Ca' d'Zan

I visited the estate and paid for the first and second floor visit. Unfortunately you can only see the second floor with a tour guide. You are not given the option of seeing the second floor without a guide which is incredibly off putting. There was no reason why this should be done because there is nothing on the second floor that would merit the need for a tour guide. The second floor is much like the first - beautiful with plenty of do not touch signs which most people respect. The fee for seeing the first and second floor is $55 per person. The fee is quite steep given the many drawbacks. The first drawback is that because it is a guided tour it is approximately a hour long. The tour guide I had was incredibly and rather forcefully adamant that we were not allowed to move too far away from where she was (which made no sense given that everyone was provided a set of headphones so you could hear the guide). This is especially bad for those who like me like to explore at their own pace. Standing around sometimes for five minutes just listening to the guide drone on and on about very basic facts about the property was quite physically exhausting. Another drawback was that I didn’t really feel like I had the freedom the explore or take in the surroundings the way I like to. The biggest disappointment is that on second floor you are only shown three bedrooms. Everything else is closed off. For paying $55 per person for an hour of just standing around and being told to keep up and not feel like you can really explore this fee is completely unjustifiable. It is better to just see the first floor and the art museum and gardens. I’ve visited plenty of estates before and never before have I been told that the only way to see the property is to do a guided tour. It is quite annoying given how little I saw and how high the fee is to only see three rooms in the second floor. Apart from the main house the museum was lovely and the art pieces were amazing. But the experience of the day was soured by the high fee and the tour guide. I would have preferred seeing the first and second floor on my own at my own pace. A tour guide should always be optional and never forced in order to see more of a property.