The Best Venice Day Tours

If you want some expert guidance around Venice, you may opt for private tours, semiprivate tours, or large group tours. Any may include a boat tour as a portion of a longer walking tour. For private tours, make sure to choose an authorized guide.

Private Tours

Walks Inside Venice offers a host of particularly creative private tours from historic to artistic to gastronomic. www.walksinsidevenice.com.

Luisella Romeo of See Venice is a delightful guide capable of bringing to life even the most convoluted aspects of Venice's art and history. www.seevenice.it.

A Guide in Venice offers a wide variety of innovative, entertaining, and informative themed tours for groups of up to 10 people. www.aguideinvenice.com.

Venice Events offers a daily, 10-person-max canal tour, along with many other group and private tour options. Frezzaria, San Marco 1827, Venice, 30124. 041/5239979. www.tours-venice-italy.com.

Semiprivate Tours

Venice Cultural Tours is group of collaborating guides who offer regularly scheduled, semiprivate group tours with a maximum of only eight participants, making a nice alternative to more costly private tours. venice-cultural-tours.com.

Large Group Tours

Visit any Venice tourism office to book walking tours of the San Marco area (€38), which ends with a glassblowing demonstration daily (no Sunday tour in winter). From April to October there's also an afternoon walking tour that ends with a gondola ride (€40), and a daily serenaded gondola ride (€40). Other options can be purchased at local travel agencies. Check the tourist office or Web site for scheduled offerings. 041/5298711. www.turismovenezia.it.

The Cooperativa Guide Turistiche Autorizzate has a list of more than 100 licensed guides. Two-hour tours with an English-speaking guide start at €133 for up to 30 people. Agree on a total price before you begin, as there can be additional administrative and pickup fees. Guides are of variable quality. San Marco 750, near San Zulian, Venice, 30124. 041/5209038. www.guidevenezia.it.