My Travel Guide to Venice, Italy
I heard a quote once about Venice, Italy:
"Visiting Venice is like eating a box of chocolate liqueurs in one go..." (author unknown).
Now it might not be just like that... It depends if eating an entire box of chocolates makes you sick or not lol. But I do understand the decadence the author might have been referring to...
Venice is luxuriously self-indulgent.
I envy any true Venetian who calls this incredible city "home". The art scene in Venice rivals any museum, the city itself you could argue is an open-air museum and art gallery on display for the world to admire. Venice captured my heart.
Where to Stay in Venice, Italy:
Venice is expensive. I'll be honest though, spend the money, it's worth it. Some of the hotels you can stay in here are incredible, impeccably pristine and are an experience in themselves. Venice is not as large of an area as you may think. The alleyways and crowds can make getting from point "A" to point "B" a little longer than usual, but wandering the streets of Venice is part of the romance of this place.
Hotel Ca' d'Oro - 3 Star - Located near the Cannaregio area of Venice, this 3 star property is great value. It's about 15-20 minutes walk from Piazza San Marco, 7-10 minute walk from the famous Rialto Bridge and Market. Hotel Ca' d'Oro is clean comfortable and reasonably easy to get to by Vaporetto (nearest station is within 5 minutes).
Santa Chiara Hotel - 4 Star - I booked this hotel solely on location on the way back from my cruise. It's across the street from the People Mover to the Cruise Ship Terminals and across the bridge from the train station. It's one of the only hotels on Venice that you can physically drive to. The buses to and from the airport also depart and arrive right behind the hotel, as well as several different vaporetto stops, so for location and ease it's amazing. The service of the staff and rooms are amazing as well. I booked a Deluxe Canal View room and it didn't disappoint. It's been recently renovated, the rooms are very well appointed and a deluxe breakfast buffet was also included.
Hotel Danieli - 5 Star - This hotel is a Venice classic. Featured in so many films, once you stay here, you'll understand why it's a must. Part of the Starwood hotel brand, Hotel Danieli has the most perfect of locations, located mere steps from St. Marks Square and the Doge's Palace. The restaurant here is incredible and overlooks the Grand Canal.
Other hotels to note: Belmond’s Hotel Cipriani, San Clemente Palace Kempinski Venice, The Gritti Palace, Hilton Molino Stucky, JW Marriott Venice and The Westin Europa & Regina.
Where to Eat in Venice, Italy:
When you visit to visit Venice, “foodie town” is probably not what you are thinking. Sure Venice probably is in the place you want to have certain Italian foods if it’s your only stop in this amazing country, however Venice has amazing gastronomical offerings available to it’s visitors. Venetians have a very different way of living, but they're definitely doing it right. Typical Venetian breakfast would be your cappuccino and cornetto (as with most of Italy). Lunch could be a slice of pizza at a local bakery, a Panini or even a calzone from one of the small bakeries you’ll find along one of the winding pathways. Remember, any good restaurant doesn't need to have waiters outside trying to get you to sit down to eat with a "free glass of wine" or a "tourist menu", all the good places are already busy.
Venice is known for its seafood and still to this day there is a fish market at the Rialto Market every Monday, definitely something to check out. Most cantinas and restaurants send their chefs every day to get local produce, fish and other daily finds for amazing daily creations and specials.
But early evening/late afternoon, is strictly for cicchetti. Cicchetti is similar to tapas, it's a variety of small bites that you enjoy with a glass of house wine or as Venetians call it “umbra”, which literally translates as a glass of “shade”. Usually when ordering cicchetti, you can have an entire meal with a couple glasses of wine for under €20 per person.
For dinner Venice boasts some of Italy's best restaurants. In Venice you can find several Michelin star restaurants, and several restaurants that cater to the locals which in my opinion are just good. The local drink of choice, that depends where you go. As mentioned, house wines in Venice are amazing whether you choose white or red. However with Venice's location to the DOC and DOCG areas (regionally protected wines) means the prosecco here is super fresh, crisp and reasonable. Check out Al Prosecco to try some amazing local prosecco by the glass in this hip wine bar setting.
Also, Venice is the birth place of the real Bellini. Make sure you try this very refreshing cocktail at least once. I enjoyed mine whilst watching people go by near Piazza San Marco.Some of my favourite restaurants in Venice include Ristorante Wildner which is located on the Grand Canal near San Marcos Piazza, walk along past Hotel Danieli near the San Zaccaria vaporetto stops, you’ll find this amazing restaurant. They had a delicious 3 course meal for €25 including a starter, main and dessert. For Michelin star dining, try Il Ridotto behind Hotel Danieli in a small piazza. I tried their tasting menu and it was INCREDIBLE! They also own a trattoria right across in the piazza, called Aciugheta. I had a pizza, Aperol Spritz and a few glasses of wine here for lunch after trying Il Ridotto for dinner one night. Good atmosphere and great selection of local wines. For cicchetti, favourite of many locals would be Cantina do Spade near Rialto, and Al Timon in Cannareggio.
