“Winding waterways, soft colored palazzos, gondolas gliding the canals,
-a make-believe feeling stopped in time…”

We suggest these add-on tours for an in-depth look into themes, neighborhoods and interests in Venice. Must be organized prior and are an extra cost. Please call for details on availability and pricing based on group size.

* Please note: prices do not include transportation, accommodations or any other excursions.

Venice’s Writer’s, Poets & Literati Tour

This 3-hour walking tour takes you in the footsteps of poetry. Stroll through Venice with passages from the works of writers who created the poetry of the city: Lord Byron, Marcel Proust, Henry James, Richard Wagner, Thomas Mann, Ernest Hemingway – to name a few. Your walk takes you to the places where the words themselves come to life. More than a walk through the city, Writers, Poets & Literati Tour, brings you into Venice’s past and its literati world, as your guide reads famous passages about monuments and the authors who lived in Venice. Entrance fees not included.

Campo Saint Margherita Guided Walking Tour

Artisan Market-Outdoor Cafés-Bookshops

This walking tour of the Campo Santa Margherita includes all our favorite stops & shops. Start with our award-winning Venetian artist who has captured many schools of art, picturesque watercolors of Venetian palazzos, gondolas and waterways, to his vibrant oils on canvas of life on the Grand Canal, to his hand-crafted masks in gold and crystals. His studio comprises his work and that of other Venetian artists.

Then it’s off to the Campo Santa Margherita, where bookshops, cafés, and pastry shops line the narrow footpath that leads to the Campo. The Dorsoduro quarter is also home to the San Sebastiano and San Trovaso churches. The Campo is a large piazza lined with several cafés whose chairs spill onto the square on a warm sunny day. There is also a tiny morning market, whose owner calls out the best buy of the day. Stop for a time out, sip a steamy cappuccino and write a post card.

Continue on to Maurizo’s. He owns one of the best-stocked organic markets for authentic Venetian food, wine and provisions. Our well-heeled food lover, Maurizio is a connoisseur of quality Venetian rice, polenta, pasta, cheese, wood-oven bread, local wine, and he knows how to cook Venetian food to perfection. His wine corner stocks Venice’s only locally produced wine made on the island Torcello. Bring your shopping list and recipe book, and let Maurizo fill your shopping basket. His knowledge and passion for Venetian food, wine and traditional cooking is insurmountable.

We suggest a lunch on your own at our local trattoria for the best pranzo, or lunch in the Campo. Tickle your taste buds with the Fragolino, the “Forbidden Wine.” The pink sparkling wine pairs well with lunch! Pink fresh shrimp tossed with rucola and black Venetian pasta, a fresh glass of local wine to follow, a semifreddo dessert, the “Grand Canal,” topped with a sun-colored glaze. This is just a sample of the gourmet fare served in the gastronomical food mecca.

Visit Venice’s most treasured mask-maker Stefano. The award-winning Baroque mask maker applauded by the Venetian Academy has the “DOC” stamp. All of his creations are produced in limited edition.

For a sweet ending, dive in and experience a Venetian chocolate tradition! The famous artisan chocolate maker transforms the cocoa bean and modern recipes with a twist. Chocolate works of art are inspired by the magically, mysterious atmosphere of Venice. White, dark, caramel, café, and lemon, -flavors are endless!

Venice Lagoon Tour: Murano & Burano

Meet your guide for a Lagoon Tour with private boat. This 4-hour tour takes you to the into the lagoon of Venice to the Islands of Murano, known for the famous glass-blowing, and Burano, known for the artisan lace, merletto & the local speciality bussolai buranelli, egg yolk- yellow cookies perfect for dipping in Vin Santo, tea or even Prosecco!

Bacaro Tour

This guided tour includes a 2-hour afternoon visit through Venice with 3-4 stops in historical bacari, the typical Venetian bar, for cicchetti (typical appetizers) and ombra (a glass of wine). Your guide brings you into the Venetian tradition of the ‘aperitivo’ for a stroll at dusk, a glass of wine and tastings.

