Secret Venice Walking Tour?

We will be on the Journey in June and one of the Venice shore excursions is Secret Venice Walking Tour. The people in our party have been to Venice before so this sounds appealing. Has anyone done it? If so, would you recommend it. Also, how many people are in the group. We are trying to decide between this or a food walking tour in the early evening which we would plan on our own.

The best and cheapest secret Venice walking tour is one you do yourself. There is nowhere getting lost is more fun than Venice. All roads lead to St. Marks Square according to the street signs...don't plan, just walk.

The best and cheapest secret Venice walking tour is one you do yourself. There is nowhere getting lost is more fun than Venice. All roads lead to St. Marks Square according to the street signs...don't plan, just walk.

I couldn't agree more. Some of my best Venice discoveries have been when I was "lost". No need for a tour.....just get off the shuttle boat near San Marco, go to the back canals leading off the Piazza and start exploring. Venice is magical, if you can get away from the hordes of tourists.

If you want a flavour of Venice then reading Miss Garnet's Angel by Salley Vickers is a very good way to start.

I couldn't agree more. Some of my best Venice discoveries have been when I was "lost". No need for a tour.....just get off the shuttle boat near San Marco, go to the back canals leading off the Piazza and start exploring. Venice is magical, if you can get away from the hordes of tourists.

 

If you want a flavour of Venice then reading Miss Garnet's Angel by Salley Vickers is a very good way to start.

Another thing we have in common. Loved that book and Carlo!

I couldn't agree more. Some of my best Venice discoveries have been when I was "lost". No need for a tour.....just get off the shuttle boat near San Marco, go to the back canals leading off the Piazza and start exploring. Venice is magical, if you can get away from the hordes of tourists.

 

If you want a flavour of Venice then reading Miss Garnet's Angel by Salley Vickers is a very good way to start.

Thanks for the book suggestion. I've just requested it from my local library.

When we went to Venice we did the 'Secret Tour' of the Doges Palace. We booked it online beforehand, can't remember how much it was. It was really great - English speaking guide (you book for that) and we went into parts of the palace that you can't see with the ordinary public entry fee, including the cell where Casanova was kept. The guide also explained a lot about how Venice was governed. It was very interesting, even to the teenager who was with us. I would thoroughly recommend it.

I too will recommended the Doges palace secret tour :):) We also did the walking tour learnt some intresting facts about early Venice not to heavy info wise,down side it was a bit hectic around the Rialto bridge and we lost so people for about 20 min,there was about 12 of us on the tour

Thanks for the book suggestion. I've just requested it from my local library.

I hope you enjoy it Bonnie. It's one of my favourite books.

I hope you enjoy it Bonnie. It's one of my favourite books.

And one of my favourite books too..which I recommended on a thread some time ago about books set in ports visited by Azamara. It is easy to visit the church mentioned in the book from the ship especially if it is docked at San Basilio.

As another recommendation Salley Vickers also wrote "Dancing Backwards" set on a transatlantic cruise ship.

I don't want to hijack the OP's thread by talking about books but there are some excellent suggestions for cruise related books on this older thread started by

Nordski.

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2134062&page=3#

And yes.....I am still enamoured of Salvo Montalbano. They have been repeating some of the Italian series on BBC Three recently and I have so enjoyed watching them again. I am off to visit Sicily on my next cruise and hoping to visit Cefalu and Monreale, which are often used as backdrops in the Montalbano series.

We didn't take a secret tour in Venice but a night tour. It was amazing. We met a tour guide for dinner and then walked the empty lighted streets of Venice.

That sounds awesome - can anyone say where they booked this? I cant seem to find it on the Azamara excursion list.

That sounds awesome - can anyone say where they booked this? I cant seem to find it on the Azamara excursion list.

Book it right through Doge's Palace site.

http://palazzoducale.visitmuve.it/en/pianifica-la-tua-visita/secretitineraries/

I second those who recommend just start walking. Follow the signs to wherever you want. A map helps but "getting lost" is the most fun. It is really a small place when you compare it to walking in London, NYC, etc. One piece of advice my Cousin from England who regularly visits Venice is that if you pass a shop and see something you like, buy it then as you are unlikely to find your way back later.:eek: BTW, another good read is an obscure book called 1,000 Days in Venice. It is available on Amazon and is most entertaining for those heading to Venice.:D

If you're in Venice a couple of nights, try Alessandro Schezzini's 6 pm bacari tour (this is not thru the ship-- but recommended by Rick Steves). You meet at the top of Rialto Bridge, and go to 3 classic Venetian wine bars and have tapas and wine. Alessandro is very entertaining-- just google his name and you will find info on what he does.

LOVE Venice! My suggestions:

1. Take the vapretto #1 from Roma Square all the way roundtrip. You then get to see the Grand Canal from both sides of the boat. Sit outside in the back.

2. On the second trip get off at one of the first stops on the opposite side of the canal from Roma. Then, walk to St. Mark's Square.

3. Take the Secret Itineraries Tour at the Doge's Palace.

You don't have to do all of this in one day. We were in Venice on the Brilliance overnight and did #1 and 2 on day one, then did the Doge's Palace on day 2.

