Intrepid urban adventure guide Camilla reveals the secret lives of Venice locals and how to avoid the crowds and join them in person.
Venice is making headlines as tourism booms in the floating city. It’s no secret that famous sites like St. Mark’s Square and Rialto Bridge are packed with tourists.
Cross the bridge and you'll stumble upon a lesser-known but more alluring world.
The Rialto district behind the famous bridge is the oldest part of the canal city. It’s a place where Venetians smile, greet their neighbors, share espressos and spend the day without the hustle and bustle of crowds.
Fearless urban adventure Local guide Camilla Feiffer knows local life; she was born and raised in Venice.
There's no place like home
Today, Camila is proud to share Venice with travelers from around the world, but as it turns out, this wasn't always the plan. She told me that after completing her studies, she flew to England to study for a master's degree in art and history.
She went back to China for summer vacation Italy — a period that was supposed to last “a few months” when she returned to the UK to apply for post-university jobs.
But the city had other plans for her.
“I started giving people free tours of Venice in the beginning. When my parents' friends came to visit, they would ask me to give them a tour as a way of helping out,” she said.
“It was so easy for me, I didn't see it as a job. I loved showing them Venice and sharing the art and history of this place,” she continued.
Before she knew it, Camilla's “small favor” turned into a full-blown professional move. She said 'I really enjoyed it. I thought 'I'm going to do this full time. I will stay in Venice to do this. ”
She has been leading Intrepid Urban Adventures for almost six years now and says she “explains the story of Venice through food” on their website Cicchetti and wine tour.
See a different side of the city
Venice is a place that combines local life and tourism. Unlike cities like Rome, where tourists typically flock to city center attractions and locals live in the outer suburbs, Venice's compact size surrounded by water means residents live and work amid the crush of tourism.
This unique dynamic offers visitors a rare opportunity to glimpse local life and understand how people live here. But you have to be willing to go further than the most well-known attractions.
“I never go to Piazza San Marco,” Camila told me. “So we don’t travel there because we want visitors to experience the city in a local way,” she smiles.
Intrepid Urban Adventure takes visitors over the Rialto Bridge and into the Rialto neighborhoods. This way they can experience daily life in Venice, skipping the local markets, restaurants and bars, grabbing some cicchetti (the city's snacks) and finishing it off with a glass (or three) of Italian wine. marvelous!
Let local leaders
“Parts of the Rialto neighborhood are busy with locals going about their day,” Camila said. “But when you turn a corner it's completely quiet and empty – you just Need to know where to go,” she said with a smile.
Camila explained that the community of Rialto was the first settled area on the island, dating back to AD 421, more than 1,600 years ago. Its name reflects its strategic location: “Rio” meaning river and “Alto” meaning heights, referring to its position as the highest point on the island, providing a safe place for the establishment of the first communities place.
She said the neighborhood was originally “the heart of the city,” and that hasn't changed. Venetians still head to the Rialto Market every week to buy fresh fish and gather with friends.
“Venice sometimes feels more like a small town,” Camila said. “On Saturday we would see lots of people we knew at the market, then go to the local pub for a drink and then go home to cook. It was a typical Saturday for us.
This lifestyle really fascinates the travelers who join her tours. “It's something they like to see,” she said. “We also rode the local ferry – the little gondola across the Grand Canal – just like the locals have done for years.”
Responsible tourism in Venice
While tourists can get a more authentic feel of local life, Venetians can feel overwhelmed by growing tourism.
Several regulations have been implemented to help curb the impact of tourism on local communities. The Italian government has limited the size of Venice tour groups to 25 people, banned the use of loudspeakers and will no longer allow large cruise ships to dock in central Venice. Camila thinks this is just a start, but more can be done, like some of the regulatory changes other cities have made around Airbnb.
As crowds grew, many Venetians chose to move away. The city's population is declining, reaching 50,000 last year, its lowest level in 300 years. Camilla felt the attraction, too. She enjoys showing people her city and working in tourism, but with a family to look after, the challenges of overcrowding and the soaring cost of living are hard to ignore.
Still, she knows that if all the locals left, the city might become a tourist-only museum. For now, she's content straddling two worlds – enjoying “small town” life while working in the tourism industry. She prides herself on giving visitors a glimpse of Venice they might otherwise miss, sharing the side of the city that is closest to her.
You can see a different side of Venice in just a few hours and support the local community with Intrepid Urban Adventures Cicchetti and wine tour.
