Venice is like no other city in the world. With its hundreds of bridges, canals and boats at every turn and hidden away alleys that always lead to somewhere more exciting.
I recently spent 4 days on the island and managed to see a lot in that time. From the tourist attractions to the outer Islands of Murano and Burano, and when tried my hand at gondola rowing.
In my books, Venice is a must-see city in Italy and its great for a weekend trip. Easily accessible from anywhere in Europe. Fly into Marco-Polo airport and catch a bus, train or boat (only in Venice) to the city.
Apart from the obvious – eat pizza and pasta with prosecco – here are some of my top tips for visiting Venice:
See Venice from the roof
Recently opened last year, the department store T Fondaco Dei Tedeschi is situated right beside the Rialto Bridge and has gorgeous views of Venice from its rooftop terrace.
You can spot St Marc’s Square, the islands of Murano and Burano and see the Rialto Bridge from a birdseye view. It’s free to visit, but you have to book time slot online. It states that you get 15mins, but it doesn’t say you can’t go twice! We manged to visit in the evening and the terrace wasn’t that busy and there was no one timing you when we were there. It was perfect to see before dinner!
Learn to row a gondola
The gondolas in Venice are beautiful to see floating along the canals but can be rather expensive. We found a great company, Row Venice, that allows you to try out gondola rowing for yourself.
Our teacher, Venice-native, was amazing at navigating the narrow canal and low bridges. Don’t worry about not speaking Italian, we also had a translator on-board to help out. The team was very patience with us and even gave us info about Venice from a local’s point of view.
First we learnt the basic gondola rowing techniques. Then we set off down the canals and out into the open lagoon, each taking turns to row. Once you got into a rhythm, it was easy, but when a speedboat zoomed past and created waves, it was a lot harder to steady the boat and actually stand up more than row. Definitely worth a try though but be prepared for a good all-over body workout. Rowing in 30°C is tough, especially if you’re not used to it – so if you’re going in summer, bring a hat and sunglasses and prepare to sweat!
Have a map handy, incase you get lost.
Venice is full of narrow alleyways that are actually main streets. Having a paper map is handy, but being able to use Google maps is great when you get ready lost. Many things I read before I went, said to lose the map and get lost among the beauty that is Venice. Indeed that is a great idea if it’s not 32°C out and you’re looking for a supermarket to buy water.
Use the vaporetto bus service
The vaporetto bus service is a great way to see Venice. Although, the water taxis look like a great way to travel in style, if you’re traveling on a budget or wanting to see the most of the city, the vaporetto day-pass would be ideal. We got a 3 day-pass and used it quite a lot. As I mentioned, we visited Murano and Burano by vaporetto.
My suggestion would to see the grand canal by day and night on the vaporetto bus. The line No2 goes down the Grand Canal from ‘Ferrovia Gare‘ to ‘San Marco‘. We took this route during at day and at night which was great to see all the buildings lit up, including the Rialto Bridge.
Travel to the outer Islands of Murano and Burano
If you have a chance, take a vaporetto out to the Island of Murano. Famous for the glass-blowing factories.
A beautiful small island, Murano, is only 30mins vaporetto from the main island. These glass sculptures were all over the place – the lamp posts where outside a glass factory. It was the perfect place to go for some lunch, away from the busy alleys of the main island.
Burano – a little further than Murano, about 50mins more on the vaporetto and you’ll see the colourful houses of this even smaller island. I’d seen pictures of this place before travelling to Venice and couldn’t wait to see it for myself. If you get make the time to travel out here, it is worth it!
That’s just some of my tips for visiting Venice,
I loved Venice. I love Italy and can’t wait to travel back sometime soon. Anywhere in Italy I should see next?
Ciao!
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