A different and more sustainable way to enjoy the magical city of Venice and to live it as a local thanks to offers and initiatives dedicated to a slow and sustainable tourism: authentic and out of the ordinary experiences, places, and itineraries, not only in the center of Venice but also on the islands of the lagoon.

DAY 1- Arrival in Venice and visit of the Sestieri
Morning: meeting at the hotel in Rome with Tour Leader and Driver: departure by low-carbon vehicle/coach. We will head to our sustainable hotel in Venice (5 hours by car or bus with stops along the way for lunch and short stops).(Possibility to book a flight to Venice from your city or from Rome, through our online travel agency Green Empathy Travel – www.GreenEmpathyTravel.com- with the possibility to offset the CO2 emissions of the flight- and transfer from Venice Marco Polo airport to the hotel.
Afternoon: we’ll arrive at a sustainably run hotel, we will rest for a while and then meet our Venice guide to visit the Sestieri. Thanks to these itineraries you’ll be able to discover the most lively Venetian districts, or ‘sestieri’: San Marco, Cannaregio, Castello, Dorsoduro (where the traditional ‘gondolas’ or ‘squeri’ are built), San Polo, and Santa Croce. The itineraries we propose cross the various districts of the city suggesting alternative routes that lead to the heart Venice’s art. The common thread that unites them is the discovery of a different Venice, outside from the classic routes.
Aside from the places that make the city of Venice famous (St. Mark’s Square, the Rialto Bridge, the Grand Canal), Venice is also something else. There are areas of the historic city to explore, far from the most famous places and the most popular routes, where at every corner you can meet an unexpected scenario. There are also sustainable itineraries that lead to unusual glimpses of the city; buildings, gardens, churches, and museums that are unknown to most; historic districts on the islands, ancient fortresses, natural areas, and cycle paths on the mainland.
Evening: We will go back to the hotel and have dinner at its restaurant with dishes prepared with zero-mile products.

DAY 2. Visit of a green Venice.
In terms of parks and gardens, Venice is a surprisingly green city: there are over five hundred gardens, almost all the secrets, hidden behind the facades of buildings or in the maze of alleys and canals. The historic centre is full of small urban parks, such as the Giardini di Castello – mostly occupied by the Venice Biennale with the Serra dei Giardini – the Parco Savorgnan, the Parco Groggia, the Pineta di Sant’Elena, and the Giardini Papadopoli.
In addition to the parks open to the public, there are also some historic gardens and gardens belonging to churches or palaces that once housed aristocratic families and now host important cultural institutions, such as the Mystical Garden of the Discalced Carmelites, the garden of Ca ‘Rezzonico – Museum of the eighteenth century Venetian, the garden-labyrinth dedicated to the Argentine writer Borges of the Giorgio Cini Foundation, the Carlo Scarpa garden of the Querini Stampalia Foundation, the historic garden of Palazzo Soranzo-Cappello, that of Palazzetto Bru Zane, which houses the Centre de Musique Romantique française, and that of Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti, home of the Veneto Institute of Science, Literature and Art.
Program of the day: we will meet the guide and visit sites such as: the Mystical Garden of the Discalced Carmelites and the Carlo Scarpa Garden of the Querini Stampalia Foundation.
Other sites among those mentioned above can be visited upon request.

DAY 3 Venice and its islands
Venice is surrounded by more than one hundred islands, a real archipelago of islands, each with its own unique beauty, where there is no shortage of gardens and parks and which can be visited and discovered on foot, by bicycle or by boat.
In addition to the most famous Lido, Murano, and Burano, it is also worth visiting the less popular islands such as Torcello, San Francesco del Deserto, Sant’Erasmo, Mazzorbo, Lazzaretto Nuovo, Certosa, Vignole, Pellestrina, San Lazzaro degli Armeni, and many others. You can discover these small islands, enjoy silent walks in the ancient villages, visit unusual museums, small churches, and lagoon hermitages or follow archaeological trails that tell the origins of the Serenissima and its ancient history.
In Sant’Erasmo (the largest island in the northern lagoon and the historic “garden of the Serenissima”), Lido and Pellestrina it is also possible to make easy excursions by bike or walks along cycle paths in nature, ideal for families with children. The island of Torcello, in ancient times the heart of Venetian civilization, is now an island with a rustic appearance that preserves the remains of its former glory.
The island of Mazzorbo, a solitary and discreet island where you can take a nice walk, is populated by colorful houses that alternate with planted with vineyards, gardens, and orchards.