Hidden history – reviews

Above and beyond expectation! We’ve done many historical tours, but René’s was truly exceptional! He has a true passion for his métier and goes way beyond the standard Venice history trip. A true historian that can link ancient to contemporary sociology-economic and political history to every inch of the city. And anything else that may interest you 🙂 He is humble, professional, fun and flexible to accommodate any special requests. A truly perfect way to kick-off a Venice adventure! With his insights you will spot endless details that otherwise you would walk past. Anything from ancient graffiti, security markers, revolutionary building structures, geological and climate effects, political organizers,… fascinating! No matter if you are an absolute history beginner of well versed in the literature, you will certainly be mind blown! Don’t hesitate for a second to book René’s tour!

The walking tour was EXCELLENT, probably the best one I’ve ever taken in any city. René didn’t take us to the obvious sights, but explained the Venetian history and architecture through more hidden sights and regular buildings that you usually just walk by. His depth of knowledge is incredible and you can tell it’s his profession and passion at the same time. Would recommend for anyone interested in history and stories off the beaten path!

René knows an incredible about about Venice. It was a lovely tour, which lasted longer than we paid for.

Gentilissimo e preparato. Sicuramente da fare se si vuole approfondire la storia della città e scoprirne i tanti particolari più nascosti.

It was a pleasure to discover some new spots with René. He has tons of knowledge about the city, so even if you know Venice, you will learn something new!

Rene was a wonderful Guide He was very informative with all the small details while maintaining a continuous narrative of the larger history of Venice. He has embraced the History and spirit of Venice and deserves the title of Citizen of Venice. His command of the English language reflects his educational background. All in All , the Tour was easy , entertaining and educational

Una experiencia maravillosa. René logró captar la atención de toda la familia. Dinámico, didáctico y muy instruido. Definitivamente recomendamos a Rene para descubrir a una Venecia mágica llena de sorpresas y misterio.

René zeichnet kompentent und unterhaltsam ein Bild des historischen Lebens in Venedig. Er hat uns auf so viele Details aufmerksam gemacht, die wir ohne ihn nie entdeckt oder verstanden hätten. Perfekt für alle Neugierigen, die mehr als einen schnellen Überblick möchten. Wir sind mit vielen bleibenden Eindrücken nach Hause gekommen und haben wieder ein etwas anderes, genaueres Bild von unserer Lieblingsstadt.

This was a very interesting tour in a part of Venice that didn’t seem so touristy, so it was also a great way to explore a new area. Rene is filled with information and he is also very funny. He answered all my questions and even kept pointing out details after the tour ended as he showed me and the other group member our way to our next stop. You definitely pick up on things you would walk by without thinking about, and a few details will stick out to you the rest of your time in Venice.

René is very knowledgable and has so many interesting stories to tell. I feel like I got to know the city in a way I could never have done on my own. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a more in-depth tour.

Perfect if you are really into history and want to know every bit of Venice’s history. However I would say this tour isn’t for casual tourists who just want to hear some interesting information about places in Venice, as René often goes into really a lot of detail. He’s definitely an expert on the history of Venice, though, and is super passionate about it. I just expected the tour to be a bit more engaging, and that I would mostly hear more about the places or sights we see. Instead we often stopped for half an hour at a time and the storytelling wasn’t with much interaction or visual aspects.

René far exceeded my expectations for this walking tour! He is incredibly knowledgeable about the city, history and architecture and has a great sense of humor. Highly recommend this experience!

Rene is very knowledgeable. He introduced the history of Venice to me through many details which you may never find it by yourself. I learned how to look at Venice in a more specific way.

This was a unique tour that showed me some history of Venice away from the normal tourist spots. Fun activity, got to see more local Venice and explore areas I would not normally have visited. Rene is passionate about the history and a good storyteller.

A wonderful look at the history of Venice, René is a splendid storyteller that takes you on a romp through the early centuries of Venice. The smallest of details that hiding huge stories can be found on this tour. Strongly recommend for history or art buffs.

