[Travel] Venice

[bluenitsuj]

Get the water taxi from airport.
Best place to stay and eat is the Jewish quarter Cannaregio. This is where many locals eat and is also away from the crowds and a great escape. Most of these restaurants open evenings only but are not expensive and food is great.

 

[Sussexscots]

From the Airport, the Alilaguna water bus will take you to the centre. These are relatively small boats, cheaper than a water taxi with limited stops into the city. Line Arancino - Orange line - will take you to the Rialto Bridge.

Wander round St Mark's Sq, but don't buy anything to eat or drink unless you are a benevolent millionaire.

Do just wander around. There's plenty of small local places to eat and drink, Ciccheti bars offering small snacks are good to graze whilst walking around - try Bacareto da Lele, Campo dei Tolentini 183 where you can sit by a canal with a glass of wine and a roll for a couple of Euros.

Enjoy, I think Venice is wonderful.

 

[Invicta]

100% get the water taxi from the airport. They are basically speed boats made into a taxi. Less than 30 mins to the centre. Don't even consider any other form of travel. It cost 50-75 Euros but it's worth it as it's an experience as well as getting you where you need to go. You will feel like James Bond as the motor boat take you across. Best advice I was given before we went last year and I didn't regret it. Did the same to get back to the airport.

Be prepared for it to be busy, when the cruises come in literally thousands descend on the place and it gets horrific for a time. Lots of Chinese.

But I have to say I enjoyed it very much. Lots of long lunches. WHilst St Marks Square is more expensive for food, it's probably only by about 10-20% so worth it for the music and vibe of the place.

I'd go back for a short break for sure.

Only down side is the accommodation is so expensive and limited, but if you're like us you'll only sleep in it anyway.

Enjoy.

Totally agree, we did the river bus to Venice but taxi (speedboat) back. It was great , well worth the extra cash.

If you are going to have a drink in St Mark's square order a bottle of wine rather than 2 rounds, cheapest way to get a couple of drinks with only one service charge, music charge and tip added.

 

[Tokyohands]

We are going in September but thinking of flying into Verona, visiting Lake Garda for 2 or 3 days then going on to stay in Padua, using the canal taxi from there to explore Venice proper and the surroundings. Has anyone else done that or similar?

 

[Baker lite]

Taking advantage of no game and going there this weekend.

Arriving at Marco Polo Airport - what's the best way into the centre please?

Any other must dos/must avoid....

Thanks

Water bus from Marco Polo, cost about 6 Euro one way 3 years ago.
Enjoy Venice, beautiful city.


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[Baker lite]

We are going in September but thinking of flying into Verona, visiting Lake Garda for 2 or 3 days then going on to stay in Padua, using the canal taxi from there to explore Venice proper and the surroundings. Has anyone else done that or similar?

We went to Lake Garda from Venice by train, took about an hour and bit if I remember rightly, really quite cheap as well.The best way to travel around Venice and see most of the sights is by water bus, buy an all day hop on/off ticket.
Enjoy.


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[Quinney]

Fantastic city, went last October. If you get a chance go to Fondaco Dei Tedeschi. It’s a department store in a stunning building. More like Harrods than your normal Debenhams. The main reason for going though is that it also has a viewing platform on the roof, which is free, with stunning views over Venice, and no queuing. It’s right next to the Rialto Bridge.


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[Dave the OAP]

But why go another website when someone on NSC will have actual, real-life experience having done the journey?

Anyway, thanks for you input.

Come out of the airport and follow the signs to the vaparetto station. There is one that takes you into the middle of the grand canal...it takes awhile, but of course it depends where your hotel is.

Otherwise, get the train into town and head for the main terminus. From there, all the lines are shown and the various vaparetto lines

People are right, on a night go into st marks square and watch the four platforms where there are mini orchestras ...as one finishes, the next one starts so wander along to them. DONT Sit down and have a coffee...you will be rinced. Go to the top left corner , there is a deli and they will seek you coffee to take out.....btw in an Italian cafe, if you sit down you get charged more for a meal that if you stand!

We love Venice....serious touristville, but you will love it.

