Venice is one of the most magical cities on earth — but most visitors only scratch the surface.

This is not a standard Venice tour.

Join us for an extraordinary week exploring the floating city alongside renowned historian and bestselling author Professor Thomas Madden, PhD, author of Venice: A New History and one of the world’s foremost experts on Venetian history.

By day, we’ll explore Venice with expert local guides, uncover hidden corners, iconic landmarks, secret stories, and remarkable sites that most travelers never experience. By evening, Professor Madden will bring the city to life through engaging nightly lectures that transform what you’ve seen during the day into a richer, deeper understanding of Venice’s extraordinary rise, culture, and legacy.

Imagine stepping out of your historic palace hotel directly onto the Grand Canal, wandering quiet alleyways as church bells echo overhead, exploring islands where Venice began, and gaining access to unforgettable experiences like a private evening visit to St. Mark’s Basilica after the crowds have gone home.

This journey has been personally crafted through years of experience and local relationships to create something truly special — a premium, intellectually enriching, and deeply immersive Venice experience shared with a small group of curious and wonderful travelers.

If you have always dreamed of Venice, this is the way to experience it.

Learn from One of the World’s Leading Venice Historians

Travel alongside Professor Thomas Madden, PhD — renowned historian, bestselling author of Venice: A New History, and one of the foremost experts on Venetian civilization. Through nightly lectures and discussions, Venice will come alive in ways most visitors never experience.

Stay in a Historic Palace on the Grand Canal

For seven nights, call the beautiful Palazzetto Pisani home — a historic Venetian palace in an incredible location directly on the Grand Canal. Wake up surrounded by centuries of history in the heart of Venice.

Beyond the Tourist Venice

Anyone can walk through Venice. Few truly understand it.

Through our trusted local relationships and expert guiding, we go beyond surface-level sightseeing to experience hidden gems, local stories, meaningful cultural encounters, and remarkable moments many travelers miss.

Small Group Experience

Travel with a wonderful small group (minimum of 12 and maximum of 20) of like-minded people who value meaningful experiences, curiosity, history, culture, and connection. Some of the strongest friendships begin on these journeys.

Premium Without Feeling Pretentious

We thoughtfully design our tours to feel seamless, enriching, and special — including included gratuities, airport transfers, expert guiding, audio headsets, carefully planned experiences, and personal attention throughout the journey.

Venice has long been one of the most well-known and favorited cities in the world, and after leading this experience previously, I can genuinely say it becomes more magical every single time.

What makes this trip so special is not simply seeing Venice, it is truly understanding Venice.

Watching guests experience the city alongside Professor Thomas Madden is incredible. Suddenly, places that seem beautiful become meaningful. Stories emerge from buildings, hidden corners suddenly matter (literally), and Venice transforms into something far deeper than most travelers ever experience in the day or two they stop there on a cruise.

I have carefully built this journey through trusted relationships, local expertise, and firsthand experience to create something that feels truly special: staying in a beautiful palace directly on the Grand Canal, exploring with wonderful guides, enjoying extraordinary lectures each evening, and sharing it all with an amazing group of people.

If Venice has been on your bucket list, I truly believe this is one of the most meaningful ways to experience it.

I would love to share it with you.

– Jewel

This experience is perfect for travelers who:

✓ Love history, culture, and meaningful travel experiences
✓ Want to experience Venice beyond the tourist crowds
✓ Appreciate expert insight and intellectual enrichment
✓ Enjoy premium travel experiences with thoughtful details included
✓ Value traveling with curious, kind, like-minded people
✓ Have always dreamed of truly understanding Venice, not simply visiting it

We believe travel should feel enriching, exciting, and effortless. That’s why so much is thoughtfully included from private airport transfers by boat to nightly lectures, expert guiding, premium accommodations, entry fees, gratuities, and unforgettable experiences throughout the week.

What's Included

• Lodging

  7 nights at the Palazzetto Pisani right on the Grand Canal

• Specified Meals

  Breakfast daily, a welcome lunch on day 2, a farewell dinner on day 7

• Tour Guide

  Expert local guide as applicable

• Tour Director

  A Cultured Travel Tour director will be with you for the duration of the tour

• Daily Lectures

  Provided by in house expert, Thomas Madden, PhD, author of Venice: A New History

• Entry Fees

  Entry fees to all sights included in the itinerary

• Transfers

  Transportation from the airport to the hotel is included as well as all other needed water transport to reach sites within the itinerary

• Refreshments

  Provided during daily lecture

• Gratuities

  Gratuities for all group activities are included

• Audio Headsets

  Also known as whispers will be utilized to ensure guides are able to be heard while we are touring sites throughout the area

What's Not Included

• Pre Tour Reading

  Please purchase and read the book Venice: A New History by Thomas F. Madden, PhD

• Food and Beverages

  Snacks, lunches, and dinners not specified as included

• Airfare

  Airfare to and from Venice are not included. Any transportation or lodging costs associated with air transfer to Venice or any associated parking fees are not included.

