What are guided walking tours?
Walking tours refer to tours that explore an area of interest, whether it be a single site or a particular geographical space, all on foot instead of relying on vehicles. These tours provide an expert tour guide on ground to give you in-person, real-time communication about the attraction you are visiting.
Do you have to walk a lot in Italy?
There is so much to see in every nook and cranny of towns and cities in Italy, that using vehicular transport every time would take away from the true pleasures of experiencing it. Walk around and let your senses be (positively) overwhelmed with the gems you have to discover along the way!
Is it easy to walk around in Italy?
It really depends on a range of factors. Some cities in Italy such as Florence are much easier to walk around in, whilst others such as Rome and Milan have a much more vast, spread out network that make it more challenging. However, most places in Italy have their own historic center, which are relatively easier to walk around, with important sites historically being grouped closer together.
Is it better to see Italy through tours or on your own?
We wholeheartedly argue that using tours to explore Italy completely changes your experience for the better, letting you capture the most value in limited time. We think that if you do Italy once (although the dream is to be able to ‘do’ Italy repeatedly), you might as well do it right! This is why we have made it our mission to design the widest range of possible tours for you to take, so that you will never run out of options and will always be able to find something that feels completely tailored for you, your trip’s logistics and your personal interests.
The following article will now continue to analyze the best walking tours in Italy, providing you with the best picks in case you decide to venture into tour experiences for your time in Italy.
Colosseum Underground Tour with Ancient Rome
You can’t walk through Rome without paying a visit to the Colosseum and its surrounding areas.
The Colosseum is arguably the most famous ancient amphitheater that has made it to today’s contemporary era. The gladiator fights that would take place there were beckoned as one of the biggest entertainment spectacles for the ancient Romans. Tourists today still visit the Colosseum in order to admire its massive elliptical architecture as well as to imagine the gladiatoral activity that would occur there once upon a time.
This intimate tour offers to take you away from the large crowds that amass the Colosseum and lets you, instead, dive deeper into the fascinating landscape and stories of the Colosseum underground area. It also takes you through the expanse of ruins remaining from the Roman forum that can be seen from a marvelous bird’s eye view from the Palatine hill.
Early Morning Vatican Tour
To visit Vatican City is one of the most highly esteemed journeys to make for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. There is a sacred spirituality that seems to loom around within the parameters of the city, especially due to the St Peter’s Basilica, the public appearances of the Pope and the cluster of Vatican museums.
Our Early Morning Vatican tour will attempt to avoid the large crowds and guide you through the iconic sites of the Vatican. The aforementioned basilica was built on the burial site of one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, that is, St. Peter. The marvellous square with collonades, an obelisk and optical illusions was built by the famous Baroque sculptor Bernini. The tour also ventures into the many rooms of the Vatican Museums. Each holds its own awe-inspiring art, collected by the Catholic Church over time, but the most renowned room that the tour would take you to is the Sistine Chapel, covered with religious frescoes by Michelangelo.
Caravaggio tour
Although harsh in nature and not known to be the most amicable character, Caravaggio was still celebrated for his intensely realistic portraiture of people, brought out through chiaroscuro– a technique that used light and shadow to bring out provocative contrasts in his subjects. These expressed a very unique depiction of extreme emotions and vulnerability in the usually controversial scenes he portrayed.
Works by Carravaggio truly hold a special quality. What if you were to partake in an art tour that particularly revolved around this brilliant and crude artist? Our Carravaggio tour would guide you through several churches and basilicas in Rome where his works can be found, such as in the basilicas of Santa Maria del Popolo, San Luigi dei Francesi and Sant’Agostino.
Trastevere Food Tour
Trastevere happens to be one of the most sought out neighborhoods by tourists and Italians alike. It is one of the most beautiful districts that you can walk around in, with cobblestone streets leading you through piazzas with churches and alleys with little, colorful buildings drapes with lush, green foliage. If you come during the spring time, you will see the trellises bursting with purple visteria and bright pink bougainvillea. In the winter, the streets became cozier through the warm glow of fire burners and twinkling lights.
But Trastevere has a much deeper history than what meets the eye today. It used to be a working class neighborhood mostly occupied by fishermen, immigrants and artisans, until developments and the building of churches began there in the medieval period. What followed was a period of urbanization that has made it what it is today.
Now, Trastevere has become home to the showcasing of some of the best Rome has to offer regarding food! A tour here lets you experience its charm while at the same time making stops at authentic establishments to try suppli, pizza al taglio (slized pizza) and a traditionally Roman pasta paired with a local wine.
Orientation of Florence with Uffizi and Accademia
Did you know that once Florence was considered to be the capital of Italy? Regardless of this title to be switched with Rome, it is a telling sign that Florence holds a lot of historical and cultural significance for the country. This was due to a number of factors but also widely because it is a center for the era of the Renaissance.
We have carefully developed a tour that takes you back into that period and immerses you in the undeniable beauty of it. With an expert Florentine guide on hand to unravel historical stories for you, you will head to see the iconic Duomo (Florence Cathedral), and across it, the Baptistery which displays mesmerizing scenes from the Old Testament. You will visit the Piazza della Signoria, a square which was a major political center and has the fortress of Palazzo Vecchio on it.
The majority of your time will be spent examining the largest collection of Renaissance era art in the highly regarded Uffizi Gallery. Here you can see Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus” and “Primavera”, which are even more magnificent in reality than you could ever imagine them to be. You will also have a chance to muse over the exemplary statue of Michelangelo’s “David” at the Accademia gallery.
In this customizable tour you can also choose to walk across the world-famous Ponte Vecchio, where some of the best sunsets can be witnessed.
One Day Tour in Venice
Venice really is the sea-green, glittering marvel as is portrayed by those who visit. It is stupendously unparalleled as an experience, and has an incredible history, being founded by refugees escaping an invasion in the north of Italy by Germanic tribes, and then becoming a powerful Maritime Republic.
Due to its unique character, it can become a little difficult to navigate, with uncommon streets (mostly bridges that connect one street to another!) and the inaccessibility of parts of Venice due to the Grand Canal that divides some of it. This is why we have curated a widely flexible eight hour tour where we offer many mini itineraries for you to choose from!
What can be visited, with a comprehensive guide on hand? The Rialto Bridge, St. Mark’s Bridge, Doge’s Palace, the artisan area of Cannaregio, and a traditional mask-making atelier! We can make stops for lunch, or an aperitivo of wine accompanied with traditional Venetian snacks (cicchetti). Or, you can decide to swap some of the aforementioned itinerary to make space for a glass-blowing tour on the nearby island of Murano and/or a sunset cruise down the Grand Canal!
Authentic Naples Walking Tour
Looking for a walking tour in Southern Italy? We have the perfect solution for you!
Today, Naples has a vibrant and colorful nature that is thoroughly enjoyed by visitors who prefer an undeniably warm welcome by an Italian city’s inhabitants. A lot of its history also comes from its complex geographical situation next to Mount Vesuvius. This volcano had an infamous eruption in 79 AD and buried neighboring towns, which has had profound impacts on Naples itself.
Our walking tour of Naples will weave you in and out of the famous street of Spaccanapoli, where you will be able to see intriguing churches, monuments and obelisks that speak of the diverse history of Napoli. These will include the monastery of Santa Chiara, the Church of Gesu Nuovo, and Sansevero Chapel.
Of course, this tour could never be complete without trying to understand why the city is so revered for its food! You will be able to try Neapolitan pizza (and notice what makes it so different from Roman pizza), deep’-fried suppli balls and flaky, shell-shaped sfogliatelle pastries!