We loved this tour – René had amazing knowledge of Venetian history and was able to answer all our questions. We learnt so much and found it really fascinating. A highlight of our trip!

If you want to learn about the history of Venice and it’s architecture, Rene is your man! He’s incredibly knowledgeable, and I really got to know how Ventians lived over the centuries, and how to distinguish various architecture types and eras. I wouldn’t recommend this for kids- it was a great value and I learned a lot, but also a little dry.

Rene was very informative and clearly has a great love for Venice. We learnt many very interesting facts and mysteries and he was in no rush. We ended up spending 3.5hrs with him. Really well worth it!!

A gem of a tour, especially for people who love to understand how cities function. René even made a discussion of some crumbling bricks interesting. Seriously. René helped us gain a deeper appreciation for Venice. Highly recommend this tour.

War sehr lehrreich, wir haben viel über Venedig erfahren

Rene was a fantastic guide and storyteller. He loves this beautiful city and it shows. Take this tour !

Thank you so much for sharing your vast knowledge about Venice history with us! We really enjoyed ourselves.

René has great detailed knowledge, he is truly passionate about the history of Venice, we really enjoyed learning a lot!

Excellent tour! Recommend!”

René was an excellent connoisseur of Venetian history. He leads us back to the beginning of the first settlements of Venice and explains us how and why everything starts to become the important city of Venice . He shows us little details in the city to illustrate how people lived together in Venice in former times. René was very friendly and a sympathetic tourist guide who is highly recommendable.”

I’m not big on “tours,” so René’s hidden history experience was a perfect way for me to learn about Venice without the crowds. We started with a brief historical overview for context, then he led me through the city pointing out details from ancient graffiti to architectural oddities and sharing the incredible stories behind each one. I would fully recommend this experience for anyone who hates to wait in line for big church tours but is interested in learning about their surroundings.

Loved our tour with René! He’s super knowledgeable and passionate about Venice.

Rene truly knows Venice like nobody else. He will tell you a fascinating story of every corner, every street, every square, adding a bunch of interesting anecdotes to make a story alive. 2 hours passed in a heartbeat. I truly recommend this experience!

Our tour with René was, simply put, great. Not only we toured for almost 4 hrs instead of the scheduled 2, he is a true Venice and history enthusiast and was able to put a lot of details you’ll see in Venice into context. He gave us as well some great tips for local restaurants. Would definitely recommend to anyone.

René è un grande appassionato di storia e trasmette la sua passione e il suo amore verso Venezia. Abbiamo conosciuto una Venezia diversa e meno turistica

René è una persona preparatissima e simpatica che riesce a trasmettere la sua passione per la storia in maniera lodabile.Girare con lui è stato un po’ come avere degli occhiali a raggi X con cui analizzare Venezia nei suoi particolari più reconditi ed interessanti.Consigliatissimo!

Incredible tour 🙂 Amazing depth of knowledge and love for the city. Thank you 🙂

Rene showed us a lot about the city that is less known, but helps a lot to understand the history and soul of Venice! The tour was not too fast and full of details! Also Rene had an answer to all our questions. He really is an enthusiastic and devoted guide!

Excellent experience off the beaten tracks of conventional guided tours in Venice. René’s tour will offer you a vivid and well-achieved combination of funded historical knowledge and its routing within Venice’s fascinating microcosmos.

René is a very nice guy who certainly knows what he is doing. By showing small objects on the historic buildings and squares (e.g. antique graffiti that you normally would not notice) he explains the history and everyday life of Venice and the Venetians. He is very well structured (you can tell he is a trained historian) and puts everything he explains into the historic perspective. I do recommend a tour with him, especially if you want to go off the beaten track (e.g. the more residential areas of historic Venice). At the end of the tour René suggested a fantastic restaurant that we wouldn’t have found ourselves.

Esperienza diversa dai soliti itinerari turistici. Tantissima storia e aneddoti interessanti su Venezia!”

