Venice aficionados

[Belindabelle]

I need your help please.

I have wanted to go to Venice since forever and have decided this is the year. I have built this trip up so much in my mind that I am fearful that it may disappoint.

Thinking of late May early June. DH and I.

Where should we stay?
Where should we eat?
What should we not miss?

Due to flights times we are looking at Mon-Fri giving us 5 full days.

Is the water taxi from the airport worth it?

So many questions! Budget, whilst not unlimited, is flexible. Willing to pay for quality.

We went last year op - l LOVED it!!
We stayed in the Cannareggio district - also did Mon - Fri. We got an apartment rather than a hotel as it was cheaper. Got the ATVO bus from Marco Polo airport - 10 euro each. Dropped us near Santa Lucia stationnso walking dustance to everything. Then did a 24 hour vaporetto ( waterbus) to go to the islands.

We stayed in Generator Hostel (private room with bathroom) and got a ticket for the water taxi to last the duration of our trip.

The staff in the hostel were really helpful in telling us good places to eat, and I love chatting to other travellers- I book holidays on the back of info gleaned at hostels.

Just have a look at it- you’ll be surprised! It’s on an island just over the lagoon, so the view is gorgeous.

The water taxis are great for getting to see the islands.

We did a day trip to Venice last summer as were staying nearby in Emilia-Romagna. It was really busy but brilliant. The vaporetti are great.

I love the water taxi from the airport - if you are doing it try and make sure you stay in a hotel that has canal access. Last year we stayed at the Metropole which was v quirky - great location. I also like Danielli and the St Regis - these two both have roof bars for lively cocktails watching sunset! Obvs Gritti Palace is amazing!

You can get a water bus into the station stop from the airport. It’s a great entry to Venice.

We stayed at the Palazzo Barbarigo sul Canal Grande. It’s in the San Polo area with a great view of the Grand Canal from the lounge balcony. It’s modern Venetian but in an old building. Perfect. I would look at boutique hotels in this area if you can afford it. Going further out towards the station, for example, tends to lower prices.

What to do: St Marks square and Basilica and the Doge’s palace. The Guggenheim. Get the no 1 Vaporetto all along the Grande Canal. Marvel at the buildings. There are various museums, eg Academia or Correr. See what you like. Try and find the Scuola San Rocco and the Basilca St Maria Frari and the Scala Contorini del Bovolo. The Felice opera house has been restored and there’s always further out areas and mooching along canals.

Id look at Time Out for restaurant recommendations. We have found them spot on. All sorts of options. Lastly if a gondola trip seems pricy, get a traghetto across the canal. The locals stand up but you don’t have to. Just have fun.

Go in the depth of winter, arrive by train, stay at the Hotel Concordia, wrap up warm, walk around St Marco late at night have a hot chocolate with cognac at a table by the window in Florians. Look at the art. Bar hop in the smallest bars.

Thank you all for the advice.

@TizerorFizz I have being doing my research and I found an old thread you were on and thanks to that the BARBARIGO is no1 on my list. When I put a call out for the Venice aficionados I had you in mind!

@Belindabelle Ah yes. I’m probably repeating myself.

Definitely get the water taxi from the airport - it makes you feel like a movie star!

I took my mum who was over 80 & because she couldn't walk very far we stayed just off St Mark's Square!

It was absolutely glorious! Very busy as we walked through there in the morning on our way out but at night it was amazing!

In terms of where to eat, follow the Italians as they will only eat the best food at reasonable prices (and not tourist food.) I visited Venice many years ago and it was fantastic. We stayed in an apartment which was reasonably priced. If you can, take a trip to the islands of Murano and Burano.

I stayed on Murano and I wouldn’t advise doing that. Stay on the main Venice island otherwise you are constantly getting the vaporetto to and fro. However a day trip to Murano and Burano on the vaporetto is fun. Murano is famous for glass making and you can see glass blowing demonstrations. Burano is famous for coloured houses and lace making.

Definitely get a water taxi into the city. The vaporetto takes absolutely ages, especially if a flight has recently landed. I’ve been to Venice twice and queued once, taxi second time. Nothing prepares you for the first view. It is just amazing 🤩 Definitely do Doges Palace and have a fabulous time!

