Where to Walk: the 12 Best Venice Walking Tours

1.Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s Basilica Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 6,291 reviews · 2 - 2.5 hours · from $101Our pick

In 2 to 2.5 hours, a live guide leads you through St. Mark’s Square, Doge’s Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, and St. Mark’s Basilica. Expect grand council halls, Casanova’s former prison, gold mosaics, marble floors, and, if selected, the basilica museum and terrace. Guides may include Denise, Donatella, Marina, or Eliza.

“This tour was awesome and fit a lot of information into 2.5 hours! Highly recommend!”

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2.San Marco to Rialto Walk & Spritz Like a Local

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 3,651 reviews · 1 - 3 hours · from $14Best value

Follow guides such as Valentina through Venice from St. Mark’s Square to Rialto, with stories about daily life, Marco Polo, Casanova, and Venetian design. You’ll stop at a traditional bacaro for a spritz and visit the Venice Gallery for a virtual journey through the past. Optional extras include a 30-minute gondola ride and Fortuny Palace entry.

“The tour was a fantastic way to get off the beaten track. My children really enjoyed it also.”

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3.Venice Walking Tour and Gondola Ride

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 3,630 reviews · 2 hours 9 minutes to 2 hours 27 minutes (approx.) · from $72

Start near St. Mark’s Square at 3 pm for a guided walk through Venice’s back streets, La Fenice, and Scala del Bovolo, then board a 30-minute gondola through the Grand Canal and smaller canals. English is offered, groups can reach 25 people, and guides may include Elena, Francesca, Nadia, or other local professionals.

“Our guide Elena was excellent, and we had a great time on this tour and the gondola ride. Elena was highly knowledgeable and told the story of venice throughout the tour extremely well. The gondola ride started down the grand canal before turning down a side canal, with plenty of opportunities for pictures! My only negative comment would be that its hard to find the tour start, maybe having a brighter / more obvious sign would help. The area the tour starts in is quite busy, so it was hard to find which group was ours.”

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4.Private 3 hrs Venice Tour: St Mark’s, Walking tour & Boat tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 3,372 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $480

Start near the Giardini Reali for a two-hour guided walk through St. Mark’s Square, St. Mark’s Basilica, Santa Maria Formosa, and Castello’s narrow lanes. After a variable leisure break, join a small boat tour along the Grand Canal and smaller canals. Guides may include local experts such as Cristina Pigozzo, Adriana, or Francesco.

“This tour was very interesting. We had a different guide for the walking tour than the grand canal tour, but both guides were good.”

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5.Eat Like a Local: Venice 3-Hour Small-Group Food Tasting Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3,137 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $107Top rated

Spend about three hours walking from Rialto through San Polo, Santa Croce, and possibly Cannaregio or Castello, stopping at eight bars, shops, and restaurants. Guides such as Anna, Marianna, Greta, Sara, Carlo, and Mercedes explain Venetian food customs while you taste cicchetti, seafood, pasta or risotto, cured meats, pastries, wine, coffee, cookies, and gelato.

“Don’t hesitate, definitely book this tour for a fun and tasty way to get a great introduction to Venice. You’ll end the journey satisfying stuffed. Anna led the tour and she’s funny, warm, and overall just a fantastic host for the experience.”

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6.City Center Historical Guided Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 1,873 reviews · 1 - 2.5 hours · from $14

Walk through Venice with a live guide in English, Italian, French, German, or Spanish. See St. Mark’s Square, Rialto Bridge, Teatro La Fenice, quiet calli, and small squares, then enter a gallery for a short VR journey through old Venice. An optional gondola ride adds a separate water-level view.

“Ana is very knowledgeable and we learned so much about Venice in one hour (and for such a reasonable cost) that we were rather blown away. It was a great time and we highly recommend.”

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7.Walking Guided Tour of the City Must-See Sites

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 1,095 reviews · 2 hours · from $44

Join a two-hour English walking tour from Dorsoduro to St. Mark’s Square. A local guide such as Valentina, Flavia, Annalisa, or Julia leads you through San Polo, Rialto, and Cannaregio, with stories about Venetian life, the Jewish Ghetto, Titian, and the city’s landmarks. No interior visits are included.

“Our guide was happy and a delight to be with. She had a lot of knowledge to share and made the whole experience an enjoyable one.”

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8.Private Best of Venice Walking Tour with St Mark’s Basilica

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 1,063 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $242

Meet an English-speaking guide near the Royal Gardens for a two-hour walk through St. Mark’s Square, St. Mark’s Basilica, and quieter Venice lanes. Skip the basilica queue, hear stories from guides such as Donatella, Christina, Lucia, and Andrea, then finish back in the square.

“Purchased the guided walking tour, our guide was very knowledgeable, and very informative. She took us to many landmarks and churches, and gave us plenty of time to take pictures. St Marks was a beautiful building and church, lots of religious paintings and statues.”

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9.Walking tour, Doge Palace, & St. Mark’s Basilica

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 884 reviews · from $142

Walk through St. Mark’s Square, the Mercerie, S. Maria Formosa, and Venice’s old political heart before entering Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica. An English or Spanish guide, sometimes including Felipe, Diana, or Nadia, explains the mosaics, prison, Bridge of Sighs, and Venetian history. Allow 4 to 8 hours, with security queues still possible.

“Our guide was amazing. She knew how to keep our interest and the energy of the group flowing. A true expert. She was also wonderful with my 7 year old son. I would definitely recommend this as a must do on your trip to Venice.”

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10.Private Walking Tour with a Local

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 761 reviews · 2 - 6 hours · from $64

Meet a Lokafyer at your hotel, a central landmark, or another agreed location, then walk Venice at your pace. Your local may show you quiet neighborhoods, favorite cafés, food stops, art, churches, or practical routes. Guides such as Olga, Miriam, Luis, and Camilla have tailored walks for history buffs, photographers, families, and first-time visitors.

“Turkan was AMAZING! She was a local and knew her way around Venice. My wife and I were friends with her by the end of the tour. HIGHLY recommended!”

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11.Morning Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 705 reviews · 1 - 1.5 hours · from $29

Follow a live guide through Venice’s narrow calli, quiet squares, Campo Santa Maria Formosa, Teatro Malibran, and the Mercerie. You’ll hear stories about St. Mark’s Basilica, the Doge’s Palace, Venetian trade, and the city’s doges. The 1 to 1.5-hour walk stays outside, uses headsets, and runs in English, French, Spanish, or German.

“Our guide was very good. She was very knowledgeable, patient with questions and responsive to tourist needs. Our guide spoke clearly and with passion. Thank you.”

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12.Private Venice 2 hrs Tour: Boat & Walking Tour with food tasting

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 688 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $402

Spend about two hours seeing Venice from water and on foot. A private guide leads you along the Grand Canal, Cannaregio’s smaller canals, Campo Santa Maria Formosa, and lanes near Marco Polo’s former home. Finish with pastry and coffee, or cicchetti and wine. The boat holds up to eight people and may change route during high water.

“Loved this so much. well worthwhile doing! Go into the little canals that are impossible to reach by walking or on vaporetto.”

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