Padua, Venetian villas along Brenta riviera private full day tour
After 40 minutes of driving distance by highway, you will reach Padua, one of the most important art cities in Italy.
The city, which was an important Roman Empire site in which very little is left today, develops from the Middle Ages under the rule of the Carrara family. Worth a note, its university center dates back to 1222, just after the one of Bologna.
As an art city, we can admire a masterpiece of Italian medieval art: the Scrovegni Chapel that Giotto frescoed for the Carrara family. It is required a pre-booked ticket to visit this building that must be purchased from their website. Close by, the church of the Hermits where Mantegna made some masterpiece of the Venetian Renaissance. Unfortunately today we can see just part of these frescoes because the rest was lost during a World War II bombing raid.
Padua is also the city of St Anthony. In the basilica, there are the relics of the saint, an important religious site visited by pilgrims coming from all over the world. And near this area, for botany lovers (and not only), we find the first university botanic garden in Europe. Founded in 1545, it is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List and member of Botanic Gardens Conservation International. Of particular value is the historic center with the Herbs square and remarkable buildings. Worth a stop the Caffé Pedrocchi, the historic site of the Italian Risorgimento. This can be the right solution for your lunch.
On your way back to Venice you will drive along the Brenta waterway that is the most famous and attended itinerary among those suggested to visit the Venetian villas. A waterway long about forty kilometers, which links Venice to Padua by tracing the course of an ancient branch of the river Brenta. From the fifteenth century, it was channeled and harnessed by locks for navigation. You will have time to visit Villa Pisani (now National Museum), a huge and imposing complex built in the eighteenth century.
After a coffee break in a picturesque little town along the river, you will return back to Venice, at the same place from where you started your tour.
Private tour to visit the town of Padua and one of the Venetian villas located along the Brenta riviera between Padua and Venice with a professional English speaking driver and a licensed tour guide. Cultural tour to retrace the mainland of Venice.
You will meet your professional driver at the main car terminal in Venice known as Piazzale Roma (Rome square). The meeting place is at the NCC (chauffeur service) parking area.
Same as the pick-up place.
- Licensed tour guide
- English speaking driver
- Entrance fee to Villa Pisani in Strà
- Private tour
- Transport by air-conditioned vehicle
- Fuel surcharge
- Entrance fee to Scrovegni chapel
- Lunch
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Check and purchase tickets to the Scrovegni chapel before booking. The tour time schedule can change related to the entrance time to the chapel
- Infant seats available
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Dress code is required to enter in the basilica of Saint Anthony. No shorts or sleeveless tops allowed. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women. You may risk refused entry if you fail to comply with these dress requirements
- Stroller accessible
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
- You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
- The cancellation from 10 days to 72 hours from the beginning of the day tour booked imply 50% of penalty of the whole cost of the service booked;
- The cancellation of the tour booked involves a 100% penalty if communicated within 72 hours from the beginning of the service.