Italy · WALKING TOURS
Good walking tours fill up weeks out and the best ones go first. Below: the 15 to book early, what each includes and how they differ.
Skip the lines for Da Vinci’s Last Supper and walk Milan with a guide, plus stops at Sforza Castle, La Scala, and the Duomo.
“The tour was excellent, Jada our guide was informative (about more than just things on the tour) and also brought humour to the tour which was nice. Great local knowledge”
2.5-hour Naples street food walk from Piazza Bellini, with pizza fritta, mozzarella, limoncello, spritz and gelato.
“Great tour! We love everything. Our guide, Daniela, was fantastic!”
St Mark’s to canals: walk past Scala del Bovolo and La Fenice, then a 30-minute gondola down the Grand Canal.
“Our guide Elena was excellent, and we had a great time on this tour and the gondola ride. Elena was highly knowledgeable and told the story of venice throughout the tour extremely well. The gondola ride started down the grand canal before turning down a side canal, with plenty of opportunities for pictures! My only negative comment would be that its hard to find the tour start, maybe having a brighter / more obvious sign would help. The area the tour starts in is quite busy, so it was hard to find which group was ours.”
Offbeat Rialto Bridge and San Marco walk with Casanova stops and an optional 30-minute gondola ride, from about $28.
“The tour was a fantastic way to get off the beaten track. My children really enjoyed it also.”
See Bologna’s Two Towers, Neptune’s Fountain, San Petronio, and the Quadrilatero Market on a small-group 2 to 3 hour guided walk.
“excellent walking tour of Bologna with a very knowledgeable guide, the headphones were great for catching all the information, and allowed you to wander a little way from the group to take a photo, but still listen to all that was being said. Took the tour at the start of our trip, as you always pick up great tips on where to go, where to eat etc. 100% recommend!”
Skip the St Mark’s line, walk Venice’s backstreets, then cruise the Grand Canal. Small groups, pro guides, and a smart break.
“Tour guide was so sweet and accommodated us with a private tour of the city and water taxi trip in and out of the grand canal seeing unique spots not listed in this description. St. Mark basilica was special and very sacred.”
A 1.5-hour guided walk through Florence’s top landmarks and Medici-era streets, with expert commentary and convenient free luggage storage.
“Eduardo was perfect! His English was superb and we got a feeling he was a historian or art historian! He showed us all the cool places and knew a lot about Italian history. The tour wasn't too long nor too short, hour and a half - perfect! The group wasn't too big (around 10 of us), and it was easy to follow everything. Would recommend the tour to everyone!”
Skip lines at Accademia and Uffizi in a 4-hour Florence small group, with headsets, David stories, Duomo stroll, and priority entry.
“Our tour guide was very informative and the experience was wonderful. Highly recommend the Uffizi and Academia skip the line tour.”
Taste classic Roman street food across Trastevere and Campo de Fiori, with a small-group licensed guide, history stops, and gelato.
“Fantastic and very enjoyable evening street food tour with Danielle. Really intresting conversations but all done with humour. Very knowledgeable as his background in archeology made the information even more beneficial. The food and establishments chosen were a delight and the small group we were with, were all so lovely and friendly. A most enjoyable tour and highly recommended, particularly to do at the start of your holiday, as Danielle gave good tips and hints as to what to do and where to go for the remainder of the week. Great value for the price of the tour. Very enjoyable! Thank you.”
A 3-hour Palermo walking tour on Mafia power and civic resistance, with stops like Teatro Massimo, Il Capo, and Piazza Della Memoria.
“Our tour guide Linda was exceptional. She was friendly and very well informed. She expressed passion about the subject and was overall a pleasure to spend more than 3 hours with. I would highly recommend this tour.”
Explore Cagliari underground layers from WWII bomb shelters to Roman ruins, with guided crypts, frescoes, and optional Old Town or wine tasting.
“Interesting places that we wouldn’t have seen without this tour”
Palermo Original Street Food walk by Streaty. 3 hours of Sicilian snacks at Capo and Vucciria markets, with 3 drinks included.
“This was a great tour, led by a local with a ton of history info. We had a lot of food and drink and was a great way to walk the markets/city.”
A 2-hour Rome paranormal night walk from Campo de’ Fiori to Castel Sant’ Angelo, with spooky stories, secret backstreets, and small groups.
“Great guide, good information, and a fun way to walk Roma at night!”
Guided walk from St. Mark’s Square to Rialto with calli alleys, a VR history stop, and optional gondola for about $14.
“Guide Natalia was very knowledgeable and made the historical facts very interesting.”
Florence in 90 minutes with a certified guide. Duomo, Signoria Square, David replica, and Ponte Vecchio, all outside.
“Loved hearing about the buildings and statues, historical facts etc our guide really brought the Florence from history to life! How the people lived, what the city looked like, how it came to be, feuds and murderous times, its designers and architects, artists, the Romans, Middle Ages, WWII, the Mafia! His stories were endless and fascinating. Delivered seamlessly, with such a wealth of knowledge, story telling skills and humour. He made sure we saw everything (and safely on busy roads with people and traffic). He clearly loved Florence. We fell in love with the city too!”
Every kind of day out in the country, and the best of each.