René was definitely knowledgeable of the area. He shared a lot of history that we would have missed. I appreciated the book you brought and used for illustration purposes for my younger children (and for me… haha). It was a nice start to our weekend trip.

Rene’s tour was amazing! It gave us a much deeper and richer appreciation for Venice and it’s history to see the “history in plain sight” that Rene pointed out to us! Plus this tour was so worth it, easily the best value for our money in Venice. Rene was relaxed and genuinely eager to share stories and bits of history with us. Recommend resting before bc it is a decent amount of standing and walking! The 2pm one is perfect bc you can go just as lunch spots close.

Es war eine besondere Geschichtstour, die so viele Details gezeigt hat, die mir nie aufgefallen wären. Ich war beeindruckt von Renés Entdeckungslust und die offenbare Liebe und Begeisterung zu Venedig! Es war regelrecht ansteckend und hat Spaß gemacht! Durch seine Einblicke in diese besondere Stadt, konnten wir auch anschließend mit ganz anderen Augen beobachten und einen viel innigeren Zugang zu Venedig finden. Vielen Dank dafür!

René shares a lot of his tremendous knowledge about this city and its past and what you can still see of it in today’s Venice, if you just take a really close look. We sure didn’t feel bored even for a second, the tour is just overall really well-designed and there’s hardly a corner in the city René doesn’t have an interesting fact or story up his sleeve about. After the tour we kept catching ourselves looking for little scratch marks that maybe weren’t left there by an uncivilized tourist as you might believe in the first instant.

Just spent a fascinating 2 hours in the company of Rene. Super knowledgeable guy, great story-teller mixing historical details to current Venetian life.. We will look at Venice in a different light from now on. Thank you Rene..

Magnificent experience: “We’ve been several times in Venice, but with Rene we saw and understood the hidden history and had a magnificent and individual experience, which was worth every penny. Our three hour tour was both exciting and interesting and went over in no time. Rene has an incredible knowledge about history in general and especially of Venetian history. He may not just answer ‘every’ question by telling dates and facts; instead he’ll start showing a salty stone or a hidden graffiti and explaining from there on links between history and today.

This was a fascinating tour, Rene is extremely knowledgeable. It was quite long (3 hours) so be prepared, but every minute packed with interesting information which I’m sure you couldn’t get elsewhere. Rene’s English is excellent too.

It was the best thing we did in Venice. We booked the tour on our first full day and afterwards, the insight we learned from Rene were used throughout our 4 days vacation. I’m a history nerd and his account and survey of Venice were accurate. Moreover, Rene was very passionate and his encyclopedic and street knowledge makes him an excellent companion to walk around this amazing city.

Excellent tour. Highly recommended. Rene is hugely knowledgeable, erudite and gifted with impressive language skills. He has lived in Venice for decades so his knowledge is imparted with passion and dedication to the subject.

Great experience to understand Venice in a way the guide books don’t tell you. I booked on the wrong day and Rene was very lovely in coming as soon as he heard. Great trip.

Wirklich ein tolles Erlebnis! Sehr Empfehlenswert!!

This was such an amazing tour. Rene pretty much knows everything and anything about Venice, any questions we had he answered in great detail and was just a generally amazing tour guide. This made our last day in Venice so special, please do this tour and be as amazed as we were! From Finn & Sophie

We’ve been several times in Venice, but with Rene we saw and understood the hidden history and had a magnificent and individual experience, which was worth every penny. Our three hour tour was both exciting and interesting and went over in no time. Rene has an incredible knowledge about history in general and especially of Venetian history. He may not just answer ‘every’ question by telling dates and facts; instead he’ll start showing a salty stone or a hidden graffiti and explaining from there on links between history and today.

This is a great tour to learn how to ‘read’ the city: understand the buildings, the squares, the layout of the neighbourhoods and so on. Great to do when you first arrive so you can apply those skills during the rest of the trip!