15 History Tours in Venice Worth Booking

1.Venice’s Best: Basilica, Doge’s Palace, Gondola & History Gallery

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 2,478 reviews · 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $129Our pick

Review of Venice’s Best tour with guided Basilica and Doge’s Palace visits, a shared gondola ride, museums, and a clever VR history gallery.

“The tour guide is super knowledgeable, professional and nice! Learned so much about Venice, Basilica, and Doge! The guide made the buildings and paintings much more interesting and significant! Highly recommended! Thank you very much.”

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2.City Center Historical Guided Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 1,873 reviews · 1 - 2.5 hours · from $14

Explore Venice on foot from St. Mark’s Square to Rialto, with hidden calli, La Fenice, VR history, and an optional gondola ride.

“Ana is very knowledgeable and we learned so much about Venice in one hour (and for such a reasonable cost) that we were rather blown away. It was a great time and we highly recommend.”

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3.History and Hidden Gems Guided Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,379 reviews · 2 hours · from $41Top rated

Explore Verona with local guide Fabio on a small-group walk from the Arena to Juliet’s balcony, with Roman ruins, medieval squares, and quiet corners.

“Fabio was a fantastic guide who clearly has a passion for sharing the gems of Verona. The tour was well paced, informative, and thorough. A perfect way to kick off your visit to get oriented and learn the history of the places you will likely visit.”

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4.Bell Tower & St Mark’s Square History Gallery Ticket

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 910 reviews · 1 hour · from $44

Ride Venice’s Bell Tower to 98 meters for sweeping city views, then explore a VR history gallery with skip-the-line admission.

“Splendid panoramic views from the city’s tallest building. Open to the elements so is quite windy.”

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5.Basilica, Doge’s Palace, History Gallery & Bell Tower Option

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 586 reviews · 2 to 3 hours (approx.) · from $116

Tour Venice’s Doge’s Palace, Bridge of Sighs, St. Mark’s Basilica, museums, VR gallery, and optional bell tower with skip-the-line entry.

“A message to our guide - "Thank you so much. for making this experience memorable". One of the highlights of our trip.”

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6.Natural History Museum Entry Ticket

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 312 reviews · 1 day · from $11Best value

Review of Venice’s Natural History Museum, with dinosaur fossils, a Grand Canal palazzo, family tips, pricing, access, and practical advice.

“Excellent attraction. Interactive and informative. Modern displays for ancient and old artifacts and specimens. Great views of grand canal. Lovely calm garden and internal courtyard. Very helpful and friendly staff. 100 years old this year. They have a dinosaur and lots of great fossils. I always come here for a wander and break from thecrowd's when in Venice”

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7.St. Mark’s Cathedral Priority Guided Tour & History Gallery

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 148 reviews · 1 hour (approx.) · from $33

Skip the line at St. Mark’s Basilica, explore its Byzantine art, and add a mobile audio guide, live guide, VR visit, or Doge’s Palace option.

“Even with our reserved 12:30 time slot , we still waited in line for almost two hours. We left due to other plans. As a matter of fact , we wanted a full refund back.”

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8.Lazise: Historical Center Wine Tasting Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 110 reviews · 1.5 hours · from $47

Taste six Garda wines, local olive oil, cheese, and salami in Lazise’s historic ZF4 cellar with a friendly multilingual guide.

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9.Jewish Heritage Museum and Synagogue Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 109 reviews · 1 - 1.5 hours · from $17

Tour Padua’s Jewish Museum, historic ghetto, and Italian Synagogue with an expert guide in a moving 90-minute visit.

“We had the privilege of visiting the Jewish Museum and the Italian Synagogue in Padua as a family group of nine adults, and it was undoubtedly one of the most meaningful highlights of our trip to Northern Italy. As a religious family with a deep connection to our heritage and history, we arrived with high expectations, and they were exceeded in every way thanks to our wonderful guide, Antonella. Antonella is far more than just a guide; she is a master storyteller. Her knowledge of Padua's Jewish history, the legendary figures who lived here (such as the Ramchal and Rabbi Judah Minz), and the city's rich Torah legacy is truly…”

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10.Venice, Submarine Enrico Dandolo and Naval History Museum

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 109 reviews · 1.5 hours · from $30

Board Venice’s Enrico Dandolo submarine, explore its torpedo room, and visit the Naval History Museum near the Arsenal.

“Fascinating place, especially the submarine. Buildings very cold though so wrap up warm!”

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11.Dark Historical Verona Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 106 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.) · from $66

Explore Verona after dark through Roman ruins, medieval punishments, Scala family murders, wartime tragedy, and the story of Juliet.

“The Guide didnt even show up!! Very disappointing! They had my number- but No advice why guide cancelled. Number listed on voucher didnt answer. Wasted an hour waiting!!”

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12.Tour to discover the Unique History of Verona, the City of Art

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 90 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours (approx.) · from $70

Explore Verona’s Roman, medieval, and literary landmarks with guide Eugenio on a lively 2.5 to 3-hour walking tour.

“Our guide was great and his degree in arts and literature was amazing as his attention to accuracy was fabulous. He was able to give not only the historical information but the political and financial impacts during the centuries. We had time for a drink along the way which was great due to the heat. Juliette balcony was towards tje end however full of tourist. The balcony is for tourist as the balcony is all wrong. Our tour could talk through all the fresco paintings and it was incredible. They tell a story or a picture of values and morals.”

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13.Kingly Venice: Doge Palace Ticket, Guided Tour & History Gallery

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 62 reviews · from $65

Review of Venice’s Doge’s Palace tour with skip-the-line entry, expert guides, Bridge of Sighs, Correr Museum access, and practical tips.

“My experience with Viator tours has always been positive, well-informed guides with a passion for their work. Their knowledge has been deep and their answers to questions thought provoking. Sadly, today was not the of the same caliber. 1. The meetup was confusing as we had to redeem our reservations at a kiosk, and we were met with a guide from VivaTicket. Is this a division of Viator? 2. When the guide hurried across the Square, many of us were lost as we couldn’t find her as it was very crowded, but there was a belated effort to gather us up again.. 3. Once inside confusion began as we were…”

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14.Venice Lagoon Tour with Historic Venetian Boat

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 47 reviews · 1 hour (approx.) · from $82

Cruise Venice’s lagoon in a private historic wooden boat, with a guide, San Marco views, and an onboard aperitif for $82.90.

“Tour operator cancelled on us the day before citing technical difficulties. It was suppose rain so I suppose that is why there were sudden technical difficulties. I expect I will never get a refund.”

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15.Venetian Watercolors Painting Workshop at the Historic Art Circle

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 45 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.) · from $27

Paint Venice beside a quiet canal with master artist Nicola, learning watercolor techniques in a small group and taking home your own artwork.

“Great experience. He was very patient with my mom and helped her to color in her drawing and helped to me understand how to use water colors”

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