In our planned trip, Venice will be our last and I suspect we may very well be "church-ed" out and "art museum -ed" out by then, but we definitely want to see this city. Can this city be "self-guided" seen or does anyone suggest a "cannot-miss" tour?
This is our first time to this country.
Thank you,
Greg
You can do it on your own. For me the only must see is St. Mark‘s which is a different style church than most of the others you will have seen. Get a guidebook to see what else interests you and then wander around and take the vaporetti
As previously mentioned, a self-guided tour is doable. We spent a week in Venice last Fall and walked "off-the-beaten-paths" enjoying the neighborhoods. We avoided San Marco during cruise ship times. Enjoyed the Vaparetto rides to Burano, Torcello, & Lido. Our favorite view of Venice is from San Giorgio Maggiore Bell Tower. Just a short Vaporetto ride away.
If you choose to do a self tour of St. Mark's, we avoided the line by arriving about 1/2 hour before opening time. We were 1st in line.
You should be able to do it on your own without any problems. One of the beauties of Venice is the walkability of the city and discovering things while getting "lost", The RS guide book has several self guided walks that cover the high spots. He may even have a downloadable audio that goes with it. Should be able to check that out on this site.
Very easy to do on your own. The city is small and everywhere you turn there are interesting views and streets. There are plenty of important churches and museums, but if you prefer to just wander around and enjoy the atmosphere, Venice is one of the best places for that.
St. Mark's is as close to a must-see as possible. If you WANT a tour and can afford it, the Walks of Italy Alone in St Mark night tour is excellent. That way you get to see it with very few other people, after hours. If you don't want that, then you can go into the church during normal hours without a guide.
Thank you for all your replies! Very useful information. Since we're Italy -visiting novices . . .I'm going to have more questions! Thank you.
I've been to Venice many times, and would say you can definitely do it on your own.
Just do your research first, and remember that you WILL get lost in all the back streets, and that takes up time!
But of course, that's when you find wonderful things that you didn't plan on!
The only tour I've ever done was a Viator walking tour in 2015, which included a half hour gondola ride at the end of the walk.
The tour was great, but the gondola ride was wonderful after a day in the heat.
And the combined price was WAY less than taking an isolated gondola ride by itself, just a little shorter.
In all these years, I've never done a tour of the Doges Palace, as I prefer to just wander and see what I can find.
hey greg
happy super bowl day
been to venice three times, and loved it. you don't need a tour, walk around, get lost, zig instead of zag, roam the different districts, back canals, take a gondola ride 80E (the grand canal is so busy get one from a back canal) start early mornings see rialto bridge and st mark's plaza then go away until late afternoon/evening when the crowds have left. same thing with the islands, i love burano. i sat at da nino ristorante on grand canal across train station with "the best" tiramisu & prosecco and people watched.
also check schezzini.it hes does a cicchetti tour (pub crawl with appetizers and he tells the history of venice. (destination360.com search cicchetti tour and read up about it)
enjoy and have a great time
aloha
No art, no museums. How about a food and drinks cicchetti tour? Alessandro’s tours seem to generate a fair amount of interest. I’ve not done one but looking forward to when I can.
I think this is his web site.
Venice may be the most enjoyable European city I've ever been in to just walk and enjoy-and get lost, but that's part of the experience. However a guided tour can always bring places to life that wandering or a Rick Steves book can't. Just for fun, and because we had an evening with nothing to do, we signed up last minute for a 'Ghosts of Venice' tour. It was a stretch to believe the ghost stories, but the guide brought to life what it was like wandering down streets in 16th century Venice when there was little light. It was an experience I couldn't get on my own. Our tour of the major sites was brought to life as well in ways that I couldn't get on my own or with a book. I'll always advise spending a bit and taking a tour.
While there are certainly churches and art to see in Venice, you can spend days in Venice avoiding both of these, just walking around, taking vaporetti to the other islands, etc. I particularly enjoyed San Michele, the cemetery island.
Do you have Rick Steves Italy? For a first time visitor, he will not only outline how to spend your time there with suggested sights (and alternates if they initial suggestions don't interest you). He will also have answers to questions you didn't even think to ask.
Try either one of these tours.
http://www.venicefreetours.com/venice-free-tour-english/
Do tip the guide.
While it's not as in depth as the more expensive tours, the guides are informative and fun.
A great way to get acclimated to this great city.
St. Mark's Basilica is one to not miss, even if you're "churched out". Skip the line ticket reservations here.
https://www.venetoinside.com/attraction-tickets-in-veneto/tickets/skip-the-line-saint-marks-basilica/
Make your reservation around 11:30 and see the beautiful mosaics lit.
Do go up to the museum €5 and go out on the terrace.
You can check out RS audio tours here-- https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours/italy
I much prefer a guided tour, I like the interaction and ability to ask questions. I did the Walks of Italy tour of The Doges Palace, and I learned so much and it was very entertaining. The tour is only a couple of hours leaving plenty of time to wander about. I have done several of their tours and none were a disappointment!
