Your Friend In Venice » Private Tours

Venice 101

Your Friend in Venice — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 18:45:45 +0000

Venice is not just any city. The streets are water, there’s not a right angle to be found, finding decent eateries are potluck, and the system of convoluted alleyways can be difficult to navigate even for a local. That’s why having a personal, practical, on-site introduction can make all the difference in how enjoyable the rest of your stay can be.

VENICE 101 is the on-arrival meet, greet, and orientation that will enrich the entire rest of your stay.

It begins with an e-mail containing detailed arrival instructions according to your lodging and your means: air, train, or car. We’ll track your actual arrival and arrange to meet you shortly thereafter. Instead of wandering about, though, we’ll choose the perfect spot in your specific neighborhood (likely a nearby cafe) to sit, chat, and orient you to the city.

We’ll dot your map with locations for any activities you already have scheduled, make suggestions for things to keep an eye out for as you wander. We’ll have eating tips of all types, and make reservations if you’d like (definitely for your first night). We’ll include a complete explanation of the vaporetto and traghetto and how best to take advantage of them. We’ll tell you of any last minute goings-on, answer any specific questions, and include insider recommendations – all according to you personal interests and mode of travel.

MEETING INCLUDES:

a highlighted city map
transport system explanation and orientation, including nearest vaporetto stops
vaporetto explanation with exclusive Venice Vap Map & cheat sheet
the current Venice guide and calendar from the TI, with hours, openings, and current events
dinner recommendations and reservations (we’ll escort you there if the timing works out)
suggestions for how best to organize your time according to your interests and itinerary
a printed outline and/or pdf so you don’t forget any of it

We also point out convenient vaporetto & traghetto locations, coordinated city-wide explanations between maps and principal thoroughfares, shortcuts, navigation tips along orientation keys and landmarks, ways to get un-lost, along with shopping tips, current exhibitions, notable wine bars, eateries, favorite gelato bars, and more.

1.5 hour meeting ALSO INCLUDES:

detailed arrival advice and instructions

arrival tracking

maps and other materials

vaporetto and city orientation

expert eating recommendations from pizza to alta cucina

printed version of all info for you to keep

COST:
1-2 adults: €85
3-4 adults: €100
5-6 adults: €115

Additional time available at €25 per half-hour (1 – 6 pp).

NOTE: Kids don’t count when calculating number of people.

Vi Presentiamo Venezia

Your Friend in Venice — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 22:00:10 +0000

The ideal tour for first-time and even second-time visitors, as it combines the practical with the inspirational.

It consists of two parts. The first is the invaluable Venice 101, to orient you to the city with personal recommendations for rest of your stay. We’ll provide you with detailed arrival instructions, track your train or plane, and once your settled at your lodging arrange to meet for an hour-long intro to the city.

The second portion of Vi Presentiamo Venezia is a three-hour, private tour of the entire city, one hour of which is in a private water taxi. You’ll meet your amiable, authorized guide at the Rialto Market, where you’ll get a brief tour of the gastronomic melèe that has been an intregral part of Venice’s commericial center since its inception on the “riva alta.” Hop the vaporetto and head for Santa Maria dei Frari which contains a wonderfully diverse yet highly representative art collection by Venice’s most prominent masters (the best gelato in town is right around the corner). Embark on a one-hour canal tour in a water taxi for a more intimate and evocative view of the city, ending at the Republic’s political and celebratory center, the magnificent Piazza San Marco. Cross the Canal one last time to hear the history behind the soaring Santa Maria della Salute church, one of the few examples of Baroque architecture in the city.

This combo tour is the ideal solution for getting the most out of your stay, no matter how brief, or long. We cover the practicalities (an absolute necessity here) quickly, then present Venice in all its brilliance without wearing you to a pulp.

INCLUDES:

One-hour version of the Venice 101

Three hour private tour, including one hour canal tour in private water taxi

Visits to the high points of the city, as well as “Venezia Minore”

COST:
€460 (for up to 4 people)
€520 (5 – 6 people)

Include an additional hour in the water taxi during your 3-hour city overview for €110 (€130 for more than 4 people).

