La Bussola Free Tours
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La Bussola Free Tours

La Bussola Free Tours
5
City ToursCultural ToursWalking Tours
Temporarily closedClosed until further notice
About
La Bussola is a Cultural Association that organizes free walking tours in Venice. We provide two different tours, in the morning and the afternoon, focusing on all aspects of the city, such as history, architecture, touristic activities and local way of living.
Venice, Veneto, Italy

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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles6,112 reviews
Excellent
5,793
Very good
264
Average
27
Poor
11
Terrible
17

Storyteller626563
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2021
I’d really recommend this tour if you want to understand what you are seeing in Florence. Michele our guide was an enthusiast of the Renaissance and he took us into the world of the da Vinci and Michaelangelo (amongst others) with real insight. A good pace, humour and knowledge.
Written October 22, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Elina L
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022
I participated in 2 tours (morning and evening ones). Both were absolutely amazing and nicely complemented each other. The first one was led by Debora and the second- by Elizabetta. The topics are sort of different. The first one focuses on the Medici family. I loved how Debora playfully explained how the clan moved from one place to another and what motivated them. Elizabetta, on the other hand, covered the top four figures of the Renaissance by showing us various sites and brining our attention to things that we would definitely miss.
I was travelling solo and did not have any specific places to eat or drink except for one or two. That is why I found the list provided by Debora extremely helpful. Elizabetta also handed one but that tour was on my last day so I did not really check any of those. Absolutely pay attention.
Finally, both tours were helpful to orientate you around the city. I spent 6 days in Florence and loved that I would navigate the larger streets and sites more or less clearly.
Lovely company which I hope will only grow with years. By the way, I took a paid walking tour in Montreal and it was not half as great as this one.
Written October 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Pol G
7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2022
Eleanora was absolutely amazing. Great tour to get to know the Medici and the city center. We loved the way she explained the city from the bottom of her heart. If you go to Florence DO IT! It takes 2 hours and you see the city from a different perspective and get to discover things that otherwise would be impossible to know.
Great food tips!
Written February 7, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Matt S
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Couples
Michaele provided us an excellently created tour with stories to capture our attention based on history. The timing was great and control of the group was great. Questions were answered eagerly and fully.

We also went on to enjoy Lampredotto completo for lunch following Michaele's recommendation.

We all loved the experience...5 balls for our review!
Written February 19, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

leileireid
London, UK478 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2021 • Friends
As these tours are free of charge it was a rather large group however the tour guide kept everyone together. The tour guide was knowledge and made the tour rally fun and interesting. We did a paid tour the next day which was equally as good as this one although the content did vary a slightly. Will be recommending to all my friends 100%.
Written April 19, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Anisa K
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2022 • Friends
Our guide, Catarina was passionate about her topic, informative, friendly and engaging. I highly recommend these tours. There are two options of a morning and afternoon tour that each focus on a different aspect of Florentine history and sights. Not to be missed!
Written September 21, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Tom Wills
11 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Couples
We did the Florence 10:30 tour focusing on the Medici family. The meeting point was a little tricky to find and nearly missed the tour. Thankfully we made it because this was the best tour I’ve ever been on. ELENORA was the guide and she was amazing, a fountain of knowledge. Good luck in on all your future endeavours ELENORA!
Written January 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Maria S.
Athens, Greece70 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2018 • Friends
We took the morning free tour which focuses on how Venice was built and introduces visitors mainly to the Dorsoduro district and we couldn't be happier. The information shared during the 3-hour tour is invaluable and so interesting. Our guide was Anastasiya, who is exceptionally sweet, with great sense of humour and with a talent in making info and stories stay in your memory for good. She took us to some of the best spots for snacks and she also gave us the best tips as to where to eat etc,avoiding the tourist traps. From what I understand, La Bussola has a mission to change visitors' mentality towards Venice, encouraging substantial knowledge of the city instead of just turning it into the perfect backdrop of an endless selfie collection. And I find this remarkable. If we had more time, we would also like to take the afternoon tour, which takes place mostly in the Castello district and focuses on the history of Venice. Tours are totally free but do donate to the guides; they're only volunteers but they're doing such a great job!
Written April 25, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Stephanie P
France21 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2017
Seriously you know when you have hit a bad one when your tour guide (Lara) starts off the tour "There isn't enough of you so it isn't worth doing the whole tour" Then she proceeded to say "I don't know why anyone would pay like 60€ an hour for an official guide?" If she had bothered asking I am a professional guide in Paris and she proved right away WHY YOU NEED PROPER GUIDES. That didn't make me very well disposed then to spend the next 2h30 following around a girl who does not like Venice and is not really interested in its fascinating history. She was very derogative about everything from the food to the lifestyle. It was so draining listening to all the negativity. HOWEVER The route is great! So plus points there. You get to see everything and learn how to navigate the city, but the guide was so wooden it was like watching two chairs mating in an Ikea warehouse, and it was clear that she too no pride or joy in her work. Halfway through most people on the tour were debating whether to stay or go, but for the sake of her pride we knuckled down and came back, though really this was out of mercy and pity rather than enjoyment. I cannot recommend this tour to anyone who actually wants to learn about the city due to my overwhelmingly negative experience, though if you just want to follow someone around and take pics then this is perfect for you.
Written March 13, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Champagnencaviar
Vancouver, Canada104 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2018 • Family
Wherever we go I always try to do one of these. This time we did one in Florence with Eleonora and both morning and afternoon tours in Venice with Shannon and Mattia. These are great to do at the beginning of your trip to get orientated and to get some interesting tidbits About history and the city + fantastic tips on local eats and how to avoid tourist traps. This is a no brainer, just do it.

If you do decide to go PLEASE don’t be one of those people who does not contribute anything at the end. These guides are volunteers ie they work for tips and don’t get paid otherwise. These people chose to do something they love like art history, they studied this for years and now they volunteer their time to share the passion with you. These are called “free” tours to get you to try them but please don’t just walk away after..also don’t just give your change! cities like Venice are extremely expensive to live in and more people leave every year due to cost of living (population is actually rapidly declining)...the people who choose to stay barely make ends meet so if you can spend $6-7 Eur for a glass of wine in Venice you can tip at least $10 eur per person. Think about it-2.5 hrs of their time sharing so much with you. What is that worth? Most other tours are at least 20-30 eur per person or more...don’t be a cheapskate.
Written September 14, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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La Bussola Free Tours - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)