Venice

[Zazu44]

Off to Venice soon for 6 days - any advice on anything?

Get out of the main tourist areas.
Wonder round cannareggio, the ghetto.
I found the basilica really weird but interesting and loved the Doge's palace.
Make sure you're aware that if you sit outside, you pay more than if you sit inside or stand inside.
In st marks square, Florian's is stupidly expensive but the bar under the big blue clock to the left of the basilica is much more reasonably priced - even cheaper if you go out of the square altogether.
Try and find a wine bar that sells wine by the glass. That way, you can try loads of different ones!!

Get the number 1 vapporetto instead of a water taxi - it goes all the way round the grand canal. Don't queue. Watch out for your bags/purses at these times.

Go to the church of San Giorgio Maggiore, across on the island, and go up the bell tower for amazing views over Venice.
Go to Murano and Burano on the water bus.
Eat and drink away from the main tourist areas.

Go to ca rezzonico - fascinating
carezzonico.visitmuve.it/en/home/

Thanks everyone. Thinking of getting the Alilaguna from Marco Polo airport to Fondamente Nova on the blue line as opposed to bus and then Vaporetto. Any thoughts?

We always get the bus but if you do get the alilaguna, make sure you've to the loo before you get on!!

We didn't eat in proper restaurant we had chiccetti sp. Amazing, tapas in old old wine bars, dimly lit. Cheap, delicious...

There are lots of decent, reasonably-priced restaurants along the Fomdamenta Misericordia. They tend to be frequented by locals rather than tourists.

Take the train to Padua and see the incredible Arena Chapel. Or a cruise along the Brenta river to see the Palladian villas.

If your destination is near the Fondamenta Nove, then the Alilaguna is the easiest option. Beware on return to the airport, though,as it can fill up and you may need to wait for the next one. So don’t cut it fine.

Get a boat bus pass that covers the whole time you are there so you can jump on and off the boats as you like. The single fares are very high so it wont save money to buy a few individually.
Watch out for 'copperto' which is cover charge.. its usually listed at the top or bottom of a menu. It may even apply to just drinks/coffee menus in some places... for instance to sit outside Florians in San Marco the cover charge is 10 euros (or it was last year when I last went) It doesnt matter what you order you will also have to pay an extra 10 euros on the bill just for sitting there. The highest cover charges tend to be centred around san marco.
If you want to eat cheaply the best bet is the Lido which is a short boat ride from the main island. Theres also a beach there.

If you have time Burano the lace island is worth a visit.. it is quite a long boat ride but should be included in your boat pass. Its very beautiful with its colourful houses.
Nearby Burano is Torcello which is my personal favourite island. Its where the first settlement of Venice was before it got wiped out by disease. It has a very beautiful church.

Agree with pp about San Giorgio Maggiore, amazing views and you wont have to queue as long as you do for the campanile in San Marco.

The Guggenheim is great if you like art. Interesting area too.

Its worth wandering round Arsenale too.

Oh and always carry change for the public toilets.

Take a compass, getting lost is part of the fun bt its good to be able to reliably navigate home.

Keep an eye out for restaurants popular with the gondoliers. These will be on back waters, away from the very touristy areas, the food will be good, relatively modestly priced and you get to see the line of gondolas tied up at lunch....

We were there with locals and ate very, very well.

Thanks everyone for the fantastic advice it's really helpful 😊

I was there last month. If you arrive by train, there are porters at the station who will take your luggage on a trolley of some kind to your hotel. We paid I think 20 euros. There are of course no cars so no chucking your bags in a taxi.
I loved Venice but it's very humid. If you visit the Doge's Palace, note the Appartments are closed at the mo, which was a shame. There are English guided tours at 11am in St Mark's Basilica. You need to pre-book your entry too, though not the tour, you just gather at the entrance for that and look out for someone holding up a British flag on a stick.
Murano and Burano are fab, leave plenty of time to visit them. Also pop over to the San Giorgi (sp) church and tower. 2 minutes on the water bus, I forget which line, possibly 2 but double check and only a few euros to climb up it, stunning views. You can buy a travelcard for the waterbus for 24 hours. So do that plus the trips to M and B in the space of 24 hours to save yourself money. The rest of the time we just walked it.
Eat lots of gelato, the better the gelato the paler the colours.
Go on a gondola (obvs) but be warned it'll cost you a pretty penny. Go pre 6pm though as prices go up afterwards.
Enjoy...

We got a few days pass on the vaporetto which is great, love it and well worth going to Murano and Burano.

Our best meal was somewhere just by the Rialto outside where had fresh seabass but our hotel also recommended a lovely restaurant out of tourist area. Gondala is lovely but expensive but you have to do that. We went to a candlelight concert which was lovely though kids might be bored, was pre kids. Ice creams are amazing.

Stay in Venice and get out early and wander round at night - much more atmospheric after all the hoards of people are gone! Stay out of season (March and April are good, though it can flood in March) as come summer its boiling hot and nastily rammed. The Jewish ghetto as above is interesting - read up on it before you go. There's a small park over the canal from the train station (a little way up) if you're looking somewhere in the ghetto area just to sit. Don't eat in the main tourist drags unless you want to be ripped off. And don't stay in Lido di Jesolo and take the boat over - it's unattractive and a real treck into Venice. Do a day trip to Verona (it's about an hour 20 on the train, you can book this in advance on Trenitalia). The DH sent me this earlier - might help! www.msn.com/en-gb/lifestyle/travel/europes-biggest-holiday-rip-offs-and-how-to-avoid-them/ar-BBLED4e?ocid=spartanntp

Oops - sorry, just seen you're off in a couple of days - just ignore what I've said about not going in the summer! My fault for not concentrating and it's just personal preference - the DH prefers it in summer.

Thanks SJane. Yes sadly I work in school so not so much choice in when we go and really didn't want a beach hol this summer. Is there anything worth booking before we go and should we have an itinerary or just go with the Venetian flow?
Thanks for all the advice everyone - much better than anything on line x

Take comfy shoes. There's lots of walking.

And don't take small children, especially if they are in pushchairs. There are lots of bridges with steps too.

We did a brilliant guided walking tour

Also the “secret tour” of the Doge’s palace was fantastic. Takes you behind the scenes and through hidden doors and secret passageways. Fabulous.

Venice is definitely book before you go territory. The Doge's Palace tours should be booked in advance - there is the Secret Tour and a Hidden Doge's Treasures Tour. Either will do and are much better than wandering round on your own.

You should also pre-book for St Mark's Basilica - the queues were huge even in September and shadeless. We looked bitterly at the clever people who already had tickets.

The less time spent in San Marco the better - most cruise trippers don't get past there and you are fighting for a square foot to stand in.

If you are going for 6 days I am assuming you like art. The Scuolas are all amazing and much less visited than you would expect. The art also doesn't really translate into print so is fantastic. The Scuola degli San Giorgio degli Schiavoni is probably my favourite - we had a moment when we were the only people there with wall to wall Carpaccios.

Going out to the lagoon islands is worth a day. Torcello has amazing mosaics and Burano is stunning on a sunny day. Book a table at Riva Rosa and have the risotto - it is to die for. Murano is probably a miss - the vaporetto is standing room only and it's chock full of tacky shops selling Chinese glass.

Finally this experience is amazing:
www.musicapalazzo.com/en/

Can I ask anyone if they think it's worth getting a 7 day Vaporetto ticket for our stay?