Venice 4 hrs Tour : St Mark's Basilica, Doge's Palace and Walk

Posted By : Stephanie_S
An average tour with Avventure Bellissime - not worth the price. To begin we had just completed an amazing 3 hour private tour in Florence with a wonderful tour guide and company that was extremely engaging and informative. We loved every minute! This was not the case in Venice. We booked a Private 4 hour Tour of St. Mark’s Basilica, Doge’s Palace and Secret Venice…which somehow seemed to change to a 3 hour rushed tour…not seeing anything “Secret.” Our guide Chiara, kept seeming to want us to end after 3 hours thinking we were tired and we had to insist we were fine and wanted the full 4 hour tour that we paid a lot of money for. We were with our adult daughters, in their twenties, not bored teens or young children (Viator needs to make that a review group category). We felt rushed at times going through the Basilica and the Palace…at times we had to walk to areas on our own in order to view artwork or rooms as the guide rushed past them saying they weren’t as interesting. We thought otherwise. It was not as organized and our guide seemed more concerned about groups not following the correct guide rules, complaining to us and staff, things we did not want to have to hear about. Our guide was often confused and disorganized in what she was explaining or showing. We wanted to learn about the history, the artists, etc. After we completed the Basilica and the Palace we still had an hour to go, which we had to insist upon, of which she asked us what we wanted to see. This should have been already decided upon - not us deciding. Our guide walked us to the Rialto Bridge all the while continuing to check her watch, seemingly stalling, as though she had somewhere else to be and wanting to use up time. Made us feel uncomfortable and again rushed. Overall, not the tour experience we had hoped for based on the price we paid. Go with a different company or guide.
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Posted On : 2024-06-28 06:54:25

Posted By : Natasha_F
My two friends and I had a great time with our guide. She was knowledgeable, affable, and a great speaker. She led us through Doge's Palace, St Mark's Basilica, and the buildings around the square. After that she led us on a walking tour of both key areas of Venice but also some more interesting smaller areas and events such as the cultural pop-ups that were being showcased around the city. I would recommend spending the extra money to not only have a guide for the area to explain the whats and whys but doing so with only a group made of the three of us made for a tailored experience. Not all experiences need to have a small group tour like this but I recommend this be one you splurge on.
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Posted On : 2024-06-21 20:51:48

Posted By : Deanna_I
The best parts of the tour were some of the sights we saw on our walking tour. The knowledge about Venice of the tour guide was awesome.
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Posted On : 2024-06-16 19:08:33

Posted By : Alan_J
We had an incredible experience in Venice seeing some parts you wouldn't know about and being able to queue jump with a tour guide is definitely an advantage. Big thanks to Ketty for a memorable experience. She knew so much and was very much in control all of the time ensuring all guests were enjoying the tour.
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Posted On : 2024-06-07 12:32:53

Posted By : John_A
Lorenzo was a tremendous guide. His knowledge of Venice and the history of Venice was incredible. He gave a new appreciation for Venice, it's history and importance in world history.
He had answer for all of our questions and tailored our tour to our interests and what we wanted to see. Lorenzo and his tour gets our highest possible recommendation, and he gave us a great restaurant recommendation!
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Posted On : 2024-05-29 10:30:51

Posted By : V3494WTmelodyw
Tour of a lifetime. 2 Adults, 2 tween/young teen kiddos.

Our amazing guide, a local Venetian Philip, was a complete gem - totally engaging and an absolute goldmine of information. Clearly passionate about Venice and brimming with interesting and relevant facts on a wide variety of topics, he brought the history of the Basilica and the Doge's Palace to life. Our photos don't do these two incredible locations justice. They have to be seen to be believed.

All of us were highly entertained throughout and we will be reliving the experience and hearing Philip's charming anecdotes playing in our minds for a long time to come. Cannot recommend enough. Absolute perfection - even in the lashing rain! So deeply grateful for this experience.

Mille grazie!
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Posted On : 2024-03-28 04:56:32

Posted By : Howard F
Lorenzo was our personal guide and was really remarkable He was so personable and knowledgable. He provided the historical, symbolic, political and interpretive experience for all that we saw. He also was able to inject humor and interpret for our 6 year old daughter. I would strongly recommend Lorenzo for his great wealth of knowledge and his personable way of educating.
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Posted On : 2023-12-27 09:55:06

Posted By : ThomasL
The guide for this private tour provide us with a wealth of information that brought what we saw in context. The tour guide made sure to tailor the experience.
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Posted On : 2023-10-12 03:16:03

Posted By : philip_d
The tour of the Doges Palace was fascinating, made all the better by our guide Adrianne. Her extensive knowledge of the history of Venice and the paintings brought the trip to life.
Also, the walking tour was excellent as well.
The visit to St Mark’s Basilica was disappointing. We did not “jump the queue” and did not stay long
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Posted On : 2023-09-29 12:22:48

Posted By : David_S
Guide was very informative, interesting, intelligent, and well spoken. She provided lots of information and was able to easily answer all of our questions. Her flexibility and knowledge were appreciated.
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Posted On : 2023-08-29 03:15:53