So if you think that Venice is the kind of destination you can only visit on a romantic break or a honeymoon, you’ve got it all wrong!
Yes, Venice is the type of place – among other beautiful
cities in Italy – where you can truly enjoy a break away with your partner,
slurping up some pasta and cruising down the Grand Canal in a gondola. However,
Venice is also a beautiful city which can be enjoyed with friends or on your
own.
It can take a couple of hours or days to get your head
around the city, crossing its many bridges and squeezing through its narrow
paths.
Fact: Venice is
built on 117 small islands and has some 150 canals and 409 bridges – only three
of which cross the Grand Canal- and can I tell you, I’m pretty sure we almost
crossed them all when trying to find our hotel!!!
Tip: First things
first, if your hotel doesn’t offer one straight away – buy a map! It’ll be your
holy grail of your trip, guard it with your life!
Venice is very easy to reach, with cheap as chips flights
with Ryanair or Wow Air – Sky Scanner is also a great option. Our flight only costing around £60-70 each for a 4
day break in March.
There are 2 main surrounding airports, we flew into and out
of Treviso airport which is roughly around 40 minutes to 1 hour distance by bus
to the main city of Venice – leaving the mainland behind and accessing by 1 very
long and scenic water surrounded road may I add!! The other airport which is
slightly closer and better well-known is Marco Polo.
A return ticket to Venice city via bus is roughly around €20 to buy at the airport. I’d suggest doing some research about how to get
around the city and to and from the airport before travelling, it makes it
easier to know what people are talking about – and 90% of the time cheaper!
Tip: If you’ll be
in Venice for more than 48 hours – buy an ACTV card. They’re not too expensive
for what you can gain from owning one. They offer a 3 day public transport – of
course this means water taxi or boat travel – for around €25/30 and it’s
totally worth it.
What to do in Venice during a weekend break?
First of all – EAT!
Oh c’mon, you’re in Italy. It should be illegal to travel to
such a beautiful place with beautiful tradition in their foods. To be honest,
it’s tough to find a bad meal whilst in Venice.
The main foods you should 110% try are: pasta, pizza, lasagne and a popular dish for travelers is ‘cicheti’ which is a small, tapas-like dish. These can be found in small bars dotted around the city, offering glasses
of wine and bite-sized food that keeps you going!
Tip: Whilst in
Venice (well, any popular city which gets very large tourist attraction…)
always try to hunt around a little bit for your meals. Of course, if you can afford
to do what you like, then totally go for some food on St Mark’s Square or anywhere
that takes your fancy! We spent around 10 minutes extra per meal time to look
behind the scenes of the main walkways and found beautiful hidden gems with
amazing food where you’ll find locals enjoying their meals! These are always
guaranteed to save you a few €€!
Tip: If you have
a lenient budget, there’s the cutest restaurant right under the Rialto Bridge
and it offers seating outside, like many restaurants in Venice, which sits you
directly next to the wonderful bridge. You should definitely try this place!
Arguably one of Venice’s’ most known unique attractions…
A gondola ride! You simply have to experience a scenic float
along the many canals and famous Grand Canal in one of these. It may seem like
a cliché, but it’s a must when visiting this city and it’s so hard to say no
when you see a couple or family travelling in style underneath the many bridges
and along the waterfront! The memories are truly priceless!
Tip: Most people say a gondola ride is ‘way too expensive’
and simply unaffordable if you’re trying to budget – but having taken only 140
EUROS, that’s simply not true. As mentioned before, the beauty of Venice is the
hidden gems that not all tourists or travelers will be patient enough to find.
In this case, always have a look around at the many stores and talk to some
locals for the best places to buy a gondola ride. We bought a shared ride (up
to 6 people) for only 20 EUROS, a big difference in the prices that are quoted
for 1 couple users (around €80!). Sharing a gondola isn’t a problem,
either. The experience is still amazing and a must-do – even if you have to budget
a little!
Exploring Venice and all its beauty!
Of course, St. Mark’s Square is a truly stunning square that’s
packed full of history and selfie-stick loaded tourist with the occasional
market – depending on what time of year you visit.
Venice gets incredibly busy in the mid-day, with hundreds of
people gathering to see its attractions and beautiful history. In fact, almost all
of the time during the day the museums and art galleries were queued right up!
Try to get out as early as you can, it will completely benefit
you and your patience! You will also get the best photos this way. Leaving the hotel
for around 9am-10am is a great time, as most people will start appearing towards
12pm and throughout lunch time.
The same goes for evening meals, the walkways will
completely change from a bustling herd of tourist to a peaceful walk through
the city.
Equally as stunning is the famous Rialto Bridge – not only
one of the most gorgeous bridges in the world, but also a bustling marketplace
where you can buy anything from souvenirs, jewellery and artwork goodies to
take home with you! It’s the perfect place to buy a present.
