The Original & Best Tours
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The best value for quality tours in Italy
The Original and Best tours and events since 1996: We are the first company in Italy to offer high quality guided tours and events with specially trained guides. Our expert tour guides make history come alive on our entertaining and informative tours.
Artviva The Original and Best Walking Tours ensures an unforgettable tour in Italy. Our Italy tours are high quality and at an excellent price, with the smallest tour group sizes in town!
Private and Personalized Tours
Reserve a tour with our professional Guides expert in making history come alive and able to do high quality entertaining and informative guided tours around Italy. We’ve captured the essence of glorious Tuscany for you to savour in a privately booked day out you will never forget. Get the inside secrets on where to taste the best cheese, visit a vineyard, stroll through olive groves & see magnificent Renaissance frescoes in quintessential Tuscany hilltop towns.
Private Tours are available in Florence and Tuscany, Cinque Terre, Venice, Rome and the Vatican and Pompeii.
You can also email privatetours@artviva.com or call us directly on +39 055 2645033.
Private tours are also available in German, French, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese, Russian, Hungarian, Swedish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Italian.
Unique Tailored Events
Let us take care of the finest details that go into making your special occasion all that more memorable!
No-one knows Italy like we do. We utilise this expertise to offer made-to-measure experiences from romantic weddings, fun parties and unforgettable celebrations, to special work functions and corpèorate events.
Our know-how ensures your occasion is truly unique! From regal Tuscan Villas to Roman Castles and Venetian Palaces, or simply a fabulous bar or restaurant, our locations are exquisite. No matter how small, large or unusual your event is, we take care of every little detail for you to ensure the best.
Contact us on privatetours@artviva.com for more information.
The Artviva Festival Experience - a unique ongoing festival, a world first!
With events celebrating Italian Culture, 'Made in Italy' past and present and Slow Food.
Meet famed authors, artists and aristocrats. Taste award-winning Tuscan wines with the wine-makers themselves. An experience like no other!
See more information about the Artviva Festival Experience
Book now!
Ask us about our special discount tour packages!
With Artviva The Original and Best Walking Tours you can book your own Italy tours and transfers in Italy on this site.
Day Tours in Italy - Italy Private Tours - Italy Shore Excursions
Artviva The Original and Best Walking Tours proposes various types of tours in Italy:
Guided Italy Tours - Italy Private Tours
It is possible to do a day tour Italy, for example a city walk in Rome between the Colosseum and the Forum or a few hours of shopping on Via Condotti. We can organize a boat tour in Venice, or a visit to the islands of the lagoon, or maybe a private tour in Italy like a bicycle (bike) ride outside of Florence to discover Chianti and the flavours of the best wines and tastes of Tuscany.
Tours in Italy - Italy Transfers Tours
The small-group guided Italy tours are available in the most popular Italian cities and regions including:
- Small-group Rome Tours - Vatican tours and Rome city walk tour including Colloseum visit
- Vatican Tours - Tour the Vatican with a great guide and skip-the-line at the Vatican
- Venice Italy Tours - Gondola tours, Grand Canal tours, Doge's Palace tour, St. Mark's tour, see the sights of Venice with a great guide!
- Florence Italy Tours - City walk tours of Florence, guided Florence tours, the must-see sights of Florence
- Uffizi Gallery Tours - Skip-the-line Uffizi entry, great Uffizi Gallery tour, and the best Uffizi guides
- Original David Tour – Accademia museum - Skip-the-line Accademia tour, the best tour guides in Florence, the greatest art tour in Florence
- Tuscany Italy Tours - The Best of Tuscany, Tuscany Wine Tours, Tuscany Bike Tours, wine tasting at a Tuscan villa, and more!
- Naples and Pompeii tours - Explore Naples with a great guide, Naples by car, Pompeii guided tours, best Pompeii guides
- The Best of Cinque Terre Tour and other Italy tours - Cinque Terre tour from Florence, best Cinque Terre tours, the best tour guides in Italy, and more!
About our tour guides: All of our tour guides in Italy are highly-qualified, enthusiastic experts. Our tour guides are passionate about Italy, have a sense of humour and can speak excellent English, ensuring a wonderful tour for you.
Our Affiliate Program: Perfect for hotels, restaurants, travel blogs and the like, simply place one of our banners on your site to earn money each time a booking for our tours in Italy is generated!
Become a Partner: Our partners clients include some of the world's top tour operators. If you are a Travel Agent looking to reserve clients' tours, partner with us for easy trip-planning and the best rates and services!
Join the Team: If you're an individual who would like to work with us, such as by becoming one of our valued Italy Tour Guides, send your details to staff@artviva.com, including your CV and introduction letter.
