Welcome to Venice: Walking Tour, St. Mark's Basilica & Gondola Ride

Get to the heart of Venice and learn your way around The Floating City in just three hours with this introductory Venice walking tour and gondola ride, led by a passionate local guide.

You'll meet your guide and small group of no more than 18 people at the Rialto Bridge, which has been at the heart of Venetian commerce for hundreds of years. After admiring the architecture of the bridge and gaping at the fresh fish in the Rialto Fish Market, you'll turn a few corners and suddenly find yourself off the normal tourist path in the neighborhood of Cannaregio.

As you wind your way through the quiet piazzas and narrow back streets of what used to be Venice's Jewish Ghetto, your guide will give you an introduction to the history of the city, as well as practical tips like where to eat and how to find your way through the notoriously chaotic streets.

Of course, some of the big tourist sites can't be missed. That's why your guide will take you to St. Mark's Basilica, where you'll stroll right in with pre-reserved tickets and marvel at the beautiful golden mosaics that cover the ceilings. You'll also learn about the peculiar connection that Venice has long maintained with Asia, and how Byzantine architecture took hold in the city and helped to define the image of it that persists today.

After beautiful bridges, ancient churches, fascinating stories and plenty of practical tips, the best is yet to come. At the end of the tour, your guide will leave you in the hands of an official gondolier for a 30-minute Venice gondola ride. With no more than six people per gondola, you can kick back, relax, and see Venice the way it was built to be seen: from the water.