Private Walking Tour: Cannaregio and the Jewish Ghetto

We asked to start this tour at 11 am and were told it might not be possible. The confirmation came back for 9am and the tickets also said 9am. We travelled over 40 minutes to get there for 9 am only to have the guide show at 11 after we made numerous calls to his office. If the tour had been wonderful we might not have minded but it was very disappointing with very little information on the area. We learned the buildings were taller in the ghetto and it was locked at night. That's all. The guide just basically walked around and had us follow him. I have other other excellent local tours but this was so disappointing in so many ways.

We arrived late but our Guide took extra time and made special efforts to ensure we covered everything. She was very accommodating and knowledgeable. Thank you Minu.

We had Francisco as a tour guide and he was very informative about the history of Canaregio and the Ghetto. He walked us around the district pointing out notable locations in the area including Tintoretto's house. In the Ghetto he pointed out the key locations of both the Ghetto Novo and Ghetto Vecchio, and made arrangements for us to tour the Jewish Museum and Synagogue which are handled separately at the end of his portion of the tour. As one might expect, security is a major concern at the Museum and Synagogues, so visitors should be prepared to be inspected prior to entering them. We visited two Ashkenazi synagogues in the Ghetto Novo and the Winter Synagogue in the Ghetto Vecchio, which is Sephardic. The Community dates back to the 13th Century, however there are very few Jews left in the Ghetto today. Most are Ashkenazi/Lubavitch. In planning your visit, make sure that you do not plan to visit on a Friday afternoon or Saturday all day. There are also a number of Jewish Merchants and Kosher restaurants in the Ghetto. Photography was allowed in the synagogues I was surprised at this as well as in the museum. There is a small cafe in the museum along with a book/gift shop.