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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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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Venice treacle
Venice treacle, or theriac, was an ancient wonder medicine, an antidote for most poisons and a cure for most ailments, including the plague.
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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
What others said
The tour was packed with information.
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.
This really helped me understand the city!
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.
We simply loved it!
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!!
Our visit to Venice is better for having joined your tour.
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.
René est un fin connaisseur de l’histoire de la ville
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.
Highly recommend this experience
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.
René, thank you so much for today
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!
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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.