Essential Venice Tour: Highlights of the Floating City

3.5 hours

Venice, Italy

About this activity

Experience the best of Venice in a single day, including visits to St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace, and many more with an expert, private tour guide.

Highlights

Benefit from a private guide and customized tour suited to your needs
Discover the treasures of Doge's Palace
Marvel at fascinating gilded mosaics and art from around the world at St. Mark's Basilica
Cross the Bridge of Sighs and admire Venice from an exclusive point of view
Discover the city's narrow waterways and secret spots

Full description

A jaw-dropping treasure trove of art and culture, the charms of Venice could easily occupy you for a lifetime. Building on our years of experience exploring its atmospheric alleyways and gliding down its iconic canals, we’ve created our special essential Venice tour itinerary to offer visitors the perfect introduction to the almost unbelievably beautiful floating city focusing on the highlights. Venice is a city of many faces: on the first half of our tour we’ll explore breathtaking sites that speak to the city’s centuries-long status as one of the world’s most important super-powers, including St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace - twin triumphs of the Maritime Republic that stand spectacular guard over the monumental Grand Canal rich with fabulous artworks. This is the true beating heart of Venice. Beyond the iconic monuments and world-famous sights of the Floating City, there is another Venice. You'll get to explore the hidden corners of Venice that few visitors get to see The city boasts an incredible 150 canals and 400 bridges, and wandering around this never-ending maze is one of the most disorientating experiences on earth. But it’s also one of the most exhilarating, and if you want to get a feel for Venice in all its unpredictable glory then you need to veer off the tourist trail and get lost in its impenetrable maze of backstreets. Wander through picturesque winding alleyways and along narrow waterways; discover secret piazzas and stunning churches stuffed with masterpieces of Renaissance art; explore traditional artisan ateliers and a quirky bookshop where the tomes are kept in boats and bathtubs. As this is a private tour for you and your group, we’ll be delighted to customise your itinerary to suit you, including an additional private boat tour of Venice after the initial tour Please contact the tour operator if there is anything in particular you had your heart set on seeing. After all, there are as many Venices as there are Venetians – get in touch today to find yours! Classic sights included in our itinerary: St. Mark's Basilica St. Mark's Square The Doge's Palace The Bridge of Sighs

Included / Excluded

All fees and taxes
Skip-the-lines Access into St. Mark's Basilica and Doge's Palace
Expert, English-speaking private guide
Headsets (for groups of 6 or more)

Transportation to and from the meeting and end points
Food and beverages
Gratuities (optional)

Meeting point

Start Location

Museu Correr, Piazza San Marco, Venice, Metropolitan City of Venice, Italy

Museo Correr, P.za San Marco, 52, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy

Important information

Know before you book

As this is a private tour for you and your group, the itinerary can be customised to suit you, including an additional private boat tour of Venice after the initial tour. Please contact the tour operator for more details.
As this is a walking tour with some uneven pathways and stairs, comfortable walking shoes and a bottle of water are strongly recommended.
Please advise if any travelers have mobility concerns so that we can best accommodate you.

Know before you go

Your guide will meet you in front of the Correr Museum entrance located at the west end of Piazza di San Marco. The address is Piazza San Marco, 52, 30124, Venice. • Your guide will have a Through Eternity sign or flag.
Please arrive 10 minutes in advance and at the right meeting point.
If you are unable to find your guide by 10 minutes before the starting time, please call our office at +1 800-267-7581 or +39 348 923 6621
As this is a walking tour with some uneven pathways and stairs, comfortable walking shoes and a bottle of water are strongly recommended.
Please advise if any travelers have mobility concerns so that we can best accommodate you.
The ages of any children joining the tour are required. Upon booking, please email the ages of all children traveling with you to office@througheternity.com.
All churches have a dress code that requires visitors to keep their shoulders and knees covered. You may risk refused entry should you fail to comply with the dress code.

Cancellation policy

Free cancellation up to 15 days before the activity starts

15 or more days before the tour day: 90% of the cost will be refunded, minus ticket costs; Between 8 and 14 days before the tour day: 50% of the cost will be refunded, minus ticket costs; 7 days or less: no refund.

Reviews

4.7(953 reviews)

K B

Jul 2026

4.0

Good tour, covers the main highlights of the Vatican. Knowledgeable tour guide.

Michael Hartung

Jul 2026

5.0

We absolutely loved our tour of the Uffizi! Our guide, Ilaria, really brought the museum to life for us. With her depth of knowledge, she gave us so much insight, background, and fascinating facts about the art, the artists and the history of not only the museum, but of Florence as a whole. We wholeheartedly recommend this tour. Our experience of the Uffizi would not have been as wonderful without Ilaria and Through Eternity!

Sean Baylor

Jul 2026

3.0

We used Through Eternity for guided tours of the Vatican and the Colosseum/Roman forum. The day before our Colosseum tour, we were notified that they were canceling the tour due to “circumstances outside of their control”. They did offer a 30% off discount from the price we paid for the tour package which seemed really low considering it was essentially the price of the Colosseum tickets that we ended up having to buy separately.