THE REPUBLIC OF VENICE
Venice is truly one of the most beautiful city in the World and it should be on every traveler’s bucket list. We kept postponing our visit fearing the crowds for years, obviously a wrong tactic as the number of tourist increases each year and has surpassed the number of locals living in the city a while ago. Still, this is a must visit town and for some unknown reason it did not feel to crowded. The old town of Venice is the group of hundreds of small islands connected with 400 bridges, and its iconic Venetian Gothic style architecture sets this unique city apart from the rest of the Italy. Venice is one of the most visited cities in Europe, and with all the crowds, tourists traps, long queues and pricey gondola rides, it’ s still an amazing place.
Getting to and around Venice - Travel Light
We arrived to the Venice by car and parked in one of the few parking structures on Piazzale Roma. We booked our parking in advance at Garage San Marco - highly recommend doing this in advance. The cost was EUR32 per day. We had two big suitcases with us and were debating leaving them in car for the 3 nights we were staying in Venice, but then opted to leave it with the company renting apartments. Best decision ever- however please note that the rental company we used - Reception in Santa Croce 515 (Venzia Piazzale Roma), although very close to the parking and the boars taking you into Venice, is still on the on the second floor, with no elevator. They have no one to help you with luggage so getting those big suitcases up the stairs and then few days later down, was a challenge. They charge EUR 5 per luggage per day. They can also pick up luggage from your apartment on your last day and take it to the reception for additional fee- we would recommend doing it unless you are planning to leave Venice early in the morning. The whole city lives on water, so the only way to move around is by foot or by boats (water taxis or ferries). Walking with heavy luggage can be very difficult, time consuming, and tiring due narrow streets and stone bridges. Since you are hoping on/off boats and walking up and down the bridges and on cobble streets, we highly recommend only carrying backpacks with you. Don’t even bother with the small carry on, and don’t even think about taking your suitcase with you. We have witnessed many miserable people tugging their oversized suitcases up and down the Rialto bridge, as we breezed passed them with our (still oversized) back packs.
Finding the affordable place to stay in Venice could be a challenge. especially in the Old town. We used booking for our reservation and stayed at Venice Ca San Marcos Canal View. It is a great little place super close to the Rialto Bridge and we recommend it. If you are staying in a city only few days it is always better to be centrally located- even if a little more expensive- you will have more time to see the city if you are near everything.
Things to do in Venice
Venice offers so much, and despite the crowds it is so worth it. There are some things that are a must: Piazza San Marco, Basilica San Marco, Palazzo Ducale, Ponte di Rialto (most iconic bridge in Venice), Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, and Ponte dell’ Accademia. These are standard spots and are important to see. Best to wake up as early as possible and try to see them without too many tourists. Getting inside of some those is tricky, the lines are very long. We chose to see first Palazzo Ducale and came 15-30 minutes before opening to be first in line. By the time we finished the line to get into the Basilica San Marco was so long that we gave up on it.
Gondola ride is still a must, despite how expensive and touristy it is. Would just recommend getting as far away as possible from all the most popular touristy spots to get your money’s worth. They cannot charge you more than EUR80, but they can sure cut the ride shorter than 30-40 minutes (we learned this the hard way as ours was barely 20-25 minutes long).
The highlight for us were the Venice Free Walking Tours. You know the drill- they do not mean that you don’t have to pay anything to someone who has taken you around the city for 3 hours and told you all the wonderful stories and secret spots - it just means the price is not determined ahead of time and that your tip should compensate the guides adequately. We took the Morning Tour which takes you around the south of the city, and then afterwards we took the Afternoon Tour which focuses on the northern neighborhoods- they do not cover the main attractions (those you can do on your own) but take you to places a little less touristy (if there is such a thing in Venice). The tours were excellent, we learned a lot, and most importantly we got tips for great spots for food and drink.
Food and Drinks
It is so hard to chose between Bellini, Campari Spritz, Aperol Spritz, or just excellent wines, you just have to stop often in one of many wonderful cafes and try them all. Also a must are cicchetti (chee-ketee), similar to tapas or meze, a light snack to slow down the effects of alcohol. The best place we found to feel like a local and enjoy inexpensive cicchetti and wine (or spritz) was Osteria Al Squero and Cantine del VIno gia Schiavi, both near the Gallerie dell’ Accademia where the free morning tour begins and ends. Both cafes are on a small canal, across Squero de San Trovaso, the oldest boat yard where they still repair gondolas and even build the new ones. You can see the boat yard from Osteria Al Squero and if you have time ( we didn’t) take the tour of the boat yard.
Venice has a some great spots to take some memorable pictures. Here are some recommendations:
Riva Degli Schiavoni (in front of the Palzzo Ducale) - sunrise - rows of blue covered gondolas with San Giorgio Maggiore in the background
Ponte della Paglia (view of the Ponte dei Sospiri) - early morning or mid day - view of the the Bridge of Sighs
Ponte di Rialto (view from the middle of the bridge facing West) - sunset - the best view of the Grand Canal at sunset
Ponte dell’ Accademia (view from the bridge facing East) - sunset - another view of the Grand Canal with Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute in the background
The Campanile of San Giorgio del Greci; The Campanile of Santo Stefano; and The Campanile of the Basilica di San Pietro di Castello - leaning towers of Venice
