Venice here we come but I need some advice please

[Dizzy2014]

Hi me and DH are going to Venice for the 1st time in less than 3 weeks and as neither of us has ever been I am looking for advice! I have been told to wear comfy shoes as lots of walking on cobbles but that is it. We are only taking hand luggage and are going Friday to Monday. So can only take a small amount of clothes/shoes, etc and wondered if you dress up for the evening, etc etc. Its a special year for me/us as I turn 50 and it is our 20th Wedding anniversary. Please help

Venice is a funny city as 90% of the people there are tourists (or serving the tourist trade) so the normal rules of Italian cities perhaps don't apply but, if you don't want to offend the few locals that you come across, I'd wear something simple and co-ordinating: decent shoes, a decent mack, a good handbag. Dressing up for the evening? Italians generally are smarter than the British in what they wear - you'd be very unlikely to see someone wearing something unwashed or a track suit in a restaurant, even a pizzeria (unless it was a sports team night out and then all the track suits would be ironed and immaculate) but, unless you're planning a trip to Cipriani, I don't think you have to go mad. The best thing to do would be to ensure that you have an iron at your hotel and take a couple of nice pieces of jewellery - Italians love their bling.

While you're there, go to Grom for ice-cream, there are three branches in the city and it is amazing

Oh, we also had a really great gondolier - I can let you have his email/mobile if you PM me, he speaks good English and was genuinely interested in the sites he rowed us past - you do see lots talking on their phones as they take people around.

Very comfy shoes are a must - everywhere is down some cobbles, up over a bridge, across another square, another bridge etc etc. Also the vaporetto down the Grand Canal is a complete scrum most of the day - you will want to feel safe on the ground!

Clothes wise, anything goes. Most people you see will be tourists. Italians are generally smarter but in the evening but sometimes then look OTT to English eyes - think Donatella Versace and leathery skin. George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin have the look perfectly if budget no object but unless you are purely planning to hang out with the mega rich, the high street rip off will take you anywhere.

I'm hoping to go in May and it will be flat shoes, capri pants, smart T-shirts and a bit of costume jewellery for evenings. And sunglasses

Can I through in a travel recommendation - most of Venice is absolutely heaving and full of massive queues. We only went for the day on the spur of the moment on our honeymoon - we took the vaporetto out to the lagoon islands of Burano and Torcello. Burano is beautiful, full of painted houses and lace shops and a restaurant serving the greatest risotto in the world. Torcello has a beautiful church with stunning mosaics and no queues. It was much better than fighting for a patch of cobbles in St Mark's Square.

I second taking a trip out to Torcello and Burano. Torcello is a tiny slice of paradise away from the masses and Burano is so picturesque. Both can be easily reached by vaporetto.
I just wore jeans and trainers by day then smarter boots and leather coat at night.

It's still winter in Italy, I'm in Rome and it's 15C but the wind is straight from North Pole and people are still in winter clothes. I'm wearing a lightweight down jacket over a sweatshirt and it's not enough.

We spent Epihany in Venice. The city is made of stone and cold-humid so I wore several layers of wool and a cozy parka and cashmere-lined leather gloves. Dress in layers, it can get really warm during the day so you might want to take your coat off, but it's smart to have something that is wind and drizzleproof. Italians wear dark neutrals in winter but anything goes in Venice. I don't think you'll need anything very fancy, most people wear sweaters and jeans to restaurants.

Venice is lovely off season. Lots of quiet back streets, just spend as little time as possible near San Marco and Rialto. Vaporetto #1is very crowded but take the vaporetti that circle the islands and visit the cemetery or some of the outlying islands. The seaside walk from Santa Elena towards San Marco is lovely on a sunny day. Bring your sunglasses and some SPF! I also love the back streets of Cannaregio.

Have a fantastic trip!

Just posted on your other thread... Venice doesn't have cobbles !!! But yes you need comfy shoes . The weather right now is lovely and its getting warmer so keep an eye on the temperatures ( il meteo) and the forecast .
No people don't dress up unless going to one of the mega posh resturants but maybe add a scarf or some jewelry if you feel like. Don't 'plan' too much into what you want to see but aim for a couple of main things and then wander and relax and you will see so much more. As for Grom - I won't go in there simply as I try to support the locals so its Nico on the Zattere for me if I really wan't to enjoy a good home made gelato or on San Lio by the Hotel Da Bruno or in Strada Nuova opposite the farmacia.

Couldn't remember whether cobbles or not - but do remember falling over on some bumpy walkways and getting lost a lot as all those little bridges are confusing