You can also contact us directly for more information.
Latest Blog Entries:
Florence, Italy: foodie heaven
Dining on traditional local dishes is a reason to visit Italy in itself. But for foodies in Italy, it is the selecting of food items from the local vendors, just as the locals do, which truly presents one of the … Continue reading
American Contemporary Art in Florence, Italy
2012 Florence, Italy: This year is the 500th anniversary of the death of Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512). Amerigo Vespucci, the man after whom America was named, was born in Florence, Italy and was an explorer, navigator and cartographer. To mark the … Continue reading
Ristorante, Trattoria, Osteria: 3 courses for dining in Italy
(Photo courtesy of The European Traveller) If you dine out in Italy, you’ll likely be doing so in a Ristorante, a Trattoria or an Osteria. But what exactly is the difference between a Ristorante, a Trattoria or an Osteria?
UNESCO International Jazz Day event in Rome, Italy
On April 27th, the UNESCO First Annual International Jazz Day kicks off its series of events being held around the world. The official launch is being held at the UNESCO Headquaters in Paris and will feature jazz legend and UNESCO … Continue reading
25th April in Italy: Festa della Liberazione Italiana
25th April is la Festa della Liberazione Italiana – Liberation Day in Italy. It commemorates the anniversary of the 1945 end of the Italian Social Republic led by Mussolini, who was captured a few days later as he attempted to … Continue reading
Vatican Museum on Time Magazine’s list of The Most Influential Places in History
And we have no argument with that!* Time magazine states, ‘The museums house Raphael’s The School of Athens, Leonardo da Vinci’s St. Jerome in the Wilderness and the Belvedere Torso as well as Michelangelo’s masterpiece, the Sistine Chapel. More … Continue reading
Happy 2765th Birthday to Rome, Italy
Although she doesn’t look a day over 2000, today is in fact the 2765th birthday of Rome, Italy. Rome’s birthday was calculated by Roman mathematician and astrologer Lucius Taruntius Firmanus who, in the 1st century BC worked out that the … Continue reading
Artisans & Art in Florence, Tuscany – Mostra Internazionale dell’Artigianato
Florence, the majestic capital of Tuscany, is known for being the capital of the Renaissance. Some of the history’s greatest artists produced some of the world’s best artworks here. This artistic flair has also been applied to artisan crafts the … Continue reading
Dining in Florence: when size matters
One way to detect a good restaurant in Tuscany, and its capital of Florence, is by the size of the menu. If there are only a few simple starters, a handful of entrees and a minimum number of main meals, … Continue reading
Stracciatella – The Streaky, Easy & Tasty Rome Recipe
‘Stracciatella’, when referring to gelato, means choc-chip. It is also a type of creamy cheese from the south of Italy. But when referring to a delicious traditional starter, it is a typical Roman recipe of home-made broth into which an … Continue reading
Awesome Artichokes & the Sacred Sagra
From the word ‘sacred’ comes the ‘sagra’ – a weekend food festival dedicated to showcasing the best of local cuisine in a casual setting. Going to a sagra is a great thing to do in Italy. It allows you to … Continue reading
Wild About Asparagus in Tuscany (including recipe!)
Food in Tuscany is dictated by the seasons, constantly changing according to what the landscape presents. In Tuscany right now, for those in the know, it is possible to find wild asparagus growing in the stunning surrounds. There is nothing … Continue reading
Italian Easter Food Traditions – Long lunches & lamb recipes
Most festivals and special occasions in Italy are marked by the preparation of specialty dishes enjoyed at wonderfully set tables around which all the family gather. Preparations can take days, and in the lead up to special feast days walking … Continue reading
New Venice Biennale Building for Australia
A new building for the Australian contemporary art exhibit at the Venice Biennale has been announced. Construction of the new space is set to be complete by 2015. Designed by Denton Corker Marshall architectual firm, financing of the $6 million … Continue reading
Chianti Castle
It was a lovely, sunny Tuscan morning when we climbed into our small van and headed off to tour the world-famous wine country in Tuscany – Chianti. Winding through the roads that cling to the Tuscan hillsides, we passed … Continue reading
OutrunCancer – charity run around Italy
One man (and his faithful support team) is presently putting a lot of energy into raising awareness and funding for prevention of cancer. Luca Turrini is running 20 marathons in 29 days, one in each region of Italy. Spurred on … Continue reading
Vinitaly: Verona, Vines & Vino
Verona has been historically known as the home of Shakespeare’s lovebirds Romeo and Juliet. But for 46 years, a new -and much more enduring- romance has been taking place there. We’re talking Vinitaly, Italy’s most celebrated wine fair. Each year … Continue reading
Florence Sunshine – just brilliant!