Private Secret Itineraries & the Doge’s Palace

Your Friend in Venice — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 10:14:29 +0000

You may already be familiar with the Secret Itineraries group tour offered by the Musei di Venezia: is extremely popular, escorting visitors through the private, fascinating, less-celebrated rooms of the Doge’s Palace: the Chancellor’s quarters, the Tribune, prison and Casanova’s cell…you’ll even be escorted above the ceiling of the Palace’s massive Sala Maggiore to investigate its amazing overhead support system.

As in any group of up to thirty people, however, some of these interesting explanations can get lost. As an ideal alternative, we are delighted to offer a Secret Itineraries tour with an authorized private guide, combining it with a tour of the Doge’s Palace itself: the best of both worlds!

INCLUDES:

Private guide for 2 hours (great with kids, too)

Private Secret Itineraries and Doge’s Palace tour

COST:
€175 (€220 for five – six people)
+ museum entrance fees
(€18 ea full; €12.50 ea for 65+ yrs or family discount)

The Venetian Vine: Drink Different.

Your Friend in Venice — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 22:42:19 +0000

~ Book online at venetianvine.com ~

Enjoy More Wine, Enjoy Wine More.

It’s late afternoon. You’ve had an exciting day, exploring and absorbing the city, and you’re ready to relax and recount your experiences with your companions over a nice glass of vino. You ease into an enoteca and review the list scrawled on the chalkboard.

Vernaccia Nera? Ribolla Gialla? Greco di Tufo? Schiop…schioppe…? You turn to the barista and sheepishly order red wine; they, sensing your anxiety, suggest a Chianti, knowing this is one you’ll know. *Whew* Crisis averted.

The only problem is, you’ve traveled hundreds and/or thousands of miles to drink the very same wines you’d find back home – which also means you’ll miss out on some of the best and most exciting wines Italy has to offer, many of which never leave the region, let alone the country.

Drink Different.

The Venetian Vine is a different sort of wine tasting: informative, practical, entertaining — without a trace of uppity, it’s designed to introduce you to the taste of regions, varieties, and terriors that combine to produce some of the most varied, delightful wines around.

The focus is on distinctive wines from small producers, some to introduce you to the Tri-Veneto and others from across the country, chosen specifically for their quality and diversity. In fact, you’ll experience a much wider variety of wines during this tasting than you ever would criss-crossing the countryside in a one-day wine tour.

A varietal is not a grape. Really.

As you taste, you’ll learn lots of whys-and-wherefores that will help you choose the best Italian wines once you’ve left us, both as you travel, and once you’re back home — whether you’ve ever heard of them or not.

The Best Wine Tasting Experience in Venice…

…we guarantee it. In fact, after experiencing the Venetian Vine, you’ll be the one talking up that great Malvasia Istriana…

~ Book online at venetianvine.com ~

INCLUDES:

Semi-private, small group tasting – maximum six people

Tuesdays & Friday at 5pm (other days available on request for two or more people)

Tasting of 6 wines, chosen according to season and theme, concentrating on quality wines produced from lesser known varieties and regions

Paired, gourmet antipasti to enjoy with our chosen wines

Lively, informative explanations in English by a professional sommelier

Includes materials for remembering the wines you experienced during the tasting

COST & DETAILS:

€70 per person

two person minimum for tasting to take place (singles reservations gladly accepted if minimum has been met)

50% non-refundable deposit required via Paypal or with credit card details to reserve. Walk-ins are accepted if there is space remaining.

Larger group tasting arrangements on request.

Cena a casa: an Italian meal prepared in their home, or yours.

Your Friend in Venice — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 05:37:21 +0000

How would you like to enjoy a privately prepared, gourmet meal in a contemporary Venetian home? Or, would you prefer that meal prepared in the apartment where you’re staying? Having friends in during your stay and looking for a catering services? How about combining the meal while practicing your Italian? These creative, personable professionals are here for you.

So much of Venice’s popularity rests on its past laurels, but these two enterprising women have divined to take the city’s most treasured gastronomic and social elements to have you experience them in a contemporary and most delectable way.