• Optional Itinerary Items

• Visa and Passport Fees

• Gratuity not Specified

• Travel Insurance

  Highly recommended

Pricing & Flexible Payment Options

We believe extraordinary travel should feel meaningful, seamless, and truly special.

Venice is one of the world’s most extraordinary cities and experiences of this caliber are never inexpensive, especially when staying in a historic palace directly on the Grand Canal, traveling alongside one of the world’s leading Venice historians, enjoying nightly lectures, expert guiding, included entry fees, private water transfers, gratuities, and thoughtfully curated experiences throughout the week.

Our goal has been to create a journey that feels premium, deeply enriching, and incredibly memorable while still offering strong value for everything included.

Investment in the Experience

Prices starting at $6,495 per person double occupancy

Your experience includes:

✓ 7 nights in a historic palace hotel directly on the Grand Canal
✓ Nightly lectures with Professor Thomas Madden, PhD
✓ Expert local guiding throughout the journey
✓ Private evening visit to St. Mark’s Basilica
✓ Murano, Burano, Torcello & hidden Venice experiences
✓ Airport boat transfers and transportation for included activities
✓ Entry fees throughout the itinerary
✓ Included gratuities for group activities
✓ Welcome lunch and farewell dinner
✓ Small group experience with personal attention throughout

We believe that when visiting a destination as extraordinary as Venice, it should be done thoughtfully, comfortably, and without cutting corners on the things that matter most.

Flexible Monthly Payment Plans

We understand that bucket-list travel is a meaningful investment and don't want it to be reserved only for people who can write one big check.

To make planning easier, we offer flexible monthly payment options, allowing you to spread the cost over time in a way that feels comfortable for your budget.

Many travelers find that setting up manageable monthly payments makes this once-in-a-lifetime journey far more accessible than they initially imagined.

Reserve your place with a deposit and pay over time.

A Note About Availability

To preserve the intimate and special nature of this experience, group size is intentionally kept small.

In addition, because we stay at the beautiful Palazzetto Pisani, a historic Venetian palace on the Grand Canal, no two rooms are exactly alike. This is part of the magic of staying in an authentic palace rather than a cookie-cutter hotel. Some rooms feature different layouts, historic details, views, or unique Venetian character each offering its own special charm.

Because of the nature of the property and our commitment to a small group experience, availability is genuinely limited. Once spaces are filled, they are filled and we do not add additional rooms or expand the group size.

If this journey speaks to you, we encourage reserving your place sooner rather than later.

You will be greeted before you depart the airport in Venice and taken by a private boat to your home away from home for the next week, the Palazzetto Pisani located right on the Grand Canal and in the heart of Venice.

If your arrival is prior to check in, you are able to store your luggage until your room is ready. Enjoy the day strolling the sidewalks, shopping, savoring local cuisine, or resting before the first lecture this evening. All meals today will be on your own and there are no shortages of great restaurants to be found in the surrounding vicinity.

For seven unforgettable nights, we will stay at the beautiful Palazzetto Pisani, a historic Venetian palace perfectly situated right on the Grand Canal in the heart of Venice.

Rich with old-world charm, original frescoes, elegant Venetian details, and spectacular canal views, this remarkable property feels like stepping into another era while still enjoying modern comforts and a prime central location.

One of the true highlights? Arriving by private boat directly to our hotel and stepping into Venice in a way that feels distinctly unforgettable.

Tonight's lecture will cover the Birth of Venice (Chapters 1 & 2 in Venice: A New History).

Today's lecture will cover the Merchant Republic to Maritime Empire (Ch. 4).

First, we will depart for Murano where we will visit an authentic and fully functioning glass furnace. After that, we will have lunch together.

Our lecture today will be at 8PM covering the Fourth Crusade to the Black Death (and Marco Polo - Chapters 6, 7, & 9).

This morning, we will explore San Marco Square and visit the Doge's Palace.

Our lecture today will cover Venice in the Age of the Renaissance (Chapter 14).

Today's lecture will be on War, Water, and Tourists (Chapter 19).