Venice, Italy.
Venice is a stunning city which oozes old fashioned charm and Italian sophistication. Well known for being overly crammed with tourists and highly expensive, people are often put off going. However, it is my love for the slender winding canals, openhearted people and mouth-watering food that keeps pulling me back to this enchanting island, and over time I’ve uncovered these gems to help you out. Don’t tell anyone though, or it won’t remain our little secret for long!
Avoid Peak Season.
I know this sounds obvious! Venice can be beautiful all year, but avoiding summer holidays and weekends can make a big difference. The winter gives a fresh, crisp feel and there are not many other tourists to avoid (except for the Venice Festival in February, home to the most spectacular array of masked actors on flotillas on the Grand Canal and large colourful parties lasting well into the night). Spring brings out the vibrant flowers but gets a little busier so weekdays may be best for visiting the city. Summer and early autumn are often crammed and you will find yourself queuing a lot, but if you can go out of school holidays and not on weekends you may have a more pleasant experience.
Pick a Hotel off the Island.
Stick to staying on the mainland, as the transport links into Venice are fantastic. You will find hotels in Venice itself are very expensive and there are many hotels and bnbs all within a 20 minute radius of the city. This will allow you to finally take time out and relax after a busy day without having hundreds of tourists bustling outside the door. If you still want to be by the canals, even when not on the island, I would recommend staying at the NH Laguna Palace (https://www.nh-hotels.com/hotel/nh-venezia-laguna-palace, average double £78 per night-June 2020) which has a private harbour in the hotel, making you feel like you’re sitting right in the middle of a James Bond film.
Don’t Get a Taxi onto the Island.
There are three ways to get across into Venice from the mainland: either by boat, train or the road bridge. Venice Ferries run 16 services across from the mainland every day and take approximately 2 ½ hours. Although I have not used them myself, they look to be a fun way to approach the island. See https://www.directferries.co.uk/venice_ferry.htm to book.
I have not taken the train across either but this is a popular option, with the main train station in Venice sitting just a few steps from the Grand Canal itself. The train makes travel quick and affordable from places further afield, such as the beautiful ancient town of Treviso (home of Prosecco!) which only takes 30mins. Tren Italia are responsible for the trains in the area and you can find more information here: https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html.
As for using the road bridge, I have found the bus network to be the best option if staying locally. Taxi’s are expensive and as you can only get around Venice by boat or on foot once on the island, it will be no more direct than the bus, which drops you at the same port. There are a variety of different bus tickets you can buy, single/return and multi-day passes and these can be purchased from a variety of local shops (normally supermarkets or souvenir shops) next to the bus stops. Just make sure to validate your ticket once on the bus.
When staying at the NH Laguana Palace, I often use the bus route 04L- it is only a 10min walk away from the hotel and it is a particularly quick journey as the hotel is close to the road bridge. I would recommend buying a return day ticket so you don’t have to think about having to purchase another after a busy day exploring and be aware that you cannot buy tickets on the buses themselves. My return ticket from the hotel cost less than €10 but this may differ depending on where you get on the bus.
Explore the Islands by Water Bus, not the Water Taxi.
Once across the bridge and in Venice, consider how you will get around. Private water taxis are super expensive and the ride is not worth the cost for the journey down the main canal. You will get better photos from the water bus as you can move around and stop at many of the points down the canal. It is also much cheaper. Be warned though, these boats are often very crowed for the same reasons. Tickets for the water bus can be picked up by the bus station when you reach the island or online at https://www.veneziaunica.it/en/content/public-transport. The best option would be to purchase an all day or multi-day ATCV travel card (normally about €14 per day) depending on your length of visit. Just to clarify this does NOT cover you getting on and off the island from the mainland, just travel around it or between other islands via the water bus.
Share your Gondola.
Who doesn’t dream about being serenaded in a gondola along Venetian canals?
