that wants to know Venice for what’s beneath the lovely sights
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Amazing storytelling!
It was a superb experience
Rene was an amazing tour guide. Unlike a lot of experiences like this, it was clear he had an abiding and ongoing curiosity in the history around us so that he likely continues the learning regularly. You could tell it wasn’t he packaged stories shared with all tourists. He even related the Venetian republic to American history which was fascinating. In addition, we asked questions that were likely uncommon and he answered them in great detail. These things brought the full tour into context and made for an incredible experience that I would recommend to anyone. In fact the tour went longer than planned and we would have enjoyed spending the whole day learning from him but had to get to an appointment. Would recommend Rene and this tour without reservation.
Merci René, c’était vraiment extrêmement intéressant !
Un moment formidable pour comprendre la ville et son histoire. René est un guide passionné et très agréable. Il s’est complètement adapté à nous. Les enfants ont beaucoup apprécié également. Nous recommandons complètement.
Very good tour, highly recommendable.
René told us so much about the history of Venice with many interesting details and he could answer all our questions. We enjoyed it a lot!

