| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks 11:02 - Jul 14 with 1685 views | Cheltenham_Blue |
Silver anniversary with Mrs Chelters.
I know it can be very expensive, anyone been, got any tips/must do's/avoid? |  |
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| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 11:11 - Jul 14 with 1632 views | Churchman |
It’s a wonderful place. Living history. I haven’t been for years but the thing I noticed was the further out from St Marks, the cheaper the prices.
There’s lots to see and do. I enjoyed tootling up the Campanile for a great view of the city. Doge’s Palace, St Marks Basilica, Rialto Bridge. All good.
Gondolas? Expensive and you can walk just about wherever they go anyway. If you do the Murano Glass place it’s interesting but hot!
All in all, it’s great. Enjoy! |  | | |
| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 11:14 - Jul 14 with 1625 views | Keno |
Amazing place. Burano and Murano are well worth a trip to
You have to buy an ice cream, go on a gondola and start to the sing the cornet song
The local expect it and will be very upset if you dont [Post edited 14 Jul 2023 11:14]
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| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 11:17 - Jul 14 with 1607 views | itfcjoe |
It's all quite obvious what to do/not do in reality - but my advice as follows.....
Don't get private airport transfers, cost a fortune - there is a bus that runs from outside airport to entrance of Venice and about 1/50th of the price
Wear good walking shoes, as you will do some miles, even though it is a small island. And it is up and down bridges, etc, it requires a decent level of fitness
Try and work out how to get from your hotel to a key landmark like Rialto or San Marks.....because they are about the only places you can navigate to as you walk around as they are on signs through the myriad of alley ways etc
There is a Shopping Mall near to Rialto called T Fondaco dei Tedeschi, it has a rooftop terrace with amazing views, is free to go up.....but you have to book a time and date ina dvance. if you don't do this before you go you won't get one.
Take your Gondola ride, they are all about the same price ~€85 - don't worry with water taxis unless you want to pay a lot to get about and walking is too much
We did the boat out to Burano which was worthwhile depending on how long out for, was about 40 minutes but nice to see it all on the boat - just a small little town with canals and colourful houses. Again arrange this yourself and just buy day tickets opposed to any sort of tour
Food wise, you can't really go wrong - we avoided obvious tourist traps and just looked for nice settings (of which there are quite literally hundreds)
And obviously main things are obvious and you'll do them all - nothing worth avoiding (and it's very small so can't really anyway)
Mrs itfcjoe indulged me by walking out to the Venezia stadium, I enjoyed it but it's not really worthwhile unless you are very keen on football stadiums as it is just through residential area and not much there worth seeing on the way or around it |  |
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| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 11:17 - Jul 14 with 1602 views | BlueandTruesince82 |
Dont stop foe coffee or anything at St Marks, you'll paybthroug the nose.
Gugenheim if you like modern art. Glass blowing of you can fit it in. |  |
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| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 11:35 - Jul 14 with 1562 views | Guthrum |
Went there last October, very nice. Expensive, yes, but not alarmingly so, IMO (given you're on an island). Not as bad as Paris. We stayed on the mainland (Mestre) and took the train out over the lagoon (cheap and quick).
Great just walking around, exploring all the streets, alleys and squares. Loads of places to eat, drink or have coffee. I found it worth going out to the old quays on the north side of Venice (not the modern port area further north east), with views out over the lagoon (and a nice breeze). St Marks area impressive, but didn't go into the Doge's palace, huge queue.
I'm not a photographer, but thought the light was amazing. You can also play "spot the view from a famous painting".
Took half-day trips to Lido di Jesolo (just a big beach on the Adriatic with loads of hotels) and Treviso (where we flew in and out of, very nice medieval/renaissance walled town). |  |
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| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 11:36 - Jul 14 with 1551 views | Guthrum |
| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 11:35 - Jul 14 by Guthrum |
Went there last October, very nice. Expensive, yes, but not alarmingly so, IMO (given you're on an island). Not as bad as Paris. We stayed on the mainland (Mestre) and took the train out over the lagoon (cheap and quick).
Great just walking around, exploring all the streets, alleys and squares. Loads of places to eat, drink or have coffee. I found it worth going out to the old quays on the north side of Venice (not the modern port area further north east), with views out over the lagoon (and a nice breeze). St Marks area impressive, but didn't go into the Doge's palace, huge queue.
I'm not a photographer, but thought the light was amazing. You can also play "spot the view from a famous painting".
Took half-day trips to Lido di Jesolo (just a big beach on the Adriatic with loads of hotels) and Treviso (where we flew in and out of, very nice medieval/renaissance walled town). |
Oh yes - and get a good map. The place is a maze. [Post edited 14 Jul 2023 11:36]
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| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 11:42 - Jul 14 with 1504 views | Radlett_blue |
Try to get up early to see the obvious sights such as St Mark's & the Doge's Palace, especially if cruise ships are in port. The free audio tour of the Doge's Palace was very good, but the Secret Itineraries tour is really good. You also learn as lot of fascinating stuff about how the Venetian Republic functioned. https://palazzoducale.visitmuve.it/en/pianifica-la-tua-visita/special-itinerarie
Venice is definitely a walking city. You can get slightly lost but you can easily come across a little visited church, which can often be spectacular.
