Venice Info Please

[desperate]

DD is going to venice for a long weekend, anyone have any tips advice etc what to do where to go restaurants usual sort of stuff.?

Many thanks

[Sue]

I took DH for his birthday two years ago and we loved the place. Be warned, it is very expensive. There are loads of restaurants and I cannot remember any specific ones, we just wandered along and read menus until we decided where we fancied. Be aware that those nearest the big tourist attractions - St. Marks Square and the Rialto Bridge are MUCH more expensive than those down all the millions of side alleys.
We stopped off for one beer and one coffee near the Doge's Palace (where all the cruise liners drop off the day trippers) and got stung for 15 Euros!!! (that is nearly £9!!)
Go to the art gallery up the stairs just off St Marks square and get a Museum ticket - relatively inexpensive and covers you for entry to the Doge's Palace (a must) St Marks Church (another must) and up the Campanile tower (not such a must) as well as around the Museum itself.
Also a walk round to the baroque church (I am not religious but love the architecture) at the entrance to the Grand Canal - Santa Maria de la Salute, built after the city had survived the plague.
Get the water bus (Vaporetto) from the airport, easily found, buy tickets near terminal exit. Much cheaper than the water taxis. The buses are numbered and can get you all around, cheaper than gondolas. We never made it to the nearby islands of Burano and Murano (famous for glass) but the buses go there too.

[ElenaP]

I found a couple of addresses in my Slow Food guide: usually they are place to eat very good food at a reasonable price... which in Venice would probably be HIGH, but you shouldn't be totally robbed.

1) Anice stellato
Cannaregio, 3272-Fondamenta de la Sensa
Tel. 041 720744
open lunch and dinner, closed mon and tue

2) Da Rioba
Cannaregio, 2553-Fondamenta della Misericordia
Tel. 041 5244379
open lunch and dinner, closed mon

3) Dalla Marisa
Cannaregio, 652 b-Fondamenta San Giobbe
Tel. 041 720211
open lunch and dinner, closed for dinner on sun, mon and wed

4) La Bitta
Dorsoduro, 2753 a-Calle Lunga San Barnaba
Tel. 041 5230531
open dinner, closed on sun

All places should be priced around 35€, not counting wine... note that both Cannareggio and Dorsoduro are outside the typical "tourist" area, but still very worth a visit!

Hope it helps, and enjoy your trip!

ElenaP from Italy

[GOS]

Venice tends to close up in the evening, with restaurants and bars being the only thing open. If you hang around in St Marks Sqaure in the evening, you can enjoy the live music from the bands playing for the customers of the resturants on the square. Very enjoyable as each band tries to out do one another. Beware of street traders - bags and souvenier during the day and roses at night. Very persistant.
Restaurants on the Lido are cheaper - take the vaporettos across the lagoon.
But even though this sounds negative - I'd go back at the drop of a hat. Have a great time.
Heather

[Diane]

The islands of Murano & Burano are worth a trip, very picturesque.

And if you want to take a Gondola ride, be sure to go into the back streets and find an independent gondolier and negotiate a good price. We paid £40 for an hour for 4 of us and he still took us onto the Grand Canal. The gondoliers on the front of St Marks Square were charging upwards of double that price! :omg:

Its a beautiful, romantic city and I'm sure you'll have a great time, I would like to go back one day.

Diane x

[Dolphina]

We went to Venice last April - I absolutely loved it and want to go back. We just walked and walked around the little alleyways and came across little restaurants on the way. Because our hotel was just off St. Marks Square we often went Arsenale and ate around there. One tip, if you decide to go to one of the cafes or restaurants around St. Marks Square be prepared for a very hefty bill especially in the evening when the bands and orchestras are playing it is tempting to sit down to listen and order a drink.
You will have a great time - it is so beautiful and romantic.

[Briar_Rose]

Get one of the water bus passes - its 22 Euros for 3 days - just remember to get it validated straight away or there's a 30 Euro fine.

[fozzie bear]

Best eating in more residential areas and avoid tourist menus like the plague we have found. The ones I can remember are on in the Lido called somthing like Africa which was about 5 mins walk from the Vaporetto and one in the street just above Giardano vaparetto which had a boat outside it - both of these had mainly local custom which is what you should always look out for.

Hotel concierges can sometimes guide you to restaurants on commission which can be poor. My advice is to get friendly with them and ask them in conversation where their families eat. Venice is an amazing place, good food is not always easy to find but it is there at a reasonable price if you're prepared to look for it.

Good luck.