I have Venice questions.

[dailyduel]

DH and I have 2 full days in Venice later this month.

I did read about booking Doges Palace Secret Tour however, there doesn’t seem to be any availability on 25/26th that we are there. May be we’ve left it too late to book or I am looking in the wrong place. Our main plan is to take off on foot and just wander but I am a planner and usually do have something on paper and booked to do. At the moment I am thinking we will do the following;

Rialto Bridge
Bridge of Sighs
St Marks Square
The book shop
Florians for a glass of wine
Trip up the grand canal - looks like I can book this.

If you’ve been what else would you recommend? I’d love to go to Murano but that does seem a big chunk out of our time. We aren’t bothered about museums and seeing inside St Marks. We love a city break and have seen many over the years. While they are all different, we’d rather focus our attention elsewhere on a short trip. That said, if anyone can link a really good tour that does include Doges Secret Tour, please do and I’ll look at that.

I don’t want to wander just for the sake of it.

Thank you for helping.

We loved the Peggy Guggenheim gallery but if you don't like museums you might not like art galleries? Beautiful building though and a great view from the terrace.
As well as book shops there is beautiful stationary for sale.

Thank you. I’ll definitely take a look.

Here to second the Peggy Guggenheim. It's one of my favourite places.

Gorgeous Palazzo, the art is off the scale and Peggy's story is hugely interesting too.

Murano was a ginormous sales pitch and after they realised we weren't for buying a ginormous piece for our tiny two bed cottage, we were swiftly punted.......

We just wandered and took it all in.

Was going to say the Guggenheim, but saw that you didn't like museums so decided not to. It's a gallery more than it is a museum. But now I simply have to agree! It's pretty much the main thing I remember about Venice apart from Venice itself, IYSWIM.

All those places are very busy and basically the same square… apart from rialto - but also v busy. get out of this very central area and explore the much less crowded parts. It’s all walkable.. go to the Jewish ghetto, over to arsenale/ castello (via garibaldi has a whole different vibe to st marks).

No need to book the grand canal- get on a vaporetto at night so you can see the grand canal when it’s all lit up.

Peggy Guggenheim is fantastic. Even just to see that unfinished palazzo and view onto the grand canal.

Yes get out onto the lagoon- to Burano or Murano or Torcello. Or even just across to Giudecca. You get a different perspective of the city.

campo santa margherita too for nice cafes and people watching.

Row Venice offer affordable rowing lessons- this is great way to experience the city and try Venetian rowing and see it from the water. You would need to book this.

I really loved a visit to murano and Burano. You can do both in a morning.

We took a boat trip to Burano, further than Murano, but a very pretty fishing village if you have the time.

Also, There's a lot to be said for walking around and taking in the atmosphere and surroundings.

Will definitely speak to DH about the gallery.

It’s not that we don’t like museums, we were brought up in a city where every school trip was a museum, castle or church then we’ve done loads in France, Italy (except Venice), London etc.

I would strongly recommend going inside St Mark's. It's an amazing place and I still have very strong memories of it over 10 years later. I don't know what the secret tour is but the Doge's Palace is with a visit.

Murano is very pretty and looking in the shop windows is as good as any museum!

I think for 2 days just wander around and see what's happening. Including in the back streets. There is a big department store where you can get out onto the roof terrace for a fantastic view up and down the grand canal (or you could few years ago) . Vaporetto work well and you can hop on and off easily. Have a super time.

Vaporetto out to the islands great for looking at the views on the way.

Those places are very very crowded and practically next to each other.

You don't need to book a trip down the Grand Canal, you can just take the Vaporetto No 1. If you have a guide book that lists all the buildings down the side it's a lot of fun.

I would suggest a trip out to Burano, especially if it's a sunny day as then all the coloured buildings are stunning, lunch in Burano, then on to Torcello.

Personally I'd skip Murano. It has a lovely church but it's chock full of glass shops, 99% of which are selling stuff made in China.

For sight seeing I'd suggest going in some churches, it's always great to see the art where it was meant to be, and have a look at the Scuolas. If you only do one, I'd pick the Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni which has fab paintings by Carpaccio, who you can't really see outside of Venice.