Well I’m afraid this is expensive and, although there is a fixed charge to avoid being ripped off (€80 in day, €120 at night for 25-30min ride), that is still a lot of money for a boat. Instead why not do a shared gondola? You can book beforehand and it costs as little as €25 per person. I have used Travel Republic many times for this and it is great. Book a time and date that suits your trip at https://www.travelrepublic.co.uk/attractions/venice/gondola-experience . When you turn up you meet a group at a spot just off St Mark’s Square. There are normally 6-8 people in the boat but it doesn’t mean the experience loses its charm. It also means you can all take photos of each other, so you’re actually getting more out of it. I have met fascinating people on these rides from all around the globe and would only ever do it this way in the future.
Get Dodge’s Palace Tickets Online.
The queue to get in here is always massive and takes a long time. It is definitely worth the wait, but for those (like me) who aren’t a fan of wasting precious travel time queueing, why not just download the Tiqets app and buy the same tickets for the same price (https://www.tiqets.com/en/doges-palace-tickets-l143993/ ). You can even book these while outside the palace and then just walk right to the front of the electronic tickets line. I have never had to wait longer than 10mins in this queue, but even after all these years people don’t seem to catch onto it!
Don’t Pay for the Best View.
St Mark’s Tower is impressive, but for just as good view (and without the long queues and cramped space at the top) visit the viewing platform at the spectacular T Fondaco Dei Tedeschi shopping centre. It’s completely free and not nearly as well known. You can reserve a time slot online (it is open between 9:45am to 7:15pm) at https://www.dfs.com/en/venice/t-fondaco-rooftop-terrace or on the day via the iPads on the 3rd and 4th floors of the shopping centre. At your arranged timeslot, just take any of the lifts in the shopping centre to the top…possibly after a bit of shopping! At the top, the lift will open up into a spacious atrium. Sometimes there are exhibitions on here with local artwork on display, see what’s on at https://www.dfs.com/en/venice/arts-and-culture?burgerFlag=true. A security guard normally keeps a small line of people inside so it is not crowded, but then will wave you through some double doors outside to one of the best rooftop views of Venice! You will be allocated 15 minutes of viewing time on the large open terrace overlooking the famous Rialto Bridge and Grand Canal. There is also a maximum of 70 people on the terrace so don’t worry about people getting in the background of your photos!
Get a Pizza in the Jewish Ghetto.
One of my favourite parts of Venice is the wandering through the old Jewish Ghetto. It is much more residential and not many tourists venture further than St Mark’s square, so you may not see another soul for an hour or so. There is a deep history about this area, with richly decorated synagogues disguised inside the indistinguishable buildings. But even without being able to see inside the buildings, you start to feel the true charm of the island. You can learn more about the area at the museum located in the district (http://www.museoebraico.it/en/museum/. You will also find that in this area food becomes more reasonable and better quality than your average tourist pizza place in the St Marks Square. My best recommendation is to finish your day walking back to the main Venice bus stop (approximately 20 minutes along the Grand Canal) so you can burn off all that delicious food while taking in the final sounds, smells and sights of this magical city.
Try the Other Islands.
Venice will always be a classic but my favourite island has got to be the inimitable Burano. It is similar to Venice, built along narrow, coiling canals and the only way to explore is by boat or foot. However, on this much smaller island, the houses are each painted in unique bright colours, creating rainbow-like reflections in the water. It is becoming a hot spot for social media influencers but the crowds are otherwise lesser there. You don’t need long on the island and it is best to either catch the boat first thing in the morning when it is quiet, or to catch the golden hour by heading out in the afternoon, but check the timings for last boat back, as once that has left there is no way off the island. It takes about 1 ½ hours on the boat from Venice, and you have to make a change of boat on Murano (where beautiful glass shapes are blown) so it is worth spending a day doing both Burano and Murano islands if you can and not trying to cram it in with Venice too.
Buy your Murano Glass from Failure Shops.
This isn’t as bad as it seems. Sometimes the beautiful works of glass art will have a tiny imperfection made at the time of blowing, which means they cannot be sold for a hefty price tag. Instead some shops buy them and sell them off for as little as €1! They are often just as good as identical items from a tourist shop and its likely you won’t even notice the mistake.
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