We will be on the Journey in June and one of the Venice shore excursions is Secret Venice Walking Tour. The people in our party have been to Venice before so this sounds appealing. Has anyone done it? If so, would you recommend it. Also, how many people are in the group. We are trying to decide between this or a food walking tour in the early evening which we would plan on our own.

Just got off the Journey and we took this walking tour our last afternoon (I won a free shorex!). You take a boat to Piazzale Roma to meet your guide. You then start walking towards Rialto Bridge, going thru areas sometimes with no people at all! After the crowded Rialto area, you head towards the area east of St. Mark's Square, again thru some back alley areas and deserted campos. I found it amazing that Venice could be so generally busy, yet empty in other localized areas. You have snacks at a cafe in a campo, then finally emerge near the Zaccaria vaporetto stop. Here you take a boat back to the ship, docked at San Basilio, BTW, not the usual cruise ship port.

We've been to Venice 3 times now and we went thru areas we've never been to! Guide was humorous, too.

If you are interested in using the services of a private guide the best is Luisella Romeo

We used her services twice and is rated #1 of 105 things to do in Venice

Her knowledge of Venice is incredible and in all of the attractions we visited with her we were ahead of the masses as she is well known to the locals

We have used private guides in quite a few countries and Luisella is without peer

If you are interested in using the services of a private guide the best is Luisella Romeo

We also used Luisella for a tour of the Doge's Palace and St. Marks in April and she was wonderful. So nice not to stand in all the lines.......

If you're in Venice a couple of nights, try Alessandro Schezzini's 6 pm bacari tour (this is not thru the ship-- but recommended by Rick Steves). You meet at the top of Rialto Bridge, and go to 3 classic Venetian wine bars and have tapas and wine. Alessandro is very entertaining-- just google his name and you will find info on what he does.

We did that tour in October - we did his "off the beaten path" tour first (he's not a licensed guide, so cannot escort people into the attractions, but he took us around an almost-empty part of the city) and then did the wine & cichetti (sp) tour. Great fun!

As said before the best walking tour is doing it yourself, I have been to VCE 9 times, had taken a couple tours and they pale in comparison to walking around neighborhoods, finding grandmothers sitting in parks, turning a corner and finding a local market, walking along a canal and stopping for a gelato and watching the mothers herding their children n their school uniforms home, Why would anyone go on a tour and be shown just what the tour guide wants.

you can do St Marks and the Doges Palace and the Peggy Guggenheim and the Accademia on your own. make the time yours.

In the evening visit one of the many churches or auditoriums and hear The Four Seasons (Verdi, not Frank Valli) and absorb the ambiance. Then wander in and out the alleys playing hide and seek with the Grand Canal. THAT is what Venice is about.

As said before the best walking tour is doing it yourself, I have been to VCE 9 times, had taken a couple tours and they pale in comparison to walking around neighborhoods, finding grandmothers sitting in parks, turning a corner and finding a local market, walking along a canal and stopping for a gelato and watching the mothers herding their children n their school uniforms home, Why would anyone go on a tour and be shown just what the tour guide wants.

you can do St Marks and the Doges Palace and the Peggy Guggenheim and the Accademia on your own. make the time yours.

In the evening visit one of the many churches or auditoriums and hear The Four Seasons (Verdi, not Frank Valli) and absorb the ambiance. Then wander in and out the alleys playing hide and seek with the Grand Canal. THAT is what Venice is about.

Agree completely as posted above. The same holds true for most towns and cities in Europe. We could go on a very long cruise for the money saved on tours and insurance and have a very good understanding of most of the many places we have visited. Some homework is required!

One thing we always do and consider it part of our "walking tour" of Venice is to take a private water taxi tour of the lesser known canals. As spectacular as the views are from afoot, from the water is an entirely new perspective way more up close and personal than the views from the Vaporetto.

I've read & appreciated both "One Thousand Days in Venice" and "Miss Garnet's Angel." But don't forget the classic Mary McCarthy short guide, "Venice Observed;" she manages fresh observations about this well-known, well-loved city.

As said before the best walking tour is doing it yourself, I have been to VCE 9 times, had taken a couple tours and they pale in comparison to walking around neighborhoods, finding grandmothers sitting in parks, turning a corner and finding a local market, walking along a canal and stopping for a gelato and watching the mothers herding their children n their school uniforms home, Why would anyone go on a tour and be shown just what the tour guide wants.

 

you can do St Marks and the Doges Palace and the Peggy Guggenheim and the Accademia on your own. make the time yours.

 

In the evening visit one of the many churches or auditoriums and hear The Four Seasons (Verdi, not Frank Valli) and absorb the ambiance. Then wander in and out the alleys playing hide and seek with the Grand Canal. THAT is what Venice is about.

Because sometimes it's fun and informative to hear what a guide has to say about his or her hometown. Yes, Venice is easy to navigate on your own, but (as an example) the Secret Doge's Palace tour goes to places that you cannot access on your own.

We do a mixture of tours and carrying our Rick Steves or Eyewitness guides around looking at the sights. To me, the key is to be in a small group, not wearing earphones (a pickpocket's dream, if you ask me) with somebody who isn't instructed by the boss to censor his or her thoughts. Listening to Alessandro rant about the prospect of the first female gondolier was worth the price of his tour (even though I disagree).