To ask another holiday question... this time about Venice!

[JackmanAdmirer]

Me again!

Sorry I know I'm using AIBU again for holiday advice but I want to get answers and this is the place to do it!

Venice...

What is there to do?
Is it all hype?
Any off the beaten path little places you can recommend?

Thank-yoooouuuu!

*sorry i put Murano instead of Burano!! Burano is the lace island and Murano is the glass island.

Love Venice - but agree with others, go in low season. March was glorious 🙂

The Peggy Guggenheim collection was amazing. Really enjoyed secret tour of the Doges Palace. Fab restaurant on link below.

www.ilridotto.com/en/home-en/

Salty, yes, that's how I feel. I've lived in.Italy almost half my life so obviously often have the chance to go, (especially school trips) but I turn Venice down.

The Venetians themselves have used the words theme park to describe what's happened to the city. Case of biting the hand that feeds you of course but I find it terribly unauthentic.

Just left this morning after spending a few days. I had been before and hated it but realised this time how wrong I was. It's absolutely gorgeous with so much to do. Would recommend a Caffè which had the best espresso I've ever had but unfortunately I didn't find out its name. About a 5 minute walk from St Marks though.

Never ever eat anywhere with ‘Menu Turistico’ signs outside. Never eat anywhere where the waiter does the ‘humorous’ patter to get you in!
Coffee and cake on the Lido easily half the price of Venice central. Get a Vaporetto pass in advance otherwise it’s eye-wateringly expensive for non residents. Try to avoid the temptation to take a ‘free’ ride to Murano - you’ll get the hard sell!
Comfy shoes and a good map and it’s the best city on earth!

Oh - and don’t get pissed and go to Harry’s Bar for a nightcap and then decide you’re starving and order risotto and a bottle of red. Think we’re still paying that off the MasterCard 😂

I absolutely adored Venice and id love to go back. I went the September before last and we only stayed 2 nights (travelled round Italy to a few places)

Definitely get the vaporetto pass I think it was about 20 quid each for a couple of days, you can hop on and off til quite late. We stayed quite near the train station but wish we had paid a bit more as our hotel was very basic.

We went over to Lido for a few hours and they have a big beach there and also went to Cips club at the Belmond hotel on Giudecca very very expensive but it was my 30th and had saved up! They have rheir own boat to take you over the water. Gorgeous views over the grand canal. It was still really busy early September in Venice but not so much you couldn't get around easily.

Try restaurant La Columbina it's hidden down a back street but we had an amazing dinner there :)

I went in July and loved it. Yes, St Mark's Sq was ridiculously busy, but we only went there to get to the Doges Palace Secret Tour (worth every penny) then we never went back. We also never ate anywhere near the Grand Canal, especially not near the Rialo.

We stayed in a beautiful old apartment, overlooking canals and bridges, with shuttered windows and overlooking lots of rooftop gardens.

Travelled everywhere by vaporetto or on foot.

Got lost a lot.

Went to the Guggenheim. Rode the vaporetto up and down the Grand Canal all times of day and evening.

Ate at random places that looked nice.

I would go back in a heartbeat.

I've recently sent this great link to someone else: apassportaffair.com/2014/03/16/visiting-venice-italy/

It's an exquisite place, but PPs are right about avoiding July and August ... quite part from the crowds it will be too hot for all the walking you'll want to do. The key thing is to spend a few hours around the main tourist traps, but be sure to visit the less known areas too - definitely the way to see the real place

As I also told the other poster, don't get suckered into taking a water taxi from the airport; there's a perfectly good bus which will get you to the island in about 25 minutes (ticket machine in Arrivals, costs about 8 Euros)

jereviens lol!!! that is good advice. Dont get pissed and drunkenly order anything anywhere thinking that it cant be that expensive. It can be and it will be and when you wake up in the morning you may need to remortgage your house.
Always look at the menus and also check for cover charges.

I can see why some people get to hate Venice because it can be geared up to just rinse tourists but it can also be an absolutely wonderful and relaxed place. It might have moments of feeling like an overcrowded smelly theme park when wading thru the centre at midday... but theres honestly no where in the world as magical when you get off the beaten track or you are wondering the streets at night.

We went in January a few years ago, stayed in a lovely little hotel just off San Marco square. It snowed and made the whole trip quite magical. The Doges Palace was great, but you have to book a behind the scenes tour to go over the Bridge of Sighs and into the jail beyond, but well worth it. We’d definitely go again, but only out of season - in fact we NEVER go anywhere in season, way too much of a nightmare doing that.

I thought it was overrated to be honest. Felt the same about Rome as well though so maybe I just don't 'get' Italy??

We went 9 years ago and I’d love to go back. We went in September so it wasn’t too crowded but the weather was still good.

We ate a fabulous meal at a little restaurant which is, apparently, just as good. It was recommended to us by the owners of the apartment we stayed in, and I take the view that if the locals like it, it must be good!

osteriadisantamarina.com

Hi! Wow, loads of replies! Thank-you!
It will be just me and my DH for 3 nights (10 year wedding anniversary which is unfortunately in high season- july - we may end up going early though!) so ideally looking for a hotel in the centre-ish with a suite but wanting to find places to go out of the tourist trap central areas too.

@windchimesabotage some great advice there, thanks!

Love Venice. If you go during the carnival in February, it's fab to dress up and join in. I stay in Dorsoduro which is quiet and residential and not touristy and only 15 minutes' walk to St Mark's Square.

This is the link for buying travel passes: www.veneziaunica.it/en/e-commerce/services?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgqaW4Ynq2AIVT7vtCh20CgRDEAAYASAAEgKI__D_BwE

Read it through carefully and decide what you want before you by. I don't buy tickets to get into places but do include the supplement for the airport bus.

Don't miss out on a drink and a cake at Cafe Florian.

Also try to go to something at La Fenice, the opera house, rather than just visiting it as a tourist.

I didn't think I would like it much. Everyone told me it was crowded and smelly, but I loved it. I've been twice: once in August, once in September. It was busy both times - I actually found it busier in late September because there seemed to be loads more coach tours - but the only places it seemed to be crowded were St Mark's square and the Rialto bridge, and it wasn't too crowded to move. If you wander away down some of the side streets it can be deserted. Just walking around was the best thing to do. Burano was lovely but the Lido was boring.

We were on a tight budget and stayed in this very reasonable hotel which was in a quiet but very convenient location and was lovely. We did have the cheapest room looking out over a wall though!

I also stayed in Dorsoduro and thought it was perfect.

Interesting reading. Only 1% of restaurants near St Mark's square owned by locals.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/22/venice-authorities-step-in-after-four-tourists-charged-1000-for-meal?CMP=fbgu%3FCMP%3Dfbb_gu

That is interesting!

Hated it. Full of tourists (even in September)

I love this sort of comment, you were a tourist too.

JackmanAdmirer if you're going for a big anniversary and prepared to splash out, consider staying at the Cipriani Hotel. It's on an island opposite St Mark's Square, and you reach it via its own private boat. It is real old school class, with a 30 metre saltwater swimming pool in its grounds. Super expensive of course, but gorgeous, and a calm bolthole from the craziness of St Mark's Square. You can also arrive there by speedboat from the airport - very James Bond.
www.belmond.com/hotels/europe/italy/venice/belmond-hotel-cipriani

I've been to Venice quite a few times, both for work (office in St Mark's Square) and pleasure, with kids - staying on lido in August worked really well - and with grown-up friends for the Biennale. It is overcrowded and touristy, but is a uniquely beautiful place that you must visit.