Taking a step back from the main tracks…
When Sophie and I first stepped off the water taxi and onto
Venice grounds, we were lost for about half an hour before finding someone who
didn’t seem to be in a rush home. The locals will help you out if you politely
ask, especially if you respect that they live in Venice and battle tourist
crowds most days a year – how annoying would that get on your way to work each
morning?
A lovely Italian local stopped to help us find our hotel,
which was so appreciated as we would soon get lost for nearly 2 and a half
hours trying to find our way home after food later!
The small and winding walkways are a mind-field if you’re
not careful, but one you have been there for a couple of days and learn how to
work the map – you’ll be fine! It took around 6 minutes to get from Rialto
Bridge to our hotel and once we found the way, it was super easy.
Tip: I’d definitely recommend using a Local Guide – after all,
these people live in Venice and will be your best chance at seeing Venice off
the beaten track as well as not getting lost and losing a few hours or your
time in the city! There are so many topics of tours to choose from, being it
art, food or theatre that you’d like to explore – there will be a tour designed
to suit your needs!
Activities and day trips around Venice:
Although Venice itself is a beautiful place to stay with so
much to offer, from climbing up the bell tower and seeing the magnificent
views, to going inside museums and art galleries to gaze at the work and
history of famous Italian artist, so on – or simply food-ing out the whole time
and trying the delicious variety on offer!
A lot of people that we met and spoke to have told us to visit
Murano and Burano islands – two of the islands surrounding Venice with a lot to
offer!
- Murano island is known for its glassmaking or glass blowing, its Glass Museum and several historic churches which are really picturesque.
- Burano island is made up of fishermen, lace makers and colourfully painted houses – equally as picturesque.
You can find 4 hour tours or day tours over to each of these
islands for around 20 EUROS – which is great value for the site seeing
opportunities both welcome.
Of course, there are more islands to discover at your own
interest, these may be:
- San Michele, the walled cemetery island of Venice.
- Mazzorbo, a small rural island connected to Burano by a footbridge – so you could get 2 for 1 if you took a day trip for solo-exploring of Burano!
- Torcello, once a city larger than Venice; today, a bucolic island with a 1,000 year-old cathedral and a handful of outdoor restaurants.
- The Lido di Venezia, a beach resort not far from Venice city, based on a strip of land that separates the Venetian Lagoon from the Adriatic Sea.
You can reach the islands on water buses, which is another
reason why a 3 day or 7 day ACTV pass is definitely worth it! It’s also
recommended to allow a full day for the entire excursion, or half a day if you
skip San Michele or the Lido.
Tips: Organised
tours don’t give you much time on the islands, so we’d recommend traveling independently
unless you’re in a hurry or have limited mobility. You can also buy a Tourist Travel Card at any Hallovenezia or ACTV ticket booth – which you can check for schedules on
the ACTV website
Places to stay?
The place that Sophie and I stayed was found via a site that
offers a round-trip booking of both hotel and flight or just hotel –
lastminute.com – which I’ve used to book Santorini in May.
The hotel was called Ca’ Bragadin e Carabba, located 5
minutes from Rialto Bridge and around 10 minutes (once figured out a route to follow)
from St. Mark’s Square and the main Grand Canal entrance. It can be found here.
Alternatively, well known hotels surrounding the main
attractions in Venice are Generator Hostel which is perched on the edge of
Giudecca Island and just across from St. Mark’s Square, offering a 24-hour bar!
The rooms are basic but there are private en-suite bedrooms available.
For the romantics it has been said that Bloom and Settimo Cielo is a great place to stay, which is 2 B&Bs right in the heart of
Venice and pricing from 138 EUROS plus. It’s décor is very Italian Gothic, with
rich reds, gold’s or purple. There’s also a roof terrace complete with
complimentary Prosecco, what’s not to love?!
Another option would be to check out Airbnb – if you’ve not
heard of this site, it offers the life of a local and allows you to stay in people’s
homes or holiday homes whilst they are not there – don’t worry, it’s totally
safe if you do the appropriate checks, etc. To find out what to look for in a
great Airbnb rental, see here.
As mentioned before, my budget was €140 for 2 full days
and 2 days of travel to and from the UK to Venice. I figured, after having done
some research, that a breakfast meal would be cheaper to buy from a local
produce or shop like Co-op – which was 1 minute around the corner from our
hotel. We bought cereal to share and some milk, costing only a couple of €.
Lunch would be entirely up to what you fancied and where you
wanted to go. We bought lunch each day, a sandwich or slice of pizza filled
with flavour for around €2.50-5/6. Buying a drink with each meal can cost
some serious pennies, each can costing around €3 plus! I’d recommend
buying a bottle of water or a pack or water to take in your bag – it’s a
serious money saver!
As we were saving with breakfast and lunch meals, Sophie and
I would spend around €10-12 per evening meal, including a drink if we
wanted. The meal sizes are great for a food lover, a bowl of pasta completely
filling me up and only costing around €8! The deserts can catch you out,
though…
Overall, do some research, hunt a little further for the
hidden gems and don’t settle for a €5 slice of pizza – save those pennies
and have an amazing time!
Speak soon, Lauren xx
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