ドージェの宮殿＆ため息の橋とヴェネツィア散策ツアー

This was my first trip to Italy and to Venice. Upon check-in to the hotel, the hotel staff informed us we would become lost during our visit. They went further to state, despite having lived in Venice for more than a decade, they also become lost on occasion! I recommend doubling or tripling your travel time when locating meeting points for tours. Venice is not easy to navigate. Speaking of navigation, the meeting point for this tour was the clock tower on St. Mark's square. When approaching St.. Mark's square from the west at 0903 AM, we located a tower. Many groups were surrounding the tower, and we scoured the area looking for our tour recognizing we were 3 minutes late. We kept hearing a clock chime and finally located a BLUE clock tower on the north end of St. Mark's square which was not easily seen at first. The tour group was not present, so we called the phone number on our reservation at +393939345551 at 0907 AM. We were greeted with a voicemail speaking Italian that did not allow us to leave a message. We then contacted Viator for assistance, but the tour had left the area. The solution suggested by the tour agency was for us to reschedule for the next day, but we already had booked train tickets from Venice to Rome the next morning. We did not have the flexibility to consider their only provided solution, and they were not open to any of our suggestions to reach a resolution. We decided to tour Doge's palace ourselves, using audio guides for further guidance. The tour that we missed by 3 minutes would have been three hours in length, but we rather enjoyed the leisurely pace without the pressure of a tour group as we spent three hours learning about Doge's palace. I usually pursue guided tours to get the most out of a location, but the inflexibility of this tour was not worth its trouble. There was no one in line to buy tickets for admittance to Doge's palace. We were given immediate entry and explored all areas of the palace, including the golden staircase, the Bridge of Sighs, and the graffiti on the prison walls. Doge's palace is self-explanatory. Save yourself the stress and money. Get lost in Venice without the worry, and explore at your own pace.