Private Tour vs DIY in Venice: An Honest Guide to Help You Decide
It is one of the most common questions in travel planning, and in Venice it is particularly pointed: do I book a private guided tour, or do I explore on my own?
VGB Blog
Sustainable Tourism in Venice: How to Visit the City Responsibly and Experience the Real Venice
Venice is in a paradox. It is one of the most visited cities on earth — welcoming somewhere between 25 and 30 million visitors a year into a historic centre with a resident population of fewer than 50,000 people — and it is also one of the most fragile. The same qualities that make it […]
Venice Art and History: A Complete Guide to the City’s Greatest Masterpieces
There are cities with great art, and there are cities that are themselves works of art. Venice is rare among the places in the world that belong to the second category — a city where the architecture, the paintings, the sculptures and the urban fabric itself constitute a single, continuous artistic achievement that unfolded over […]
First Time in Venice? Here’s Everything You Need to Know Before You Go
There is no city in the world quite like Venice — which means there is also no city quite like Venice to arrive in for the first time, map in hand, with no idea which way is north. The streets do not go where you expect them to. The bridges appear without warning. The water […]
Venice in One Day: The Perfect Itinerary and Why How You Visit Matters
One day in Venice. For millions of travellers every year, that is the reality — a single day to take in one of the most complex, layered and visually overwhelming cities on earth. Whether you are arriving on a connecting journey through northern Italy, fitting Venice into a busy itinerary, or simply returning after a […]
Why a Private Boat Tour is the Best Way to See the Venice Lagoon
Most visitors to Venice walk the same well-worn path: St. Mark’s Basilica, the Rialto Bridge, a gelato, and back to the hotel. It is a perfectly fine itinerary — but it misses the point entirely. Venice was not built for land. It was built for water. The city’s soul, its scale, and its centuries of […]
Leonardo Loredan: Venice’s Shrewd Strategist at the Basilica of Saints John and Paul
When Leonardo Loredan became Doge in 1501, Venice was teetering on the edge of great peril. During his twenty-year rule, he masterfully navigated the Republic through the turbulent League of Cambrai—an alliance of France, the Pope, the Holy Roman Empire, and others designed to crush Venetian power. Despite early defeats, Loredan’s political skill and diplomacy […]
Santorio Santorio: The Venetian Pioneer of Modern Medicine at the Marciana Library
Santorio Santorio (1561–1636), a Venetian physician and inventor, profoundly shaped modern medical science. He pioneered the use of the pulsilogium, a pendulum-based instrument that precisely measured the pulse—an innovation built on Galileo’s laws of motion. Through quantifying human vitals, Santorio transformed medical observation into a scientific practice
Regata Storica 2025: Venice’s Epic Water Parade and Rowing Spectacle
On Sunday, September 7, 2025, Venice will once again host the Regata Storica, its iconic historical regatta along the Grand Canal. This annual event, held on the first Sunday of September, is a living echo of Venice’s maritime and civic grandeur—rich in history, pageantry, and fierce competition.
Venice Film Festival 2025: A Journey Through Cinema and the Magic of Venice
Every year, late summer in Venice transforms into something extraordinary. From August 27 to September 6, 2025, the Venice International Film Festival returns to the Lido, drawing filmmakers, actors, and cinema lovers from around the world. Now in its 82nd edition, it remains one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world—where cinematic history […]
Daniele Manin: Venice’s 1848 Patriot at St. Mark’s Basilica
In 1848, the Venetian lawyer Daniele Manin rose to lead a courageous insurrection and proclaimed the short-lived Republic of San Marco, standing against Austrian domination and becoming a symbol of Venice’s quest for liberty. Today, his legacy is forever tied to St. Mark’s Basilica, where his final resting place lies in the Piazzetta dei Leoncini, […]
Chioggia: Venice’s Little Sister with a Soul of Her Own
Tucked away at the southern edge of the Venetian Lagoon, Chioggia is often referred to as “Little Venice”—but don’t let the nickname fool you. While its canals, bridges, and architecture may remind you of its more famous sister, Chioggia has a distinct personality, forged over centuries of independence, rivalry, and resilience. This is a city […]
