Venice Tips Please

[Beaker's Fluff]

We are off to Venice next month for the first time and would love to hear your tips and tricks for a fab stay.
We arrive 9am Monday and Leave 6pm Wednesday.
I am looking at booking a private water taxi for the airport run as it looks pretty James Bond.
We would love to do as many sights as possible but would also love some hidden gems too.
Any recommendations?

[munmun]

Enjoy the private water taxi. We have never done that we always take the lagoon water bus service. I love the way it potters around the islands and slowly the city comes into view and then the trip around the perimeter. Even after multiple trips I still love it.

My top tip is get lost, just wander, go of the main drags and into the hidden courtyards and alleys. Take a vapereto from one end of the grand canal to the other for great views. Eat in the back streets.

I love to go to a Vivaldi concert in one of the old churches. Most play the four seasons and it’s magical.

Mainly get up early and wander the streets before the day trippers arrive. Go to the Jewish quarter and check out the galleries.

I think you can tell that Venice is a place I love, we only go in winter, usually February as there are few tourists, we went once a couple of years ago in September and it was hot and heaving.

You will have a fantastic time if you get away from the other tourists.

[SimonB]

Visit St Marks Square fleetingly and then get out and discover the many sidestreets and lesser known churches. The Basilica is heaving and manned with very unfriendly staff in my opinion.

[ERICSMUM]

The Grand Canal is amazing, especially on a sunny day when the beautiful old buildings either side listen in the sun.

[THE WIZARD]

Just wander, thats what Venice is all about. Unless you want to spend 20+ Euro's on a cup of coffee DON'T sit in St Marks Square, the same restaurants serve the same coffee round the back at half the price. Buy cheese etc & ask for it vacuum packed to bring home. Buy pictures from the street sellers rather than in the shops, watch your purse/wallet in the crowds on Rialto Bridge. Get up early to see the sun rise & hear the church bells if there on a Friday or Sunday. If you do use the vaporetto boats remember to put your ticket in the machine on the dock to stamp it first especially at the airport.
Enjoy, it's just such an amazing place place.

[Alices Aunt]

I think this year is the biannually (sp) so you could spend sometime at the art exhibitions.

I also really enjoyed at trip to murano and burano islands as well.

[Sneezy]

Whilst in Venice take a short water taxi ride round the corner to Burano, its just like a little Venice but quite, and very colourful. Certainly worth a walk around, and of course if you like glass you must go to Murano.

[Omega1]

My top tips:
1. Best free rooftop viewpoint is Fondaco Dei Tedeschi near Rialto Bridge. Need to book online.
2. Most tourists want to go up the Campanile in St. Mark’s. Don’t bother. Take vaparetto no 2 across to San Giorgio Maggiore and go up the campanile there (small charge). It’s a better view, particularly back to St Mark’s.
3. Buy tickets for the vaparetto as a daily pass (1,2,3 days etc) much, much cheaper than single tickets.
4. Get lost! As others have said every turn is a new discovery.
5. Find a quiet, off the beaten track, square and join the locals for pre dinner Aperol Veneziana (Aperol Spritz).
6. Download Rick Steve’s podcast of the journey along the Grand Canal. It synchronises with the vaparetto no 1 journey from Piazzale Roma. It’s the best free narrated guide going.
7. Cross the Grand Canal on a traghetti - poor man’s gondola for approx 2 euros. Do it like the locals, standing up.
8. As others have said Burano and Murano are certainly worth visiting.

[DisneyDaffodil]

We spent a week in Venice last June and fell in love with the city. It’s my favourite place I have ever visited.

Doge’s Palace is worth visiting in St Marks, incredibly beautiful building also the Correr museum, which was included in our Doges Palace ticket, is worth visiting. Apart from that, I would just take a few pics in St Mark’s Square and spend the rest of the time exploring the rest of the city. Just wander and go in the amazing churches, the artwork and architecture in all of them is spectacular. One of our favourites was San Zaccaria church which was free to enter but for a few euros more you could visit extra parts including a flooded crypt.

We stayed in the Canneregio area which was beautiful and less touristy but easy to walk everywhere. We ate around the Canneregio Canal area at little cafes used by the locals and had wonderful food.

We also strolled down to the Garibaldi Gardens, past the Arsenale, one day which was fabulous and so quiet and peaceful.

We used the vaporettos on a 48 hour ticket to visit the Lido one day, then Burano and Murano the next day. Definitely recommend visiting Burano and Murano if you have time.

As I said, we loved the city and will definitely return one day (and we rarely say we will return to places as there are so many places we want to visit) I could go on and on 😃 I hope you enjoy it as much as we did

[HiddenMickey35]

Originally Posted by THE WIZARD

Just wander, thats what Venice is all about. Unless you want to spend 20+ Euro's on a cup of coffee DON'T sit in St Marks Square, the same restaurants serve the same coffee round the back at half the price. Buy cheese etc & ask for it vacuum packed to bring home. Buy pictures from the street sellers rather than in the shops, watch your purse/wallet in the crowds on Rialto Bridge. Get up early to see the sun rise & hear the church bells if there on a Friday or Sunday. If you do use the vaporetto boats remember to put your ticket in the machine on the dock to stamp it first especially at the airport.
Enjoy, it's just such an amazing place place.

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correct, don't sit in St Marks Square or any cafe near the Riato bridge. go walk backside and there are lots of restaurant which was good prices and I love Venice and I would go back there again. Look at trip advisor and find the good restaurant. that what I did and my family and I walked further back and found good restaurant.

The Campanile - the bell-tower of St. Mark's, it is in St Mark Square, please go up and there is beautiful view all round. Don't miss it as it is high recommend, there is lift which I thought climb upstairs but not. You will see hugh Bell there.