Discover Matera, the ancient city - English tour
Recommended by 98% of travellers
Matera, Italy
- 2 to 3 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Matera is home to the Sassi cave churches and dwellings that make up one of the oldest cities in the world. Join your guide for an in-depth tour of the Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano districts to learn about their unique history and evolution. Discover rupestrian structures, stroll the steep and narrow lanes, and gain a deeper understanding of how this town, once called the “Shame of Italy”, is now a UNESCO-listed treasure.
- Tour Matera with a guide for insights into this unique cave city's evolution
- Admire the top sights without getting lost in the confusing warren of alleys
- Visit rupestrian churches and homes and admire views over the valley
- A small-group experience for more personal attention and a relaxed pace
What's Included
- Entrance to the Diver
- Visit to cave house
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting points
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End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Piazza San Pietro Caveoso (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Most travellers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travellers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveller Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 1,877 reviews
Sort by: Most recent
Kim_G, Jul 2026
This was a great tour provided by a very knowledgeable guide with first hand family experience of living in the old town. He brought it to life. Unique experience.
Was very hot so wear a hat and take water, bumpy uneven ground.
CHARIKLEIA_M, Jul 2026
A memorable 2-hour tour. It was full of interesting information and thanks to the personality of our guide, it kept us fully engaged in spite of the hot weather.
I would recommend you wear comfortable shoes and begin your stay in Matera with this tour.
alison_p, Jul 2026
Wonderful tour with exceptional knowledge. We did the 1030 in the morning tour which meant the rest of the day we had already orientated ourselves. He was very knowledgeable and entertaining and brought to life the history of this wonderful place. It’s a must do if you are visiting Matera.
Karen_m, Jul 2026
Wonderful tour with Renato! The very best! Incredibly informative with references to his personal experiences of family/desendants who inhabited the caves of Matera.
Olivia_L, Jul 2026
Renato was a great guide, very knowledgeable and has a personal history to the Sassi of Matera. (We took the English Tour). Wear comfortable shoes (sound advice for all of Matera!)
Laura_W, Jun 2026
Renato was an excellent tour guide - friendly, fun and knowledgable. His family being from Matera gave him great insight to the human history of Matera.
Helen_G, Jun 2026
Fantastic to hear Renatos story about his family and Matera - highly recommend this tour very insightful
Julia_B, Jun 2026
Guitano was a fantastic guide. His wit and knowledge kept the small group enthralled. His explantion of the geography and history of the location of the Matera caves and valley were excellent. The jovial and kind nature of Guitano made the heat of the day pass by without feeling like we were in an oven. The variety of locations, stories and explanationa of life in the past was clearly shown throughtout the valley. I found the cave house fascinating and the Palombaro Lungo (undergeound water system) was really cool to see.
The winding streets and maze of cave buildings, and amazing views across all angles gave a sense of wonder. There are plenty of instagram worthy views around each corner and at various squares. The church atop the rocky outcrop was very beautiful and dramatic.
We suggest you wear comfortable shoes, sunglasses and a hat to help keep cool. We bought a locally made cuckoo whistle and limestone fridge magnet. The locally made foccacia from a small bakery was delicous.
10/10 tour as you would not know as many details without the excellent guidance of Guitano.
Feliks_S, Jun 2026
They should know that Viator was too cheap to get a proper flag for the guide where it clearly says VIATOR instead the flag had nothing related to VIATOR which caused us walking back and forth around piazza looking for our guide
Laura_D, Jun 2026
Our guide was so awesome. Very personable, spoke clearly, took us to many different and interesting locations and even showed us the home where his family used to live. Note: it can be very hot without much shade so bring a water bottle.
MARIAREGINA_R, Jun 2026
I LOVED the tour. Gaetano is a wonderful guide: knowledgeable, funny, gentle and easy going. I do recommend this tour as you learn about the history behind the wonderful Matera. Thanks Gaetano for your tour! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🔝🔝🔝
JOHN_K, Jun 2026
Getano our guide was absolutely wonderful, so full of interesting facts and descriptions and really brought the origins of Matera to life. You get to learn the history of its beginning right up to current day, utterly fascinating and not to be missed if you are visiting Matera. If we hadn’t joined Getano’s tour we would not have gained a full appreciation of just how amazing Materamis. Getano has a fabulous personality, is fun and great at imparting information and his English is perfect. We explored at a very relaxing pace and the use of a very comfortable ear piece which just rests softly on the outside of your ear means you don’t miss out on any of the commentary. Cannot recommend highly enough, such an enjoyable experience which took just over 2 hours.
Judith_P, Jun 2026
An absolute must do in Matera. The knowledge and humour from our guide was exceptional. And his English was excellent.