La Mela (the Apple), as their endeavor is known, offers menus of primi, secondi and desserts that change with the season, and range from bio-natural to Venetian to typically Italian, all created with the freshest ingredients with the utmost skill and care. You can enjoy them in Manu’s luminous, contemporary mansarda (attic) home: a stone’s throw from the Teatro Fenice, with the San Marco Campanile peering in the window. Or, if you’d prefer, enjoy your repast and their company in your own apartment: they will bring the meal to you. Socialize with your hosts in Italian if you’d like to practice, or in your native English.

La Mela is available to reserve for lunch, apertivo, or dinner, any day of the week. Just write with your preferences and reserve your private Venetian meal, as you like it.

PRICES START at €35 per person for aperitivo, €55 per person for lunch, and €75 per person for dinner. Meals are an abundant, gourmet, four-course (antipasto, primo, secondo and contorno, dessert) repasts and include wine. Please write for a quote, include number in your party, and note any allergies or other dietary restrictions with your request.

Buon appetito!

Consuming Venice: Have Your Fish and Eat it too.

Your Friend in Venice — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:43:10 +0000

One of our most popular offerings, and a must for foodies of all sorts. An up-close, behind the scenes introduction to not only what, but who makes up consumable Venice, guaranteed to afford you one of the most authentic, informative, and sensual (literally) Venetian experiences of your visit.

Too many landlubbers miss some of the best meals available in the city because “they don’t care for fish.” Often this is because they’ve never tasted fish that, as we say, “was swimming with his brothers just a few hours ago.” “It’s alive!” shrieks a visitor, recoiling from the claws of an indigo-blue astice. Says Loris (bettern known as Lolo) Manna, the Rialto Fish Market President: “If it’s not alive…it’s no good!”

Let Lolo give you the insider’s perspective on one of the most famous fish markets in the world. He’ll introduce you to its proud members, just arrived from the lagoon inlets and the high Adriatic, and beyond. They come in every form and fashion, depending on the season: shrimp to scampi (do you know the difference?), scallops to razor clams, eels to rays, tuna to swordfish. You’ll hear about Venetian fishing and cooking traditions and how they’ve evolved, even get tips on how to choose and prepare some simple dis hes yourself.

After leaving the market we’ll take the traghetto across the Grande Canal and head for the recently-revamped Fontego dei Pescatore, an elegant restaurant at night and lively bàcaro at lunchtime. Lolo is the proud proprietor, a guarantee of the quality of the fish in the tasty cichetti we’ll sample — some traditional, some contemporary creations — all Venetian to the core. We’ll also sample a flight of wines from the Tre Venezie (Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Trentino Alto Adige), paired to accompany this ichthyic lunch that will combine all the elements of the morning. Whether you opt for a generous sampling of classic cichetti and a hearty seafood risotto, or a four course gourmet meal, it’s all created with quello del’megliore che c’è, the best ingredients available, guaranteed to please everyone from the most adventurous to the pickiest of diners.

INCLUDES:

Rialto Fish Market tour with Loris Manna, President of the Rialto Fishmongers Association

Private Rialto Fish Market tour with Loris Manna, President of the Rialto Fishmongers Association

Olive oil sampling

Tre-Venezia wine tasting

Lunch comprising all the elements of the tour, either a variety of fish and vegetable cichetti including piping hot seafood risotto all’onde, or a four-course gourmet meal

COST:

Prices are for generous cichetti and risotto lunch, second are for the four course meal:

2pp €260 / €360

4pp €350 / €520

6pp €440 / €660

Please note: when booking this tour, do let us know of any allergies or dietary concerns you may have.

NOTE:

This tour is available from Wednesday – Saturday.

This tour may not be available in August, when the fishing is at its leanest.

Venezia & Vetro

Your Friend in Venice — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:18:04 +0000

This tour is similar to Vi Presentiamo Venezia, but is modified for those with a deeper interest in Murano art glass. You’ll begin your visit at the Rialto Markets, followed by a winding walking tour across the Rialto Bridge to the Piazza San Marco, for centuries the seat of the Venetian Republic’s political power. You’ll then embark on a one-hour water taxi tour of the city that will end on the island of Murano, where your guide will escort you to select, expert artisans as he recounts the rich history of glass along with the myriad of techniques (both traditional and contemporary) in which it is worked.

INCLUDES:

Private guide for 4 hours (total)

includes 1-hour in water taxi

COST:

€470 (for up to six people)

Add Welcome Intro for €65.