I’d give Florian’s a wide berth too. It’s a tourist trap as well as very expensive. They were charging 15 euros per glass for some v ordinary wine.

Is this what you mean by Doges Secret Tour? Seems to be available on your dates.
https://muve.vivaticket.it/eng/tour/itinerari-segreti/566?qubsq=e7a894a2-efcf-409d-823b-18734766d072&qubsp=81590f49-9e97-441e-b98c-b499d99b643a&qubsts=1707204538&qubsc=bestunion&qubse=vivaticketserver&qubsrt=Safetynet&qubsh=9d443e4360f627a2bf189c35e5e67456

Venice is magical, especially when you just wander for the sake of it!

If you would prefer to book things but don’t want museums, you could book a drink or meal on the terrace at Hotel Danieli? Famous hotel with beautiful views from The Terrace.

I’d highly recommend a wander away from the main squares. It’s all walkable in a couple of days, we loved down by the Guggenheim and round dorsoduro. And also near the Arsenal. Had a great meal there in a cafe filled with people who worked around there.

had a lovely evening wandering around bars eating cichetti and drinking Prosecco on tap, stand to eat and move on….

We were very keen to have a coffee in Florians. Got in, looked at the prices, felt considerably less keen and left.

The best coffee we had was from the little street stall outside our apartment. And it only cost a euro as well.

The Doges Secret Tour is absolutely worth it.

Go inside the opera house. It is still to this day one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen.

Harry’s Bar for a Bellini. A squash, overpriced but you have to do it.
The churches have fantastic art, definitely worth a look. Loved a little church called Miracoli off the beaten track. Restaurants off the main drag much less pricey - eat where the locals do.

I book a local tour guide, to be honest, always really brilliant

Fantastic. Thanks all for responding. I’m just about to leave for work so will read properly at lunch. I do appreciate the help. Will knock Florian’s off my list.

I’d book the tour and allocate another half day for a trip out to Burano as Murano looks very much like ‘main’ Venice.

The rest of the time, I’d do some purposeful walking/vaporetto routes. Plan your routes so you get to see all of the Sestieres and integrate Vaporetto trips and stops at bars, squares, sights and cicchetti joints.

I got a lot of ideas from this lady’s blog: https://www.naturallyepicurean.org/post/2017/07/31/venetian-cicchetti-and-street-food

Also google a walking tour of the ghetto. I just used a website that had info on the important buildings which was better than just looking around. It’s in Canaletto (sp?) and close to my favourite canal, one of the higher up canals in Canaletto that runs east/west and is lined with bars and restaurants. It gets fairly busy but has more mixed crowds so not just a tourist trap.

Peggy Guggenheim really is a good shout. It’s not that big so it won’t take too long and it’s close to the famous gondola bar.

I wouldn't do the opera house, it isn't even the most beautiful building in Venice!

this opinion may or may not be influenced by the fact DH and I had a massive row throughout a 4 hour opera

If you do like opera then these guys are brilliant - the whole (short) performance is in a Venetian palazzo, it's very special

https://www.musicapalazzo.com/en/

I don’t want to wander just for the sake of it.

Venice is one place where you should do exactly that.

I was in Venice end Sep/early Oct last year. The only non-wandering thing I did, was to go to Burano. It was nice but I wouldn't personally recommend as part of a short trip. I've previously stayed on Murano but it was a long time ago and my memory is pretty dim!

With my wanderings,, I really enjoyed walking from Piazzale Roma to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum... lots of interesting things to see on the way, lovely piazzas with people going about their lives. Quite busy in parts because everyone is filtering down most of the same pathways to ensure they get to a bridge.

After Peggy Guggenheim, be sure to walk down to Santa Maria della Salute - it's just amazing and the views are awesome. You can then get the #1 vaporetto from Salute and see all the fabulous buildings going up the Grand Canal. It can get quite busy so be prepared to squish on/stand up until a seat becomes free.

I stayed in Cannaregio, just past Campo di Ghetto Nuevo, which again is a really interesting area. A little off the beaten track but still a lot to see. Lots of ancient little alleyways that don't even look like a person could fit into them and a good number of cafes/bars by the canals.