What to see in Venice:
Venice is one of those magical places where you want to get up early to take advantage of the true local life or what's left there of. Venice at sunrise overlooking the Grand Canal is one the most beautiful moments that I've ever experienced. Simply wandering the alleyways of Venice (and getting lost) is something that you definitely need to do. Taking in the sights, the smells, the atmosphere and truly the soul of this place. Sometimes that's the great part of travelling. While wandering the streets of Venice I turned the corner and came across a gentleman playing the violin on the steps of a church. I stood there, for a few minutes, peering through an archway, whilst the locals went about their daily life. Again, one of those moments I was so happy to have come across.
It can be easy to get lost in Venice, however follow the signs to the nearest popular points of interest (yellow signs on most buildings pointing the way down alleys to Rialto, San Marco, and other popular areas of Venice).For museums, Doge's Palace, St. Marks Basilica and the Peggy Guggenheim Museum were my favourites. I also wandered the area around the Accademia which is near where the Peggy Guggenheim Collection is located.
I also did trips over to Murano, Burano and Torcello. You can do a guided half day tour, which I did, however I revisited all the islands myself with vaporettos (the ferry system in Venice). Torcello holds most of the history of Venice, as this was the first of the islands in the lagoon that was inhabited when Treviso was invaded (more on Treviso in another post soon). Burano, is know for its beautiful lace making and colourful houses. It's a stunning fishing village that you want to visit in the early morning or early evening once all the tour groups have left. Murano is the island of world renown glass. True Murano glass is still made here on this island and crafted by amazing artisans. I did purchase a few pieces, just be sure that you are buying from a reputable shop as some do sell glass from China.
Another thing to do whilst in Venice is to try to take in a performance at the opera (or at least try to do a tour of the opera house). It's one of those things that truly gives you a glimpse of life into Venice's luxurious and opulent past.
If you're looking for a great local tour option, check out Urban Adventures. They offer some great small group tour options in Venice. I love Urban Adventures as they are typically food based tours and are also run by in the know locals, so you get a true taste of what local life is like in the place where you take a tour with them. They take you places that not many tourists go, so it's very well worth it!
How to Get Around Venice:
So as you may know their are no cars on Venice proper. So getting around involves walking or taking water transport of some sort. There are multiple water transport options. To and from the airport you have the Alilaguna ferries. Around Venice and to the other islands, you have the vaporetto system (run by ACTV), which is very similar to city buses just on water. You can also hire private boats (water taxis) to take you from point A to point B in VIP style.
Water taxis are by far the most expensive way to get around Venice when it comes to transport. Finally, you then have the very touristic water transportation of gondolas. A gondola ride can cost you upwards of €80 for an hour and is not typical a mode of transportation anymore, but really just a tour of the canals. It's still a beautiful way to enjoy Venice's past and see the city from a different angle.
I did do a lot of walking around Venice, but found it very nice to use the vaporetto system. I would highly suggest buying the pass for as many days is you feel you need it, as it is a better rate, however you can buy a 24 hour pass (also a pass with the bus transfer to and from the airport). You do need to validate the pass before you get onto the vaporetto, you will see a validation machine, which you just hold the RFID embedded pass in front of until it goes green and beeps. If you failed to validate your vaporetto pass (ACTV pass), you can be fined. The passes are good for all ferries and vaporettos with ACTV, so day trips to the other islands of Murano, Burano, Torcello and Lido are all included.
Honestly I LOVED Venice. Italy to me as a country feels like home, but Venice even more so. My Great Grandfather is from the Veneto area, so I feel a connection to Venice. I can't wait to come back here.
I know over-tourism is a problem, the "No Grandi Navi" (No Large Ships) debate is still strong, however after visiting, it seems the vaporettos and water taxis create more of a wake and waves than the large ships. Cruise ships at that speed really create no wake, but it's a big debate and since 2022 larger cruise ships are now no longer able to call on the Port of Venice. Where I think the true problem lies is the large amount of cruise ship passengers and land tour groups that just visit Venice for the day only. I can see the frustration, I myself got frustrated with one tour group in an alleyway, I guided an elderly "nonna" past them whilst they took up the entire space, not being considerate to the passers by. These passengers also don't necessarily support the true local businesses. The true locals who own restaurants, artisan shops and stores are being left out to the street vendors who hawk products made in China where they buy a magnet or a tacky tourist bag with "Venezia" written across it. I know this is a whole other conversation, but I think it comes down to being a conscious traveller. We do our best to support local at home, we need to strive to do this abroad as well.
I hope you are able to visit Venice for more than a day, it's truly an amazing, romantic and unique city.
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Happy travels!
Ariane
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