My biggest gripe was that when I was there, a huge Samsung banner had been strung across the Rialto Bridge. whatever money they got for this wasn't enough! [Post edited 14 Jul 2023 12:25]
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| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 12:02 - Jul 14 with 1454 views | ElephantintheRoom |
Be prepared for a god awful smell if it’s hot. Which it will be And be prepared for pickpockets. |  |
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| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 12:11 - Jul 14 with 1429 views | hype313 |
| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 12:02 - Jul 14 by ElephantintheRoom |
Be prepared for a god awful smell if it’s hot. Which it will be And be prepared for pickpockets. |
You really are a daily beacon of joy. |  |
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| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 12:52 - Jul 14 with 1367 views | lowhouseblue |
wander aimlessly and set out with the intention of getting lost. then see what bar / restaurant fate leads you to. |  |
| And so as the loose-bowelled pigeon of time swoops low over the unsuspecting tourist of destiny, and the flatulent skunk of fate wanders into the air-conditioning system of eternity, I notice it's the end of the show |
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| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 12:55 - Jul 14 with 1347 views | ElephantintheRoom |
| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 12:11 - Jul 14 by hype313 |
You really are a daily beacon of joy. |
Just trying to help the guy enjoy his holiday. Italy is hotter than usual right now, Venice will be smellier than usual. And is probably going to be hotter and smellier in two weeks time. It really is quite unpleasant to walk in extreme heat breathing in raw sewage - surrounded by thousands of perspiring, overweight tourists. | |
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| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 13:05 - Jul 14 with 1311 views | Beattie78 |
I've been 3 times over the years and really enjoyed the place. As others have said, the further you go out from the Grand Canal area, the cheaper and quieter it becomes. You come across plenty of lovely little squares (campi) as you wander about. I remember reading once that 90% of visiters never go outside the area between San Marco and the Rialto Bridge (about 500 metres). |  |
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| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 13:10 - Jul 14 with 1285 views | BasingstokeBlue |
It depends on how long you are going for.
Others have pointed out the obvious attractions.
Mrs. Basingstoke & I have been going every November (for the past 12/13 years, except Covid years) for anything from 5 to 9 days. It's still quite a haul to get around all the museums/galleries in such a week!
Others have mentioned Burano - when we go there, we also do Mazzorbo (not much to see but a pleasant walk round to the bridge to Burano) and Torcello (the first Venetian settlement, with a lovely old cathedral, campanile and Byzantine church).
This is your one-stop site to select and pre-book various attractions and services:
https://www.veneziaunica.it/en/e-commerce/services
If you like exploring churches, pre-buy the Chorus Circuit pass.
If you want to visit the museums, pre-buy one of the appropriate museum passes.
If you envisage much travelling by vaporetto (we always do), pre-buy ACTV tickets.
I recommend the tour of La Fenice and the Scala Contarini del Bovolo.
I have a document listing all the things we like to do - drop me a PM with your email address & I'll send it to you. |  |
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| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 13:22 - Jul 14 with 1253 views | JakeITFC |
All good advice above, but my pro-tips having been recently for a wedding:
- Try and see St Mark's square by night (11pm onwards) when it is really empty. The cathedral, palace and towers are beautiful when lit up and it's very nice to be there when not boiling hot and crowded with people taking selfies.
- There are loads of cafes around St Mark's square which are beautiful and have live classical music, but if you sit down and get waiter service it's probably as expensive as anywhere in the world (€18 or so for a bottle of beer). However, if you go inside to the bar in these cafes and order there it is a fraction of the price - you have to stand (can go outside) but is still a nice thing to do pre-dinner to enjoy the location and the music.
- Suso for the best ice cream (loads of locations, usually a queue), Farini for the best takeaway pizza, Dal Moro for the best takeaway pasta. I think it's a great city for food on the go, but obviously there are tonnes of brilliant sit down restaurants too. |  | | |
| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 14:29 - Jul 14 with 1147 views | Cheltenham_Blue |
| Off to Venice in a couple of weeks on 12:55 - Jul 14 by ElephantintheRoom |
Just trying to help the guy enjoy his holiday. Italy is hotter than usual right now, Venice will be smellier than usual. And is probably going to be hotter and smellier in two weeks time. It really is quite unpleasant to walk in extreme heat breathing in raw sewage - surrounded by thousands of perspiring, overweight tourists. |
"surrounded by thousands of perspiring, overweight tourists."
Its only me a the wife. I'm going to find it hard to surround anyone. | |
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