Walking around the historical city of Florence at various times of the day, we are gifted with the most spectacular sights of marble-façade churches asterisked by the brilliant morning sun behind, statues perfectly chiaroscuroed, historical palaces back-dropped by a perfect … Continue reading
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Michael Palin
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Lou Reed
Rockstar
Richard Kind
Actor (Mad about You, Spin City)
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Mike Munro
One of Australia's finest investigative journalists and well known media personalities.
Bill Kurtis
Acclaimed documentary host and producer, network news anchor and multimedia production company .
Nat Young
World Surfing Champion
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Facebook Users Reviews
On
2011/12/09
John Brade said:
cooking class
I took the Cooking Class and Market tour (in San Lorenzo Market). It was awesome! The market had the most incredible fresh ingredients, and the most amazing seafood selection I have ever seen. The cooking class was extremely professional, and the lunch afterwards was great! I recommend this class for anyone.Mark
On
2011/12/07
Aurelija Dugnaite said:
A truly life changing experience
Absolutely amazing.Words can hardly express how much we enjoyed our experience with ArtViva! From the minute we stepped in their lovely office, we felt attended, looked after and taken care of. The friendly staff advised us in detail of what would suit our tastes and knowledge best, and as they have so many beautiful tours to choose from, that help was very appreciated. Florence's cultural richness can be overwhelming, but relying on ArtViva made everything easy and utterly enjoyable for us.The small group walking tour of Florence exceeded all expectations. Our guide Paul was tremedous: a true Florence insider, with amazing knowledge of arts and culture, engaging story telling and great local tips you won't find in a guide book. The memories of the tour will stay with me and my sister for many many years. Booking with ArtViva is the best single thing you could do to have the ultimate Florence experience.Thank you, ArtViva.
On
2011/11/29
Sepideh Emami said:
On
2011/11/24
Eddi Frantz said:
Friendly and Knowledgable.
An essential part of visiting such an historical city as Florence is a smart, knowledgeable tour guide. Artvivas guides are fun, friendly and really know their stuff. Plus they know all those great places not on most guidebooks that only a passionate local world know. Dont even contemplate a visit to the Uffizi or Michaelangelos David without one!
On
2011/11/24
Kathleen Marriott said:
Hightlight of Italian Trip
Thanks so much for the great walking tour we did in Florence in May. It was fun, informative and we were treated like VIPS! The guide made us feel welcome and got to know exactly what we were interested in seeing to make sure all was covered. If we had tried to do everything we did on the tour on our own, we would have spent days getting hopelessly lost! I highly recommend this tour if you are interested in the art, architecture, history and the culture of Florence.
On
2011/11/22
Caroline Beck said:
Feels like you have hired a first-class guide from a first-class outfit – at a fraction of the price.
If you are the type to shy away from “packaged” tours, preferring to go it alone in a brand new city, Art Viva might just be your new BFF (best friend forever) when on tour in Florence. Comfortably small groups - instead of large crowds moving en-masse. Personalized insights by well-educated guides – instead of canned presentations. ArtViva’s walking tours are the next best thing to hiring a private art historian to walk you around this fabulous city – at a fraction of the price. Their 3-hour walking introduction to Florence’s history and a follow-up tour of the Uffizi dispelled all my preconceptions that tour groups were not for me. Even if you’ve been to Florence before, start your vacation off right in 3 quick hours. It will set the stage for a perfect stay.
On
2011/11/22
Brigitte Reynolds said:
Incredible!
My husband and I had the good fortune of taking ArtViva tours of Florence while on our honeymoon. We started with the walking tour, followed by the David tour. We were so impressed we immediately signed up for the Uffizi tour the next day. The guides we had (Sasha/Sylvia & Brenda) were all amazing; they were incredibly knowledgable, friendly and spoke perfect English. What was best was their genuine enthusiam and love of the arts and history of Florence; their excitment was contagious and inspired us to want to know and learn more! I couldn't have asked for a better experience.Brigitte Reynolds
On
2011/11/22
Nadia LaMantia said:
a wonderful experience!
I loved my tour, and the artviva staff were so great and extremely helpful!!
On
2011/11/16
Jade Farley said:
GREAT Tours!
Best tours I have ever been on! The guide's knowledge was just incredible, and I can't wait to come back to do more tours.
On
2011/11/09
Alexandra Buscaino said:
Educational and entertaining!
Our tour was great - very informative, and the guide just fabulous! He not only knew so much about the history, but also had a knack for storytelling that kept us all fascinated.
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