Like a true rare gem, Venice is enticingly gorgeous and maddeningly elusive. Once you've taken the Vaporetto all the way down the Grand Canal, walked through St. Mark's Square, visited the cathedral and the Doge's Palace, even dared to venture on to the Rialto and the Accademia, you have the feeling that you're standing on the edge of something wonderful, mysterious, almost forbidden, something you may never see because if you get lost.... How in the world will you ever get home if you get lost in Venice?

Once you've seen the part of Venice that belongs to the tourists, let Venetian native Elena show you the city that belongs to the natives. Stroll with her down deserted side streets, alongside narrow canals, over the enchanting hump-backed bridges you've seen in movies, through the spacious campi where the only sound is the ripple of children's laughter, the velvety echo of Venetian dialect, and the occasional squeak of an overhead laundry line. This is the Venice we all long to see. This is the Venice that lies just out of reach of most visitors. Those who step across the invisible border into the Venetians' Venice may leave at the end of the day, but they will never escape her bewitching spell.

Here are some special itineraries Elena offers:

The Venetians' Venice
Venice by Water 2-Hour
Venice by Water 3-Hour
St. Mark's Basilica & The Doge's Palace

THE VENETIANS' VENICE

This walk is great for those who wish to see lots of Venice. It starts in a picture postcard corner of Dorsoduro, with a visit to the last of the original gondola workshops. Then you're off across the city, with stops to see the Titian and Bellini masterpieces in the church of the Frari.

The final destination is the Rialto bridge and market, where you reward yourself with a cicchetto: a glass of wine accompanied by fresh fish appetizers, served in one of the city's oldest wine bars (called bacari in Venice).

All-inclusive price for 2009:
2 People: 3 People: 4 People: 5 People: 6 People: 266. Euro/group 277. Euro/group 307. Euro/group 320. Euro/group 333. Euro/group	Price includes entrance fee for the Frari, as well as the cicchetto.

VENICE BY WATER 2-HOUR

Venice is a fascinating warren of tiny streets, elaborate buildings and flowering balconies called altane. Unless you are planning an extended stay in this most unique city, the very best way to see its many secret corners and magical vistas is from the canals, in your own private water taxi.

During this unforgettable two-hour trip, Elena will take you along part of the Grand Canal or one of the delightful side canals on your way out across the lagoon to the island of Murano. Here you'll take a short stroll through the fairy-tale streets, past the world-famed glassblowing workshops where you can pause for a demonstration if you'd like.

Your next destination is a masterpiece of one of the world's most memorable architects, Andrea Palladio. S. Giorgio Maggiore is the oft-photographed cluster of graceful buildings across the Grand Canal from St. Mark's. Palladio worked on this gem for over sixteen years, experimenting with techniques that would move liturgical architecture forward by decades. You'll visit the church, then soar to the top of the belltower for a sweeping view of the entire city and many islands in the lagoon.*

The last leg of the tour takes you to the Giudecca, Venice's second-largest canal, where you'll pass the church of a former institution for orphan girls (hence its name, "The Old Maids"). It was designed by Palladio and built after his death. Across the canal is Il Redentore, considered by many experts to be one of Palladio's greatest masterpieces. From here you'll have a different view of St. Mark's, visible in the distance beyond the customs house at the tip of the Giudecca.

2009 All-inclusive price for two-hour tour: 2 people: 375. Euro/group 3 people: 378. Euro/group 4 People: 399. Euro/group 5 People: 402. Euro/group 6 People: 405. Euro/group

Two-hour itinerary Side canals Murano Island S. Giorgio Maggiore Giudecca

VENICE BY WATER 3-HOUR

Also available is Elena's three-hour trip, which heads out across the lagoon to Burano, a picture-perfect island where you'll get out to visit the miniature bridges and brightly-colored homes, and pause for a demonstration of lacemaking. Many people consider Burano to be the most typical island in the Venetian lagoon.

Next comes the ancient island of Torcello, where you'll see the most beautiful Byzantine mosaics in Venice. From May to October and time permitting, we can also climb the recently-opened 11th-century belltower for an aerial view of all you've just visited. True Venetians know that because you can see the islands, the city of Venice and the mainland, it is only from the belltower on Torcello that you can get a complete idea of how Venice was built so many centuries ago.

Filled with inspiration, you'll go home via a small canal that passes near the Arsenale, Venice's exquisite ancient shipworks.

* At times the belltower is not accessible to the public. We apologize for this inconvenience.

2009 All-inclusive price for three-hour tour: 4 People: 538. Euro/group 5 People: 543. Euro/group 6 People: 554. Euro/group

Three-hour itinerary: Burano Island Torcello Arsenale canal

Price includes transportation and entrance to the cathedral on Torcello. Entrance to the belltower costs 2 Euro/person extra.

ST. MARK'S BASILICA & THE DOGE'S PALACE

One of the great religious buildings of the entire world, the Basilica was begun in 830 to house St. Mark's bones, which had been smuggled out of Alexandria. It started out as a small, modest chapel and, over the intervening 1200 years, it has become one of the most extravagant and fascinating structures anywhere. If you go to Venice you owe it to yourself to visit the basilica with a qualified licensed guide, who can organize all the bewildering details into an interesting tale that you will actually remember. Also included in this itinerary is a visit to the renowned Golden Altarpiece.

Next to the basilica is the city's other monument, the Doge's Palace. The graceful pink-and-white building, with its rare double loggia, has been painted by almost every artist who lived in the last 200 years. Works by most of those who lived in this part of the world before that are on display in the palazzo's grandiose salons, as well as in the apartments of Venice's rulers the doges. The Bridge of Sighs connects the palace to the very atmospheric dungeons where generations of political and criminal prisoners spent their miserable last days before being executed.

Outside once again, you'll see the Piazza San Marco, which Napoleon called "the finest drawing room in Europe." Elena will tell you all about the belltower, the clock with its two giant bronze Moors, and the symbol of the city, the winged lion, who gazes eternally out across the Grand Canal onto the Lagoon.

All-inclusive price for 2009:
2 People: 3 People: 4 People: 5 People: 6 People: 7 People: 8 People:   255. Euro/group 272. Euro/group 283. Euro/group 299. Euro/group 321. Euro/group 342. Euro/group 353. Euro/group	Price includes entrance fees for St. Mark's Basilica, the Golden Altarpiece and the Doge's Palace.