 

[Nitram]

Been quite a few times and for me the best places are around the Rialto bridge which is a short walk from St Marks. If you walk from the Rialto to the Fish market you will pass a number of restaurants by the Grand Canal. It's a good place to sit and have a drink. They were the first banks of Venice. This area in the evening also has lots of bars where younger Venetians hang out drinking wine and chatting it has a really nice vibe.
Near the Rialto up a side alley is the Trattoria alla Madonna, a good place for lunch and has wonderful spider crab.
Just north of this area is a great restaurant Vechio Fritolin that we try and go in when we visit Venice. http://www.veciofritolin.it/it/homepage

I would limit the places to visit if you are on a short trip.
Must do is the Doges Palace and if interested in modern art Peggy Guggenheim Museum. Trip up the tower (Campanile) in St Marks Square, but get there before 10am. If you don't want to queue for St Marks, go to the side entrance where the marble lions are, and see what time the services are and walk in.
On the canal the vaporetto No.1 will take you along the grand canal.
Venice is full of little bars serving 'tapas' style dishes part of the fun is just wandering around getting lost and finding new bars. Get away from the main areas and you will be surprised how few people you will see, especially at night, when it can feel quite creepy, especially if you remember the film 'Don't look now.'
Off the wall suggestion is to go to the Jewish Area. It's was the original ghetto area and can be accessed through a wooden door which was the one closed at night to segregate the area. There is some moving artwork in the Square.
As others have said on arrival at the airport book a private launch to take you into Venice it's well worth the expense. Despite what others have said Venice can be no more expensive than going out in Brighton to a good restaurant, you can pay the earth but there are plenty of reasonable places to eat and drink.
Have a good trip.

 

[southdownswolf]

There are some fantastic little cafes/restaurants in the Canneregio area, which is away from the tourists and decently priced.
As others have said, the closer that you get to St Marks Sq, the more expensive it is. Need a quick caffeine intake? Stand up, don't sit at a table.
Something that I found interesting and fairly unique to Venice, was a Gondola repair workshop that you can overlook and watch the guys at work. You walk down Fondamenta Nani and at the southern end look across the canal to watch them work.
Venice is FULL of churches. You may not realise it, but it seems that every other building is a church. Many just look like houses, but open the door and its a church decked out in stained glass and gold everywhere. I'm not religious, but it was amazing to see the amount of money spent by the Venetians on religion.
My other half loved going over to Murano to see the glass being made, not my sort of thing, but it was quite interesting.

 

[Arthur]

Taking advantage of no game and going there this weekend.

Arriving at Marco Polo Airport - what's the best way into the centre please?

Any other must dos/must avoid....

Thanks

Was there last week. Very very very low tide at the moment so don't worry about flooding.

Depends where you are staying but if its towards at the bus/train station end I'll be controversial and say DON'T use the water bus get the road bus instead. The water bus is €15 per person and the bus is only 6. The water bus is very dull until you get into Venice. There is actually a lot more to see from the bus IMO. That said we were the second stop on the route so there would have been a lot more to see had we stayed on the boat further down the line.

If you do get the water bus and plan to use the public transport for your stay then buy the travel card thing and add on the airport transfer as it makes it half the price effectively.

Water taxis are mega expensive. €15 pick up and then €2 a minute. We were quoted €120 to our hotel from the airport.

Avoid eating/drinking around St Marks....crazy expensive. You can walk two minutes away and find places a lot more reasonable. Food on the whole is cheap but booze is pretty expensive. Look out for the large beer con where they give you a litre of beer and charge you for about 2.5 pints. Also some of the more touristy trap restaurants have a price for inside the restaurant and another outside. They are the same as anywhere in the world, they'll have large pictures of food outside and someone there trying to get you to go in.

It's also Carnival at the moment so expect it to be VERY busy. Saturday was the start which I was told is the one of the busiest times. They estimate over 3m people visit during carnival which means getting about is very difficult as a lot of the streets are about as wide as they are in the Lanes. So allow additional time to get everywhere if you are walking.

As others have said Murano and Burano are both worth a visit as is the northern part. Not very touristy but lots and lots of amazing churches if that floats your boat.

If you've not been on a Gondola before then do it to say you have but don't expect to be blown away. They are €80 during daylight and €100 at night.

 

[Tony Towner's Fridge]

100% get the water taxi from the airport. They are basically speed boats made into a taxi. Less than 30 mins to the centre. Don't even consider any other form of travel. It cost 50-75 Euros but it's worth it as it's an experience as well as getting you where you need to go. You will feel like James Bond as the motor boat take you across. Best advice I was given before we went last year and I didn't regret it. Did the same to get back to the airport.

Be prepared for it to be busy, when the cruises come in literally thousands descend on the place and it gets horrific for a time. Lots of Chinese.

