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A hand holding a smartphone displaying an article about Corso Ecole d'Este. 1
A cobblestone street lined with historic buildings, a clear blue sky, and a sign with the number 41. 2
A cobblestone street lined with historic buildings, a clear sky, and a distant tower. 3
A cobblestone square with historic buildings, a tower, and a clear sky. 4
A square with yellow buildings, a staircase, and people walking. 5
By Ciceru
Free cancellation available
The previous price was €7 and current price is €6 per adult

Features

  • Free cancellation available
  • 2h
  • Mobile voucher
  • Instant confirmation
  • Multiple languages

Overview

  • Ferrara is the city that engineered itself, and this self-guided walking tour traces how. In 1385 the Este dukes raised a moated fortress against their own citizens; a century later they clad a palace in 8,500 stone diamonds and laid out Europe's first master-planned Renaissance street grid, a short walk from the shadowed medieval arcades of Via delle Volte. Everything runs from your phone, with no app to install. Ten stops are mapped for you, with walking directions between them and a short audio storey at each one, followed by an interactive quiz that turns the details into something you actually remember. The route runs north to south, from Corso Ercole I d'Este and the Quadrivio degli Angeli past the Castello Estense to the cathedral squares, the old Jewish ghetto and Via delle Volte. Start whenever you like, pause for a coffee, take a detour. There is no group, no schedule and no guide waiting on you. Audio and text are available in seven languages.

Activity location

  • Corso Ercole I d'Este
    • Corso Ercole I d'Este
    • 44121, Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • Corso Ercole I d'Este
    • Corso Ercole I d'Este
    • 44121, Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Check availability

Ferrara Self-Guided Walking Tour Renaissance City, Audio and Quiz in Multilingual

  • Activity duration is 2 hours2h
    2h
  • Opening hours: Sat 00:00-23:30
  • English
Price details
€7.00
€5.60 x 1 Adult€5.60
Total
The previous price was €7.00 and current price is €5.60
20% off

What's included, what's not

  • Inclusions
    Self-guided tour on your smartphone, APP not needed!
  • Inclusions
    Audioguide with quizzes about each point of interest along the tour
  • Exclusions
    A physical guide (the tour is accessible on your smartphone)
  • Exclusions
    Access offline. Internet needed on your phone

Know before you book

    • Service animals allowed
    • Public transport options are available nearby
    • Not recommended for travellers with spinal injuries
    • Not recommended for pregnant travellers
    • Not recommended for travellers with poor cardiovascular health
    • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
    • In accordance with EU regulations about consumer rights, activities services are not subject to the right of withdrawal. Supplier cancellation policy will apply.
    • This activity is provided by a professional trader (a party acting within their trade, business or profession).

Activity itinerary

Corso Ercole I d"Este (Pass by)

The straight central axis of the 1492 Addizione Erculea, laid out by court architect Biagio Rossetti. You walk south along a shop-free residential avenue that runs from the Porta degli Angeli ramparts to the Castello Estense.

Palazzo Prosperi-Sacrati (Pass by)

The oldest palace of the 1492 expansion, built for court doctor Francesco da Castello. Its plain brick wall throws all the emphasis onto a white marble Renaissance doorway with sculpted putti holding up the balcony.

Palazzo dei Diamanti (Pass by)

Biagio Rossetti's 1493-1503 palace for Sigismondo d'Este, faced with about 8,500 marble pyramids cut at varying angles so the corner reads best to someone walking past. See the carved candelabra at the crossroads.

Castello Estense (Pass by)

A moated brick fortress begun in 1385 after a tax revolt, designed by Bartolino da Novara to face inward at the city. Later dukes softened it with loggias, marble balustrades and an orange-tree terrace.

Piazza Savonarola (Pass by)

A square on the castle moat holding Stefano Galletti's 1875 marble statue of the Ferrara-born friar Girolamo Savonarola, its base carved as a stack of logs. The arcaded Via Coperta links the ducal palace to the castle here.

Piazza del Municipio (Pass by)

The courtyard of the old Palazzo Ducale, reached through the Volto del Cavallo archway. It holds the Scalone d'Onore staircase of 1473-81 and bronze replicas of Niccolo III and Borso d'Este, recast in 1927.

Ferrara Cathedral (Pass by)

The Basilica Cattedrale di San Giorgio Martire, begun in 1135 by the sculptor Nicholaus. A Romanesque marble lower level gives way to Gothic pinnacles, with a tympanum of the weighing of souls and a shopping loggia built into the south wall.

Piazza Trento e Trieste (Pass by)

Ferrara's main square, laid out over a twelfth-century herb market and crossed by the raised stone Listone promenade. The truncated cathedral bell tower stands at one corner, and the 1173 communal statutes are built into the arcade wall.

Ghetto Ebraico di Ferrara (Pass by)

The streets around Via Mazzini and Via Vignatagliata, sealed behind five gates from 1627 until 1859 under Papal rule. The Jewish community's headquarters at Via Mazzini 95 has stood on the same site since 1485.

Via delle Volte (Pass by)

A medieval river-port street where thirteenth and fourteenth-century brick vaults still span the alley, once linking merchant houses to their warehouses opposite. Today it is lined with wine bars under the arches.

Location

Activity location

  • LOB_ACTIVITIESLOB_ACTIVITIES
    Corso Ercole I d'Este
    • Corso Ercole I d'Este
    • 44121, Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • PEOPLEPEOPLE
    Corso Ercole I d'Este
    • Corso Ercole I d'Este
    • 44121, Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

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