One of the last gondola makers...see the real Venice with The Venice Experience

Forget the tourist tat; let Karen take you to an authentic maskmaker

a rare water piazza...off the beaten path with The Venice Experience

In a city as famous as Venice, it's easy to think it possible to see the well known sights and think that is all the city has to offer.  Wrong.  Despite its modern-day perception as something of a Disneyland for daytrippers, Venice beyond St Mark's Square is a living city full of interesting characters that have long been drawn to La Serenissima's unique existence and glorious history.

One of those characters is Karen Henderson.  I love Karen; as would be expected from any New Jersey native, she tells it like it is.  With a deep reverence for her adopted city, Karen shares her infinite body of knowledge about all things Venetian with the clients of her guiding company, The Venice Experience, through which she and husband Mike offer the most personalised way to get to know Venice from the inside out.  Karen and Mike take their clients far beyond the guidebook sights of museums and cafés for which Venice is justly famous to experience the lesser-known but (as one learns on her tours) no less impressive art masterpieces as well as discreet businesses that have existed for generations.  From an oarmaker for the city's gondolas to a quirky bookshop celebrating its susceptibility to flooding, Karen knows where to bring her customers to see a part of Venice off the beaten path.  Curiously, visitors to Venice in particular seem to stick to the main arteries, leaving the narrow streets even just a block away free of congestion for the more intrepid traveller.

Though The Venice Experience offers set tours such as Essential Venice, Pub Crawl, Backstreet Venice, and a specialised Photography Tour, Karen and Mike gladly tailor tours to the needs of their clients on private tours.

theveniceexperience.com