I have done many of the London Walks and love them because of the casual way they are done, also their guides are such interesting people.

It's a wonderful way to meet people if you're traveling alone, as I will be in March.



I am going to Venice and would love to find similar walks there. Does anyone know if they exist?

Thanks

ttt (watching for answers to this question)

I have done similar walks in Paris but I really don't know how workable it is in Venice. Half of the fun of Venice is getting lost. In addition, maps seem to be slightly inaccurate at best. I would advise picking some things/places I want to see, & start meandering in that general direction. You'll have way more fun & not have the headaches. You ARE going to get lost, just go w/the flow.

Mischka, last June friends and I did the Original Venice Ghost Walking Tour on our first evening in Venice. While it wasn't so much ghost stories, it was interesting historic stories that guidebooks don't go into depth. I enjoyed the walk and our guide was knowledgeable and spoke excellent English. The link is below.

http://www.tours-italy.com/venice-ci...ghost_walk.htm

Canon Chasuble and I can now find our way reasonably well in Venice.
On our first visit we got thoroughly lost.
An Italian couple approached and I told them that we were lost.
They turned out to be from Bologna and were just as "persi" as we were.
As we all pored over a map, a young American woman joined us.
At least it's a way of meeting people ;-)
There are walks available.
You need to ask at the tourist office.
We went on a very enjoyable secret gardens walk.

On an earlier trip to Venice, we did great walks with Venicescapes- really one guy who did small, tailored itineraries that were fantastic. I think Michael was bought out by Context Venice - and many of the itineraries are similar. We loved the walks - we got to visit (and play with the tools) in one of two remaining gondola builders in Venice. Other tours took us to places we would not have found for art - particularly guild halls and schola. If you are a history buff, other walks connect modern banking systems to their historical origins in Venice ... and on and on. We always found these worth the prices and are looking forward to booking some on a return visit in August. Have fun.

The ghost tour sounds interesting, and rather reasonable in price.

From my previous research, I don't recall any other sort of "mass" walks that are equivalent to Paris Walks or London Walks, and which cost in the range of 6 pounds or 10 Euros. There are some individual walks available, for an understandably high price (because you're basically getting your own guide).

MissPrism, are you saying there are some walks available from the tourist office that are reasonably priced?

bookmarking!

Molly

I have done several of the Paris walks - they are reasonably priced! It seems that in ohter cities, like Venice, Rome, Barcelona, etc. there is not a comparable option. there may be walks that are quite a bit pricier or a private guide which is even more! In those cities I tend to just use a book that has a walking tour itinerary but I would enjoy being part of a group with a live guide more!

In Rome, the Enjoy Rome walks are somewhat similar, but they are about twice as expensive as the Paris Walks. But I haven't seen anything comparable even to that in Venice.

Hi Mischka,

i seem to remember a specialist tour co. in venice offering guided walks, but I can't immediately find the link. i'l have a look later.

in the meantime, you might like a book by J.G.Links, called "Venice for Pleasure". it takes you all round the quieter highways and byways. I go my copy throough amazon.

regards, ann

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply.

Brutforce, thanks for the advice. This will be my third trip to Venice so I have spent almost two weeks there already and I know for certain that I WILL get lost I am not afraid of getting lost and as everyone always say, it is half the fun of being in Venice.

The idea of doing the walks is to have an affordable way to see new things that I may not see or know of on my own and to have the added joy of meeting new people along the way. I always do a couple of London Walks, specially when I am alone because it is a good way to hang out in a pub or somewhere else you would not normally feel comfortable one our own (well that's the way I feel as a woman on my own).

Tammylouky, thanks, I will check that out.

MissPrism, I'll check with the tourist office, thanks. Were the prices reasonable?

Jrogoz, Gondola builders sound great thanks.

Annhig, Thanks I'll have a look for that book.

SueC1, As you say, being part of a group is half the fun.

WillTravel, It seems as if you have done the research and not come up with much, that is such a pity. I would love to do an evening walk with a group. With our exchange rate everything is so expensive so a private guide is out of the question. Anyway, I'll keep looking.

Thanks everyone

Bookmarking for December 2008! Thanks ;-)

Mischka, there are two factors which may make my research invalid. One is that I was looking for walks just after Christmas, not the busiest time. The second is that I haven't done much new research on this for a year or two. Maybe things are different during your visit.