Home / Destinations / Venice
Venice
A thousand-year republic, walked chapter by chapter with the man who wrote its history.
Region
Italy
Group size
14–20 travelers
Next departure
May 1 – 8, 2027
Why Venice? For one thing, you cannot take a bad picture from any angle, it is so incredibly beautiful. Venice is a city not to be missed, with a rich history deeply intertwined with that of one of our other favorite cities, Istanbul.
Thomas Madden, PhD, author of Venice: A New History, travels with us and provides daily lectures and commentary. His lectures follow the chapters of the book, from the founding of the lagoon settlement through the long Venetian republic and its fall. The history meets the place itself, building by building, as the week goes on.
The itinerary includes a private night visit to the Basilica di San Marco, a Murano glass furnace where you watch the craft worked the way Venice made it famous, a morning on Torcello, the marshland island where Venice began, and the Jewish Ghetto, the first place in the world to carry that name.
"If I could live in one city and do every single thing I do there, I would choose Venice. You can't turn your head without seeing something amazing."
Nile Rodgers
Trip highlights
- Explore the islands of Torcello, Burano, and Murano
- Take a private tour of the Basilica of San Marco
- Visit the Doge's Palace
- Visit Lazzaretto Nuovo
- Catch a performance at any of the award-winning opera or music halls
Your experts
Next departure
May 1 – 8, 2027
What Travelers Say
Verbatim, from travelers on this trip.
This trip to Venice was truly the trip of dreams! It was perfect in every way, thank you Cultured Travel. This was our second trip to Venice with Cultured Travel and it was every bit as exciting and wonderful as the first trip with the bonus that we already knew our favorite places to eat and get cannoli & gelato! Just flying into Venice is a treat but then Cultured Travel arranges your pick up from the airport and you are whisked away by boat to the lovely Palazzetto Pisani which will be our home for this trip. Everyday is a new adventure and a fabulous learning experience. We are guided through the complex history of Venice by Tom Madden. a gifted historian and professor from Saint Louis University who also literally wrote the book on Venice. Tom Madden makes the whole city come alive from it’s humble beginnings to the present. As if that were not enough the tour also has a local guide Nadia Mazzon who studied art history in Venice and helps lead us through the many, many works of art that are everywhere in Venice. Nadia is invaluable in understanding the art work and it’s growth in Venice. There is so much to see and experience in Venice and it’s smaller surrounding islands. This trip is a must!
- Alberta C.
Where else we go
Twelve destinations on four continents. Each one has its own itinerary and its own expert.
Istanbul
A city sprawled over two continents and twenty centuries, read by two experts at once.
Egypt
Rome
Calabria
A remodeled castle above the Mediterranean, Pompeii, and farm-to-table done properly.
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