Went last April with my daughter and loved it. We arrived at the station from Verona (also worth a visit if you have time and easy by train). Got the water bus/vaporetto from station to last stop nr St Marks (wonderful and exhilarating journey itself when you’ve just arrived)- then later walked back to the station via the back streets. While the main sites were wonderful, it was walking in the back streets of Venice over little bridges, stopping for lunch in a small square, that I absolutely loved and will stay with me forever. Enjoy!!

Not sure about water taxi, but others seem to vote it, we just got the local bus (our hotel was enroute, and not in "proper" venice.). We got a travel pass for all of the vaporetti and local buses, it was 20e for the day, but well worth it, because we went out to Murano, and also all around. I do think it is a special place, and I have travelled extensively, I agree with watching where the Italians eat. I have accidentally been two more times, but not for long. It is desperately touristy in places. You will need your budget, it isn't cheap, although it is not as expensive as people will have you believe if you choose well. Have a lovely time. x

We have been a few times, I think it is amazing, no where else like it in the world.

Last time we stayed in an apartment beside the Rialto, went shopping in the market which was very fun. There's a very beautiful department store right by the Rialto steps, the building was once owned by the post office I think. It had a fantastic roof terrace cafe/bar, well worth visiting for the view.

The back streets between the Rialto and ST Marks are fantastic to wander through and get lost in. You will get lost a lot, that's part of the charm of Venice. The streets closer to San Marco have the chicest shops.

The Guggenheim is well worth a visit, you can access the front steps from one of the rooms and sit there, right on the Grand Canal for as long as you like, amazing! There's another beautiful museum nearby, the Ca'Rezzonico I think, really stunning

Beside San Marco you'll find boat trips out to the islands, set aside an afternoon for that, really worth doing that trip.

I haven't been out there for years but I remember really enjoying the Lido, you can get a boat/bus over to the island and walk down to the beach.

I'd get a taxi in from the airport, your first glimpse of the city is breathtaking, it really is a sight to be seen.

Hope you have a wonderful time!

I went for the first time last year and loved it so much. We stayed in an Airbnb in san polo which was a great location.
We just got the bus from the airport. We got water taxi 48 hr pass and just hopped up and down the grand canal. I was stunned how beautiful it was. It felt very safe as well. We pre booked tickets to the bell tower (can't remember tge name of it) in St marks square which had amazing views. We also booked free tickets to the terrace in a department store which has amazing views over the rialto bridge

I am so delighted to hear that all of you speak so highly of Venice. I can’t wait to go. No idea why I haven’t been before.

The details about the department store and the museum steps is exactly the inside information that I am after. Thank you very much.

Definitely going to get a water taxi from the airport. May get the bus back! Murano and Burano are a must and maybe Lido too.

Right I just need to buy a couple of summer dresses and very comfortable, but stylish sandals. I already have the hat, scarf and sunglasses as I intend to arrive channeling my inner film star.

Our Rooftop Terrace | T Fondaco Dei Tedeschi by DFS

This is the link to book the department store terrace

If you must go in May (I prefer to go in winter) then take plenty of mosquito repellant. I've never been bitten so badly or had as bad a reaction to mosquito bites as I have been in Venice in May - and I've travelled all over Asia and Africa.

I take the Alilaguna rather than the water taxi. Yes it's slower, but a slowish boat ride across the lagoon and past the various islands is hardly an ordeal.

Yes, that view is amazing. It's quite horrifying what that department store has done to an important historic building, but the view from the terrace is certainly spectacular.

Never been to Venice but I did just finish reading this book which was great - it’s a story about a family of Murano glass makers, set obviously in Murano and Venice, and it is set through time charting the changes in the industry and the city over centuries. Easy going and enjoyable - might be a good one to read before you go if you haven’t already

https://amzn.eu/d/4facQc4

I love Venice, and I loved going on a gondola (controversial, I know) but don't go in the main tourist trap area, it will be dreadful. We hired someone before we even left the UK and I recommend him to everyone I know, he takes you into a more quiet area, so DM me if you want details.

There are nice toilets on the top floor as well. if you are anything like me, free nice toilets are a god send on a city break!

Yy to @GCAcademic on mosquito repellent. They were the size of chickens!

I was first there in hot, crowded August, expecting to be underwhelmed (last-minute trip having got cheap flights and booked an Airbnb the night before), but I was totally charmed.