Meet The Big Fish

Learn How To Choose, Clean & Cook The Fresh Catch Of The Day
With Signor Loris, President Of The Rialto Fishmongers

Join Sara for an in-depth tour where you will experience Venice’s Rialto Market, followed by a workshop & lunch focusing on choosing, cleaning and the preparation of fresh seafood. The Rialto Market, selling fish since 1097, is the perfect place to see the many fish available in Venice. In this demonstration and discussion, you will learn how to select and clean a selection of famous Venice seafood and fish found in the Adriatic and Mediterranean Sea; also learning the fish names in local Venetian dialect. From the Rialto Marketplace we hop on a Gondola and head to Signor Loris, President of the Rialto fishmongers, and Restaurant owner. Here with the fresh catch of the day, the demonstration and discussion continues and lunch or dinner follows. Wine pairings with local DOC wines included.*

*This is an in-depth workshop and discussion and not a hands-on cooking class.

Venetian Masks

This incredible experience takes you into the workshop of a renowned Venetian mask-maker for a discussion and historical look at Venetian mask. Learn how the artisan mask is born, the steps needed to create a mask, and the stories and myths behind the masks of Carnevale and Venetian commedie dell’arte.

After your presentation, you may choose to continue on & decorate your own mask. Learn about traditional decoration and characters such as the classic Bauta, a simple full face mask, la Farfalla, the butterfly style mask, la Dama, the woman, Pinocchio, Zanni, servants and Jolly, the joker. Paint and decorate your mask of choice with ribbons, feathers, crystals, beads and more.

Decorate your own mask for including instruction and supplies to create your own mask & bring it home with you. Prices vary based on group size. Please call for more information.

Hidden Venice: Dorsoduro District

This itinerary takes you into secret corners of the Dorsoduro district, Venice’s elegant “Rive Gauche”. From the vast Campo Santa Margherita, where students and artists meet at the many open air cafés, walk to San Nicolò dei Mendicoli, once a neighborhood of seafarers and fishermen, still retaining its liveliness.We continue then to the Renaissance church of San Sebastiano – one of the saints invoked to save the sick during the Black Plague – masterly decorated with frescoes and canvases by Paolo Veronese, who lies buried here. Past San Trovaso, one of the last gondola yards, our tour ends at the Zattere, the sunny promenade along the Giudecca Canal, particularly frequented by the Venetians in the warm summer evenings.

Hidden Venice: The Melting Pot

Harbor and market, production center of luxury goods and stop in the Grand Tour: for reasons of commerce, education or pleasure, Venice always attracted many foreigners, and managed to live in peace and prosperity with them. This exotic blend of cultures and people created unique artistic results. In a secluded courtyard, a few steps away from St Mark’s, stands the Orthodox church of St. George of the Greeks: Italian in its architectural forms, it enshrines a rich iconic decoration by Cretan artists. A little further is the Brotherhood of the Dalmatian people, whose brave soldiers were loyal to the Republic until the very end. The intense Renaissance atmosphere of Carpaccio’s paintings will transport you back in time. We then reach the Rialto Bridge, where the German community had its social and business center since the Middle Ages. The imposing facade of the German Fontego, former inn as well as trading center, still dominates the area.

Cannareggio & Jewish Venice

Cannaregio, one of the six sestieri, neighborhoods of Venice is even today an area inhabited by Venetians. Past the busy open air market, explore the Jewish Ghetto, and walk down along the luminous canals to the Gothic church of la Madonna dell’Orto that hosts powerful canvases by Tintoretto (along with his tomb). Past this tranquil area, at the extreme northern point of town, enjoy a marvelous, melancholy view over the lagoon, where the cemetery island of San Michele, comes into view.

After your tour, you may choose to continue on and visit three of Venice’s synagogues with a tour departing from the Jewish Museum. Synagogue tour not included; directions provided to continue on your own.

Venetian Museum: Accademia, Ca’Rezzonico, Guggenheim

Enjoy an in-depth 3-hour guided tour through your choice of Venetian museum. Choose from the famous Galleria dell’Accademia, where the most important collection of Venetian paintings are held, dating from the 14th to 17th century, Ca’ Rezzonico, a museum dedicated to exploring 18th century Venice in this extravagant private residence from that period. Or, choose the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, an American art museum with Venetian charm, the most important museum in Italy for European and American arts of the first half of the 20th century, with works by artists such as Picasso, Braque, De Chirico, Kandinsky and more.

2012 Dates: This program is available throughout the year and tours are available every day based on request. Rates are subject to change based on currency exchange. Call for updated rates. Airfare not included.