Other activities in The Veneto
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Rental Bike Venice
The scenic plains of the Brenta Riviera make an easy, enjoyable bicycle ride, and you can speed past those tour boats along 150km of cycling routes. Rental Bike Venice is a friendly bike-rental spot accessible by bus from Venice, Mestre or Padua offering city bikes with baskets, mountain bikes and handy foldable bikes to take on buses, plus free parking, roadside assistance and advice in English on itineraries, local restaurants and shops.
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Venicescapes
Intriguing walking tours run by a nonprofit historical society (proceeds support ongoing Venetian historical research) with themes such as ‘A City of Nations’, exploring multiethnic Venice through the ages; and ‘A Most Serene Republic’, revealing how Venice kept the peace through politics and espionage.
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Itinerari Segreti
Lesser known areas of the Palazzo Ducale, including the original Prigioni Vecchie (Old Prisons), can be visited on the Itinerari Segreti (Secret Itineraries) tour. Book tickets ahead for the tour at the Palazzo Ducale ticket desk or online.
The 1½-hour tour is an intriguing look at the underside of the palace and the workings of government in the days of La Serenissima.
You are first taken through some administrative offices, small timber-clad rooms in which the Republic's civil servants beavered away. These employees were often wealthy citizens but never nobles. They mostly went unpaid (to serve the state was an honour), although their chief, the Cancellier Grande (like…
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Il Burchiello
Il Burchiello is a modern version of the luxury barges that once plied the river Brenta, so you can see the Veneto countryside from the perspective of a Venetian courtier. Watch as 50 villas drift past from cushy velvet couches with a glass of prosecco from the on-board bar. Day cruises stop at La Malcontenta, Widmann and Pisani villas; half-day tours (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) cover two villas. Full-day cruises leave from Venice (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) or Padua (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday), with bus transfers to train stations.
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Brussa
Aspiring sea captains with nerves of steel can take on Venetian water traffic in a rented boat from Brussa. You can hire a 7m boat (including fuel) that can carry up to six people for an hour (€22) or a day (€140), or make arrangements for longer periods. You don’t need a licence, but you will be taken on a test run to see if you can manoeuvre and park; be sure to ask them to point out the four boat petrol stations around Venice on a map. If you’d rather enjoy cocktails on board and leave the sailing to the experts, look into lagoon tours.
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Città d’Acqua
Maree Veneziane (Venetian Tides) tours explore areas of the lagoon not usually glimpsed by visitors; an up-close-and-personal look at distant island communities, nature preserves established through environmental initiatives, and the effects of acque alte (high tides) and new marine technologies. Tours cover island monasteries not usually open to the public, or island-hop from Giudecca to Malamocco on the Lido, Le Vignole and Arsenale, with stops at local watering holes.
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Friends of Venice Club
Get to know Venice from the inside out, with a range of English-language courses including seasonal Italian cookery, chamber music and choral performances in a local palazzo (palace or mansion), rowing standing up Venetian-style across the Giudecca Canal, and plein-air drawing and painting all around town. Instructors are patient and genuinely enthusiastic about showing you the Venice they know and love.
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Venice International University
Earn credit as you learn more about Venice from this uni which has credit recognition arrangements with several universities in the Netherlands, Spain, China, USA and Japan. Recent seminars have explored Titian’s masterpieces, Venetian musicology, minority communities in Venice, Venice’s tense church-state relations and the fall of Venice and the rise of the Ottomans in Constantinople.
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Terra e Acqua
Spot rare lagoon wildlife, admire architectural gems of Burano and Torcello, and moor for a tasty fish-stew lunch, all via bragosso (Venetian barge).
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I Battelli del Brenta
I Battelli del Brenta also offers full-day boat excursions covering three villas, nine swing bridges and five locks along the Brenta, including some cruises on restored wooden burci (barges); half-day trips may include optional lunches and transfers to/from Venice or Padua.
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Walks Inside Venice
Spirited tours, run by three local women, lead groups of up to six people on afternoon treks through the city’s hidden backstreets to major monuments, off the tourist track through the Cannaregio district, or on grand tours of Venice with detours to Murano and the cemetery island of San Michele.
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Laguna Eco Adventures
Explore the far reaches of the lagoon by day or hidden Venetian canals by night in a traditional sampierota, a narrow twin-sailed boat. Reserve ahead and note that trips are subject to weather conditions.
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Istituto Europeo di Design
Design it yourself at this institute which offers three- to four-week English-language summer courses in fashion design, photography and graphic design, in addition to year-long programs and accredited masters degree coursework.
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Center Bike Bartolomielo
The scenic plains of the Brenta Riviera make an easy, enjoyable bicycle ride, and you can speed past those tour boats along 150km of cycling routes. Rentals are available from Center Bike Bartolomielo.
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Azienda Agricola Coffele
Azienda Agricola Coffele offers tastings of lemon-zesty DOC Soave Classico and nutty, faintly sweet bubbly DOCG (guaranteed quality) Recioto di Soave.
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Cantina del Castello
At Cantina del Castello you can tour underground cellars and sample Soaves ranging from sparkling Brut Soave to superior dessert Recioto di Soave.
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Friends of Venice
Become an opera diva or perform a benefit concert with Friends of Venice.
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Row Venice
The next best thing to walking on water: rowing a sandolo (Venetian boat) standing up like gondoliers do, with Australian-Venetian rowing coach Jane Caporal.
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Lido on Bike
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Eolo Cruises
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Azienda di Promozione Turistica
APT tourist offices list guided tours ranging from an introduction to the greatest hits: inside La Fenice, a classic gondola circuit (per person €40), and a ‘ghosts and legends’ tour that unravels local mysteries (per person €20). If you don’t find your interests covered, ask for an updated list of authorised guides who can take you on private walking tours of the city.
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APT
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Alberto Toso Fei
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Accessible Italy
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