Best of Venice Walking Tour w/ St. Mark’s Basilica and Gondola Ride
Our Best of Venice Tour with Gondola Ride shows off the grandeur and mystique of this once-powerful maritime republic from two entirely different perspectives.Meet your local expert in the city center to explore the city on foot. As you weave your way around the twisting back streets, cobbled courtyards and small arched bridges, your expert guide will regale you with tales of Venice's colorful past. You'll discover why the city was built on a lagoon, how it came to be an important center of trade, and what events conspired to end its domination over much of the Mediterranean.You'll walk by Marco Polo's house and hear about how the Venetian merchant set off to sea one day and returned with tales of Eastern lands that in those days, few had ever seen. You'll stroll across the church and palace-lined piazzas of Campo SS Giovanni e Paolo and Campo Santa Maria Formosa, where Byzantine, Renaissance and modern elements fuse timeless portraits of the city. We'll also catch a glimpse of the fabled Bridge of Sighs, said to be named after the sighing prisoners as they were escorted across the canal to the cells of the adjacent prison.After marveling at the elegance of St. Mark's Square, we'll breeze past the long queues and head straight into St. Mark's Basilica. Together with your guide, you'll uncover the diverse treasures inside the basilica, including the dazzling gold-laden mosaics that adorn the domed ceilings. We'll also climb up to the famous terraces of St. Mark's Basilica. Rarely included on guided tours, these terraces offer beautiful views over the piazza and the rooftops beyond.Next, our representative will accompany you to the Gondola Station, where we'll begin our 30-minute gondola tour of the waterways with a local gondolier. We'll start on Venice's main thoroughfare, the Grand Canal. Next, we'll veer off down the quieter canals, floating past even more iconic sights. You will catch views of the dazzling Fenice Opera House and Theatre, the magnificent Church of San Moise, and the gothic Bauer Palace.With group sizes limited to only 24 people or less and headsets provided, participants will find it easy to not only hear but also interact with their guide. Join us for this fascinating two-way tour, which shows you the best of the Floating City by both land and water.
