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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Palazzo Morosini
Palazzo Morosini is a mixed Venetian Gothic and Renaissance palace in the Castello Sestiere which is unfortunately inaccessible to the public.
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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
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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.
What others said
A must do in Venice
René is a spectacular storyteller and a true erudite — he spoke about history, geopolitical and economic influences that shaped Venice, the wider Adriatic area and the entire Italy, and shared many interesting details from the city’s past. We will definitely take another tour with René on our next trip to Venice.
Highlight of our trip!
René was such an engaging and passionate storyteller with an extraordinary depth of knowledge. Before the tour, we knew very little about European history, but Rene brought Venice’s past vividly to life. It was full of interesting facts and nuanced insights that you’d be hard-pressed to find on any other tour.
Excellent insights into Venetian history and unconsidered details
We have been to Venice many times, so we didn’t want a conventional tour of the usual sights, which was why we were attracted to Rene’s offer. We learnt a lot which we didn’t know and saw details which we have always missed. Very worthwhile.
A great, insightful tour of Venice
I was looking for a tour with a historian that would get me off the main tourist circuit and help me dive a little deeper into interesting stories from Venetian history. René was the perfect guide for that. The tour was interesting, and his passion for history shone through. Highly recommended!
Very informative and interesting
My daughter and I are both interested in the history of places, and the people that formed it into what we see today. René was the perfect guide for this, telling stories and showing us details that helped us understand the essence of Venice a little more. We certainly only scratched the surface, and woke our interest to discover more.
No Title
I and my 14 yo daughter loved this tour. There were only the two of us on this tour, so the tour was a mix of Rene sharing his “must-know” information and his answering our questions. Rene has a wonderful depth of knowledge and keeps the tour interesting by tying pieces of historical information to things we might relate to in the modern day, e.g., the relationship between the Phrygian caps worn by the doge and the smurfs. He is not only a scholar, but also a gentleman – responding eagerly to our questions, taking us into a less windy spot when we looked uncomfortable, giving us extra time, and walking us to our restaurant where we had reservations after the tour. Next time I’m in Venice, I will be sure to book more time with Rene.
Grazie René per la tua dedizione
Bellissima esperienza, da rifare!
Grazie mille! Truly a pleasure.
As all have said, René has a great wealth of knowledge and seems passionate about sharing it. I also adore his dog 😉 It was a great experience and a treat to ask many questions that had been accumulating as I’d wandered the streets on my own.