Ravenna Historic Downtown Self Guided Audio Walking Tour
Description
Get ready to explore one of Italy’s most fascinating historical cities, where Roman grandeur and Byzantine brilliance continue to shine through its art and architecture. Go at your own pace, anytime. The tour is guided step by step by your walking tour app. It's hands free, press play and be guided through history. On this walking tour, we’ll explore the stories behind Ravenna’s ancient basilicas, mosaic masterpieces, and monuments that have shaped centuries of European history. You’ll visit landmarks like the Basilica of San Vitale, Dante’s Tomb, and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, each showcasing the city’s importance as a crossroads of faith, empire, and creativity. Along the way, we’ll walk through quiet piazzas, grand palaces, and serene gardens that keep Ravenna’s timeless beauty. Let’s start your tour at San Giovanni Evangelista, one of the city’s oldest and most historic churches.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Colonna di Sant'Apollinare honors the city’s dedication to its first bishop and patron saint, Saint Apollinaris. It's a great place to explore.
The tour starts outside the Basilica di San Giovanni Evangelista at the gate. You'll hear it's history and story then be guided step by step through Ravenna.
The tour passes by a local Mosaic shop to point out it's work, and you can pop in to see mosaics at work.
Palazzo di Teodorico in Ravenna is a small but fascinating early-medieval structure, long thought to be King Theodoric’s residence but now understood as a 7th–8th century gatehouse for the imperial palace complex. Its façade with arches and niche fronts Via di Roma near Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, and inside you can see reused Roman and Byzantine elements plus mosaics from the underlying late‑antique palace. Excavations revealed earlier Roman villas and an imperial residence later remodeled in Theodoric’s time, so the site condenses several centuries of Ravenna’s political and artistic history.
Great spot to relax and it has a great historic story.
Check out the outdoor Banksy mural mosaic and hear about it's story.
See the historic statues outside the art museum and hear it's story.
The legend of the Greek Madonna centers on a marble bas-relief of the Virgin Mary, believed to be Byzantine in origin. You'll hear that hear.
Not to miss spot. The Basilica di San Francesco dates back to the mid-5th century, when it was originally known as the Chiesa degli Apostoli, an early Christian sanctuary later rededicated to Saint Peter.
Yes, this is Dante’s Tomb. Now, why is Dante important? Dante Alighieri is important because his epic poem The Divine Comedy written circa 1308 1321 is considered a masterpiece of world literature and the cornerstone of the Italian language.
Giuseppe Garibaldi was one of Italy’s most influential figures, known as a soldier, patriot, and revolutionary leader of the 19th-century Risorgimento, the movement that unified Italy from separate states into a single nation.
Not to be missed spots, with a great historic story.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(2)
This was the worst App I have ever used it went to fast, it was hard to understand, the directions were not obvious, I do not recommend this app to anyone unless you want to get thoroughly frustrated.
The tour, once we figured out you need to download a separate application, register and then get pop-ups to subscribe was fairly interesting. You will only hear about a few of the best known sites. But the ones you do hear about are interesting. The directions on walking from site to site are difficult. The names of the streets are said in heavily accented English and at least for us, hard to follow and understand. We had better luck putting the stops into a map app and following those directions.
