Hey guys,
I will be traveling to Venice with two friends from college in April. We are flying in on a Friday afternoon and leaving early Sunday morning via the train to Florence.
Couple questions:
Best travel options from Airport to our apartment just off the Grand Canal?
Best travel options from our apartment in the Grand Canal to Venezia Mestre?
Things you must see/do in Venice for less than two days?
The Rick Steves' guidebook for Venice or Italy will answer all your questions and more.
Hi Steve, if you would like the most scenic & fun route to enter Venice, check out the alilaguna boats from the airport into Venice. They leave every 15 minutes. One-way is 15Euro. Otherwise, there's a bus to the train station where you can catch the regular boats down the Grand Canal. http://www.alilaguna.it
Things you must see: San Marco & the piazza during the day & also in the evening. Go up the Campanile and look over the city. If you like museums, the Accademia is nice. Check out the best gelato, eat outdoors away from the touristy spots, and get lost...literally. It's so fun to wander through the maze of streets and then find your way back by looking at the signs on the corners of the buildings guiding you back to San Marco, for instance.
Where exactly on the Grand Canal? It makes a difference in your transport options.
Why are you traveling from Mestre rather than Santa Lucia station?
What are your ages and interests? By college friends you mean in college now or old pals from 30 years ago?
If you are actually college age now, look into getting a Rolling Venice Card. Its available only to people under 25 I believe and gives you reduced cost transport on the vaporettos.
Frank gave you good advice. Buy the RS guide. Pay attention to the vaporetto routes, stops, direction, etc. On land, you should be aware that you are in Venice on an April weekend. Tour groups will overrun Piazza San Marco during the day. Use this time to walk through the less traveled areas like Cannaregio. Find a bacari (wine bar) on a nice plaza, have a good glass of wine. Try the cichetti. Walk to the next plaza. Cross the next bridge, through the next alley, to the next plaza. Explore, drink, eat. Wait for the hordes to leave before sunset. Then visit your guidebook sites either late or early the next morning.
I appreciate all the responses!
We are in our late 20s now. We really just want to take in the atmosphere and get a feel for the city. With only limited time in the city we aren't as concerned with seeing the sites as we will be in Rome. The plan by e2dbg sounds very good and like something we would enjoy.
I can't exactly describe where on the Grand Canal we are staying. I was trying to find a landmark around there, but I don't know the map well enough. We are NW of Plaza San Marco and east of Plaza Grassi. Thats about the best I can do.
I will admit that I made a mistake when booking and got the tickets at Mestre which is going to be a tad more complicated.
No problem. You can just catch anyone of the many local trains from Santa Lucia station to Mestre station. That will set you back about a euro each. Check if your train originates at Santa Lucia, and you can just buy the add on and board there.
Buy a 48 hour Vaporetto Pass with an airport one way bus adder. That should be about 34 euro each. sounds like a lot, but a single ride on the vaporetto is 7 euro. Then you can get the No 5 bus right at the airport to Piazzale Roma where you will change to a vaporetto.
I will also suggest taking Alessandro Schezzini's "Bar" tour. Highly educational and a really good time. 35 euro pp, but in 2 hours you will drink your fill of wine and eat enough snacks (Cicchetti) to constitute a meal.
You will stop at three bacari along the way and learn the fine art of Venetian bar hopping. I talked to him on Monday and he said September is a busy time for him, so get a reservation as soon as you can. They always meet at the top of the Rialto Bridge at 6 pm and go from there. http://www.schezzini.it/
Try googling the apartment address to get an exact location. You need to know your closest vaporetto stop and which boat to take from P.le Roma bus station. The No 2 is an express and stops at San Samuele right next to the Palazzo Grassi, but another stop using the local No 1 boat may be closer.
