See Venice In Just A Day Or Two
July 27, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Venice really is a small town. You can walk right across it from the train depot to St. Mark’s Square in less than an hour, but that would be if you were just walking and not looking, and what you really want to do is stroll and SEE Venice – La Serenissima herself is the main attraction.
The first time we went to Venice, we arrived by train at night and stayed near the train station. As soon as we settled in, we hit the street and started walking. To see Venice by street light is magical. Narrow winding streets, Blue and red stripped “barber poles” holding boats and gondolas on the canals. Little arching bridges to cross.
Don’t worry too much about your direction or getting lost. Follow those signs that say “Per Rialto” or “Per St. Mark’s” (Per Rialto means the direction for Rialto Bridge etc). All of the day trippers have gone home in the evening, and the narrow streets are all yours and so romantic!
Do what we did and wander all the way to St. Mark’s Square. If you don’t want to spring for an expensive drink at one of the cafes on the square, buy a gelato on a side street, then stand in the square and enjoy the dueling orchestras playing sentimental old favorites.
In the morning, try to see St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace. You probably won’t have time to go up the Campanile for the view with only a day.
Stroll the streets, shopping along the way. There are lots of wonderful expensive things to buy in Venice, but there are some affordable Italian fashions too and what better, easily packable souvenir could you ask for than some flamboyant Italian creation?
Find a table at one of the restaurants along the Grand Canal with a view of the Rialto Bridge for lunch. Yes, it’s touristy, it has been touristy for centuries, so you are in good company.
In the afternoon try to sample some of the art at the Church of the Frari or the Scuola Grande di San Rocco. Or if you’re interested in the history of Venice, you could venture into the Museo Correr. If you want to see one of the grand palazzi that line the Grand Canal, see the Ca’ Rezzonico, the museum of 19th century Venice.
When you get all the way to one end of Venice, take a vaporetto to the other end. You’ll never tire of seeing Venice from the water, watching all those palazzi glide by. It takes on a different look in the morning, in the afternoon, at night.
Choose a romantic canal-side restaurant for dinner, or a wonderful little trattoria down an alley. Take a gondola ride before or after dinner. Who cares if it’s touristy? Your gondolier will sing for you, tell you where Marco Polo lived and you’ll love it.
Go to a concert in the evening – there are chamber orchestras all over vying for your money. Or just go back to St. Mark’s square and listen to those dueling orchestras again.
Two nights and a day will let you see Venice in the short time you have and by having one or two nights there, you’ll be able to savor it with fewer crowds.
Why Venice Is Worth Visiting
July 7, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
But isn’t it crowded?
Yes, Venice seems crowded. How could it not be? It’s one of the most popular destinations in Europe (with good reason we think). The crowds are compressed into the narrow streets, and there will be many more tourists during the day and the summer. Try to visit Venice in the spring or or even winter, and you’ll find fewer crowds. The number of tourists may be smaller than for London or Paris, but those visitors are sharing what is really a small town.
Don’t the canals stink?
I can’t speak for the height of summer, but in the shoulder seasons, we’ve never found that the canals stink. We love strolling along them, taking the vaportti (the boats that serve as buses in Venice) or having a glass of wine at a canal side restaurant.
Isn’t it a city full of just tourists?
Yes, it is! But it’s been a city for and full of tourists for centuries! A century or two ago, a young gentleman’s “Grand Tour” wasn’t complete without time spent in Venice.
Isn’t Venice sinking?
Yes again. St. Mark’s Basilica is only two feet above sea level. That’s the lowest part of town. It’s the first to flood, and if you go in the winter, you might just see where they put boardwalks down for locals and tourists to get around. Even during the dry seasons, you will see the lagoon lapping up over the steps on the docks at St. Mark’s at high tide. There are major efforts by Italy and the world to save Venice because it is such a special place for all of us.
So do we have you convinced that you should ignore all those nay sayers? That you’ll fall in love with the city if you go and experience Venice? Think of the iconic things there are to see and do in Venice. You really need to add them to your travel experiences.
Take a vaporetto on the Grand Canal. There is nothing like a journey down that frenetic “S” shaped waterway to make you know that you’re traveling – and traveling someplace special.
Get off the vaporetto at St. Mark’s Square and just absorb the sight of St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace. Feel the grandeur of St. Mark’s Square and of course dodge the pigeons!
Walk the narrow streets to the Rialto Bridge. Yes, you might get a little lost, but all streets really do lead to Rialto or St. Mark’s, so getting lost is part of the fun.
Venice is the sort of city that should be savored. There are so many things to see and do, but you can also fall in love with Venice without touring madly. Just stroll around, sit and observe, enjoy La Serenissima for what she is - a grand small city that shouldn’t be missed.