Glass Reflections, Lace Formations, Mosaic Origins

Your Friend in Venice — Sat, 16 May 2009 23:26:39 +0000

You begin by meeting your guide at the Fondamente Nove vaporetto stop, where he’ll accompany you on the 40-minute ride to the island of Torcello — one of the most evocative environments in the lagoon. On the ride out, he’ll recount the history of the original settlement that once was home to 10,000 inhabitants. The intimate Torcello cathedral houses stunning mosaics, a plaque dating from 639 a.d., and a bell tower offering a tranquil and unique lagoon view.

Contrast that with the bustling island of Burano, just five minutes by vaporetto, teeming with lace, multicolored houses and a fishing and rowing tradition that extends back centuries.

You’ll take a private taxi back to Murano, which in contrast, is not an “island,” but more of home to the complex, multi-faceted, artistic glass enterprise, whose origins date back to the 12c, but include a rennaissance from the late 1800s till today. You’ll hear about this history while visiting a variety of artisans and furnaces that produce everything from chandeliers to glass beads, when each came into being, and leave with a broader understanding what Murano glass truly is (and maybe even a chandelier).

(Lunch can be either on Burano or Murano, depending on client desires. It is not included in the tour itself.)

Instead of Murano, you may choose instead travel back to Venice in your water taxi, where you can complete the rest of your experiential Venetian history tour by visiting the gothic Frari Church with its magnificent Assumption by Titian, the Rennaissance Santa Maria della Salute, ending the Piazza San Marco (just in time for a visit to the Basilica should you so choose).

INCLUDES:
Private guide (6 hours), private taxi (Burano to Murano)

COST:
€620

Island Origins and Evolution to Preeminence

Your Friend in Venice — Sat, 16 May 2009 23:22:21 +0000

You’ll meet your guide at the Rialto Market vaporetto stop, where’ll you’ll begin by touring this lively and historic fish & vegetable market. Head to the Fondamente Nove, stopping to visit the Miracoli Church along the way, then pick up the Laguna Nord vaporetto to Burano. During the 40 min ride, Your guide will paint the picture of Venice’s origins, referencing various sights as they glide past. Another five-minute vaporetto ride takes you further back in time to the evocative island and original lagoon settlement of Torcello. You’ll visit Santa Maria Assunta cathedral and its splendid mosaics (noting the plaque dated 639). You’ll take in the unique lagoon view from the bell tower before returning to visit the colorful island of Burano, known for its fishing and lace, where you’ll have lunch.

You’ll return to Venice in a water taxi (20 minutes) where for your next three hours you’ll continue your experiential Venetian history tour by visiting the Frari (with Titian’s magnificent Assumption by Titian(, the Santa Maria della Salute church (constructed in thanks to the Madonna for ending a second plague), and the Piazza San Marco (just in time for a visit to the Basilica should you so choose).

If you prefer, you may substitute a visit to the Island of Murano (See Venezia e Vetro) for the Piazza, Frari & Salute churches.

INCLUDES:

Private guide (6 hours), water taxi transfer from Burano to Murano. Lunch is not included; but your guide will suggest several options depending on your hunger and mood, from panini to primo to a full meal.

COST:

€620

Classic Canal Cruise

admin — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:40:11 +0000

PRIVATE or SMALL GROUP. This unique tour offers one the easiest and most beguiling introduction as you cruise along the Grande, gracious highway in your private water-taxi. Removed from the tumult of the tourist bustle, your guide will point out today’s as well as historic Venice—accompanied by a Prosecco or the famous Bellini cocktail along the way.

The small group (10 pp max) water-taxi tour departs San Zaccaria, heads across the bacino past the Piazza San Marco, up the Grand Canal, and into some of the smaller side canals.

The private tour offers the advantage of your being able to set both the pickup time and location.

GROUP TOUR:
Small group taxi tour, afternoon departure, 1 hour 10 minutes, 10 people maximum; we do not book the group tour, but please feel free to book yourself at Grand Canal Cruise. Please tell them we sent

COST:
€42 per person.

PRIVATE TOUR:
Private tour, one hour tour in water taxi with private guide (recommended for groups of four or more).

COST:
€210 per person