But I have to say I enjoyed it very much. Lots of long lunches. WHilst St Marks Square is more expensive for food, it's probably only by about 10-20% so worth it for the music and vibe of the place.

I'd go back for a short break for sure.

Only down side is the accommodation is so expensive and limited, but if you're like us you'll only sleep in it anyway.

Enjoy.

Unnecessary expense IMHO. The water bus is fun, sociable and you get to see more of the canals and city. 15 euros from memory (I was there in November).
Over the Rialto bridge to the San Polo area is the best area for lower cost food. Restaurant Florida is right on the Grand Canal about 50yds down from Rialto and they do an excellent seafood tagliatelli for about 12 Euros. If you continue the walk down to Academia this is a lovely area and there was (and I think it is still there) a really good Leonardo de Vinci exhibition on (signposted). Another great value area too.
enjoy

TNBA

TTF

 

[Norman Potting]

Visit the islands. Going off topic Lake Maggiore ins nicer than Garda and Siena and San Gimiano are my favourite Italian places from memories of visits a while ago.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Back yesterday from a brilliant weekend - thanks to all you who posted on this thread - a great help.

To sum up my tips/comments:

Food / Drink : nowhere near as expensive as I expected - stayed away from main tourist spots when eating.

Carnival : Excellent - we had no idea when we booked it was on, but glad it was.

Arrived by (shared) water taxi, left by bus.

Walked miles, got lost several times!

Preferred Burano to Murano of the outlying islands.(€20.00 travel card covered these)

Visit St Marks Square/Rialto Bridge either late or early in the day.

Will return - so much to see.

 

[mxs_harrow]

Lido di Venezia is another part of Venice to contemplate using as a base to stay - away from the crowds, but just across the lagoon, so easy access within 10 minutes without being dragged all the way down the Grand Canal.

There are some commuter water bus services that go around the periphery of Venice - cheaper and quicker; just hop off and walk through to the parts that you need to reach, including the Grand Canal.

A few hundred metres on the other side of the Lido is the Adriatic-facing beachfront, so, weather ( and calendar) permitting, Venice can be both a city break and a beach holiday.

There are some good hotels - have stayed at the Grande Albergo Ausonia Hungaria. This was still intact when we visited despite Mel Gibson staying there the week before, during the Venice Film Festival...

If travelling by car around Italy, the Lido is somewhere you can still take, park and use your hire car.

Reference getting back to Marco Polo airport from elsewhere in Italy; you can get off the train at Mestre, buy a bus ticket in one of the local shops and get to the airport without having to drag all the way back into Venice and out again on the coach

 

[zeetha]

We're going next week so all the info here is very useful - thank you

Only wrinkle (other than missing the semifinal dagnabit!) we've got is to maximise time for our trip we're getting into Venice Airport at 11.50pm on the Friday so will have to work out what is still running by the time we get through customs etc in order to get to our hotel...

 

[zeetha]

As a follow up question - for those who recommended a Water Taxi from the airport, did you book it in advance?

Ta!

Z

 

[Bold Seagull]

100% get the water taxi from the airport. They are basically speed boats made into a taxi. Less than 30 mins to the centre. Don't even consider any other form of travel. It cost 50-75 Euros but it's worth it as it's an experience as well as getting you where you need to go. You will feel like James Bond as the motor boat take you across. Best advice I was given before we went last year and I didn't regret it. Did the same to get back to the airport.

This is what we did, and is well worth it, and the advice I also got before going. Dropped off at St Marks Square, and it is just a complete 'wow'.

Mine is a funny memory though. Went on a break with my then girlfriend, a bit last minute as we got a deal on a hotel her company had been using for something else. Anyway, holding hands strolling back from a nice meal, evening lights twinkling on the lagoon, me in a brilliant hazy red wine induced sense of clam and well being, and suddenly my hand is thrown away in a bit of a rage followed by a "you're not going to bloody ask are you!!!".

Ha ha. Hadn't even crossed my mind. 16 years married now. She knew what she wanted.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Another word of advice, is don't try to plan too much. If you don't get lost, you haven't done Venice. Wander around, hit dead ends, crazy winding alleyways, stumble across stunning squares and architecture. Amazing dreamy place.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Another word of advice, is don't try to plan too much. If you don't get lost, you haven't done Venice. Wander around, hit dead ends, crazy winding alleyways, stumble across stunning squares and architecture......then stop for a glass of red

Corrected for you.