We would have wandered around aimlessly and would not have understood the unbelievable history of this place. Just book it
Angelina_P, Jun 2026
This tour was one of the highlights of my visit. Our guide, Renato, was incredibly engaging and made learning about the ancient city genuinely enjoyable. He shared stories from his grandparents that added a personal touch and helped bring the history of Matera to life.I appreciated how he blended historical detail with lived experience. It felt like seeing the city through the eyes of someone who truly understands its past and its people. This tour is perfect for anyone who wants a deeper and more authentic look at Matera through the perspective of a local guide.I highly recommend it to travelers who value insight, storytelling, and a richer understanding of this remarkable place.
Leisa_R, Jun 2026
This is a must do tour to fully understand the history of Matera. Renato was a fabulous guide - very knowledgeable and very entertaining. Highly recommend.
Louisewolsey, Jun 2026
Renato was an excellent guide. Very informative and added his own families experience into the tour which made the history of Matera more poignant.
Would definitely recommend a tour to fully appreciate Matera .
Vera_M, Jun 2026
Overall, the experience was good. There's a lot of walking on rough uneven terrain involved, lots of steps involved and definitely not recommended for someone with physical mobility due to safety concerns. Today was extremely challenging due to the hot weather with very little place to take cover from the sun.
Bruce_J, May 2026
This was a very fun and informative tour. I feel we got some real history on Matera and the people who lived there. We also got to see some things that we’d never have found or seen otherwise. Definitely worth the time.
Robert_M, May 2026
Our guide, Renaldo, whose family heritage is Matera, was knowledgeable and animated. He provided an intimate view of the Sassi history which is very recent on world history. Renaldo brought is to places we would never see on our own - well worth the Viator fee and the tip we offered Renaldo. BTW I was very disappointed to see others not offer a gratuity.
Jo_T, May 2026
Regionaldo was a great guide, and due to his own ancestry, was very knowledgeable about the history of the cave dwellings and Murgia. We primarily stayed in the Civita area so there was not a huge amount of walking but it was a great couple of hours.
Jessica_M, May 2026
Very informative. Great tour! Renato was engaging and knowledgeable. We learned a lot about Matera’s history and had fun!
Daphne_M, May 2026
Excellent tour with knowledge, humour and personal elements.
Thoughtful and helpful of older participants.
Renee_H, May 2026
Gaetano was personable, engaging and extremely knowledgeable; sharing fascinating stories about the history of the Sassi, cave dwellings, & the ingenious architecture of the city that make Matera so unique. We were spending only one day in Matera so taking a walking tour & having a guide like Gaetano was a must. We were able to see the major highlights and experience scenic viewpoints helping us make the most of our limited time in the city. If you only have one day in Matera, a walking tour like this is absolutely the best way to experience everything the city has to offer. Highly recommended!
Bruce_B, May 2026
renaldo gave us a vivid picture of the caves of Mattera. We enjoyed the tour. I think people should know in advance that it is a lot of walking and not on flat ground.
Jayne_E, May 2026
Our tour guide Renato was excellent, a local guide whose grandfather lived in one of the Matera caves. He regaled us with interesting facts and funny stories of ‘courting’ traditions and his experience when Daniel Craig was in town shooting ‘No time to die’. Highly recommended
Sarah_Z, May 2026
Renato is very reasonable and genuine man
We went to the wrong meet-up point and missed our 4pm tour, given it was our last day at Matera and there was confusion with the meeting up point, he was not hesitant to give us refund
His gesture made us feel it is a nice town with grateful locals, they are welcome and support the people to visit their home
We will definitely come back and finish our tour in next visit
Karen_L, May 2026
Gaetano was terrific your guide! Clear - excellent English - and informative and very pleasant and thoughtful. Highly enjoyable historical walking tour of Sassi district. Covered a lot in two hour tour at a great pace. Highly recommend !
Sophie_M, May 2026
We really enjoyed our tour of Matera, Gaetano was such a great guide! He was knowledgeable and presented the tour in a way that was engaging and informative. We felt like we got a real understanding of the city and enjoyed hearing about the history from ancient times to the modern day alongside seeing the different levels of the Sassi, the cave house and the cistern. We would absolutely recommend this tour to everyone!
Amy_S, May 2026
Renalto was a wonderful tour guide! He had great energy and passion while teaching us about Matera. We really enjoyed the walking tour and definitely recommend it to anyone visiting. Although it’s a walking tour, it is not physically demanding, we traveled at a comfortable pace and stopped in many places. It was a wonderful experience
Rose_B, May 2026
Great explanations of history interwoven with entertaining personal stories. Highly recommend this tour as a way to start off your time in Matera.
From US$34.89
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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