Venice Itinerary

As I wrote this post and added a link from my Travel page (check it out for my posts on our trip to Venice and others!), I realized I'm really starting to like the look of it. I have 6 of our recent trips included, and there are many more to catch you up on! I feel so lucky that I've been able to do this and share in the excitement with my husband.

So, here's another itinerary for the list. Having spent a holiday weekend in romantic Venice, these are our tips...

When to visit: 

I don't usually include this in my itineraries, but thought it was important to touch on briefly. I'd recommend spring or early summer (we went in early June and it was perfect), or early fall. You'll still run into quite a few tourists during these times, but it won't be overwhelmingly hot and/or smelly, or flooding ("high water" season is Oct-Jan).

Where to stay:

This is pretty subjective in Venice, so I'll just say what we did. When we travel, we like to be somewhat close to the touristy areas (easy transit ride or walk), but far enough away in a more quiet neighborhood with a local ambiance. Our hotel was the Residenza Cannaregio in Cannaregio, the "Jewish Ghetto." I would recommend it, but have also heard Dorsoduro is a nice neighborhood too. Personally, I wouldn't want to stay in the heart of the craziness near Piazza San Marco, especially since the city is easy to navigate -- which leads me to....

Getting Around:

First of all, I'd recommend walking a lot to get a feel for the different areas of the city. One of the best parts about visiting Venice is getting lost in the maze and stumbling upon cool little squares, restaurants, shops, markets, etc. Aside from that, you can take the Vaporetto (water bus) or Water Taxis. Taxis are the fastest, but more expensive, so I'd go for a Vaporetto pass (from 12 hr passes to 7-day passes).

Gondolas:  These wouldn't be used for practical transportation, but I would absolutely encourage taking a ride. Gondolas are pricey, but well worth it! They are often cheaper with more people (up to 6) vs. a private ride, and you can always try to strike a deal with your Gondolier (extra if they sing to you, so up to you if you want it - I would just listen to the singing another time and save yourself the $$). Don't go on Grand Canal, but go on the smaller canals for a less crowded, more intimate experience. Go at sunset and take your camera (and a bottle of wine if you want!).

What to see:

Grand Canal/Canals/Gondoliers

Piazza San Marco: Basilica di San Marco, Campanile di San Marco (bell tower), Torre dell'Orologio

Rialto Bridge/Market

Museums: Many to see, but St. Mark’s Square Museums grants access to the Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale), Museo Correr, Museo Archeologico Nazionale and Monumental Rooms of Biblioteca Marciana on one pass. Also, the Peggy Guggenheim has been recommended to us!

Churches - plenty of gorgeous churches to check out!

Piazza San Marco

Last, but not least, take the Vaporetto for a day trip to the Lagoon Islands. Murano is famous for its glass, Burano for its lace and colorful buildings, and Torcello for its ancient ruins and tranquility. 

Burano

Restaurants/Venetian Cuisine:

It's Venice... there are tons of great places, so I'll just include 3 favorites:

Antica Trattoria Poste Vecio - we stumbled on this gem and later found out it's the oldest restaurant in Venice - I had amazing Lobster Gnocchi here (seafood is a big part of Venetian cuisine)

Vini da Gigio - restaurant in Cannaregio - excellent food, wine, and service!

Al Bottegon (also known as Cantinone Gia Schavi) - great lunch spot - cheap and delicious cicheti (little bites) and you can get wine to go (where we got our bottle of Prosecco for our gondola ride)

Venetian Lagoon Islands (Venice part 2)

As I mentioned in my post about our Venice trip, we spent our second day touring a few of the Venetian Lagoon islands: Murano, Burano, and Torcello. If you have a few days in Venice, I would recommend checking these out! We set out mid morning, spent a couple hours in each place, and were back to the mainland in time for dinner reservations. 

In order to get to the islands, we boarded the Vaporetto - the waterbus that serves as Venice's public transportation. It's very easy to use, that is unless you take it to the opposite end of the line and add almost an hour to your trip back to the city center... but who would do that? Yep, this girl. Oh well, the inevitable mishaps always make for better stories!

Leaving the center on the Vaporetto...

The first stop was Murano, which dates back to 1291 and is known for Murano glass. As you get off the boat, there's someone strategically planted there to usher you into the glassblowing factory where a presentation is done and you can browse the gift shop afterward. While it's quite touristy, the presentation is brief and very entertaining... and it produced the result they were looking for, as we were enticed into buying a beautiful little glass gondola as a souvenir (even though there are plenty of shops throughout Murano and Venice to purchase Murano glass as well!).

After the glassblowing factory, we walked around the island canals to explore the center, see the glass garden and sculptures, and grab a local beer before moving on to the next...

Yes, that is glass!

Stop #2, and my favorite, was Burano, known for its lace and brightly-colored buildings. Here we simply wandered through the streets and shops, and stopped to take in the scenery over some of the best pizza I've ever had at a spot next to Trattoria da Primo on Via Galuppi. Seriously, I'd go back just for that!

Stop #3 was Torcello, located near Burano. Unlike Murano and Burano, Torcello is relatively uninhabited and contains ancient archeological remains. A favorite of Hemingway's, this rustic island's beauty is best observed in the grass-covered Piazza Torcello, where we saw the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the Church of Santa Fosca, and surrounding greenery. 

We didn't allot as much time here because we wanted to return for dinner (and we barely did after the afore mentioned waterbus detour!)... but I would definitely consider staying on one of these islands next time, in order to see what they look like after the masses depart on the last Vaporetto for the evening. In any case, I hope to return some day!