Hidden History — Private tours

Byzantine art on the walls in Venice

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:

  • Daghe adosso, Nino!

    Daghe adosso, Nino!

    An Austrian admiral giving orders in Venetian, in a naval battle against Italy, which eventually led to Venice becoming Italian

  • Long live the doge

    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

  • Prostitution in Venice

    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

What others said

Well worth it.

June 12, 2022

We really enjoyed the tour. Rene was very passionate and knew a lot about the history of Venice. He pointed out so many interesting facts which we had missed before when just walking through the streets on our own. Well worth it.

Kerstin
Verified

Thank you Rene!

June 12, 2022

Rene was very knowledgeable about the history of Venice and I learnt a great deal. I was the only person on the tour and he was very generous with his time.

Vicki
Verified

René’s tour was amazing!

May 29, 2022

René’s tour was amazing! As a historian, he has a huge depth of knowledge of the history of the city, and showed us the incredible evolution of the architecture and layout of the city over the centuries. He was super open to our questions and filled in a lot of gaps of our understanding of the city. If you were ever curious about anything regarding Venice, book this experience!

Langston
Verified

It exceeded our expectations!

May 4, 2022

Rene is incredibly knowledgeable. His stories made the city come to life. We learned so much and feel like we can now walk the streets of Venice with a deeper insight and appreciation.

Suzanne
Verified

We enjoyed the tour very much and learned a lot!

May 2, 2022

If you are interested in history, and the reasons for special historical events and relations between architecture and society, he is the right guide! We really enjoyed the tour!

Dieter
Verified

No Title

April 30, 2022

Excellent guide. Very knowledgeable. He knows everything.

Hector
Verified

Thank you for a wonderful tour!!

April 26, 2022

We could have walked with Rene for hours! His knowledge of Venice is impressive. He held both our attention and our son’s attention for the entire walk. Learning about the daily life in Venice from years past was very interesting for us and allowed us to notice other hidden history as we walked the streets on our own the following days.

Shelby
Verified

The history and story telling from Rene was fantastic.

April 20, 2022

The knowledge shared is a great supplement after visiting The Doge’s Palace and other locations.

Joy
Verified