Venice back streets

We love to wander Venice too! Going for 4th time in September. Some of my inspired touring comes from the book "24 Great Walks in Venice." You might try to find a copy as it will get you to lesser-traveled neighborhoods. Your two remaining sites are great. We go to San Giorgio every trip for the view. In fact, you can read about what we did in our 3rd trip here. Squid is everywhere... look for it on the menu with nero di seppia , which is the ink it is cooked in to make it black.

Torcello. Very cool. It shows you what Venice looked like when it was still a very young settlement.

From San Giorgio Maggiore, take the vaparetto over to Guidecca. We visited there in April - wonderfully quiet, beautiful churches, great views of Venice. Also, if you haven't already, take a walk through the Dorsoduro area. Again, very few tourists, nice piazzas, several churches to visit. I also second Torcello. Have a great trip!

The Dorsoduro area is great for avoiding tourists (you'll be in it for the Peggy Guggenheim; just get lost wandering from there). But just about anywhere that's not the train station, the Rialto, San Marco, and the paths directly connecting these can be "back streets." I walked from Fondamenta Nova to Dorsoduro (basically, the dorsal fin to the belly of the "fish" that is Venice), and only hit a few patches of tourists. I love San Michele, the cemetery island. If it's a hot day, bring an umbrella for shade, as there is none in the cemetery.

Depending on your interests, you might enjoy the island of San Lazarro degli Armeni. The island is occupied by an active monastery (Armenian-rite Catholic) originally dating from around the 1700s. Only one vaporetto a day stops there, and someone meets the vaporetto to show you around. Lovely views, interesting very early manuscripts/books, museum, lovely eastern-style church, quiet. You could find specific info on the web.

Another vote for Torcello, quiet and serene, church has fabulous mosaics.

If you have read Donna Leon's Guido Brunelli mysteries, follow up with Brunelli's Venice which traces the routes he takes in various books and includes extracts from the books. A wonderful way to look get a different look at Venice.

The Lonely Planet guidebook, as of 2010, had a great self-guided walking tour through the Ghetto. We definitely got to see the less touristy side of Venice throughout that walk. We even found a supermarket, which was a bit strange as otherwise Venice is like a time capsule.

Nigel & Lesley
Thanks so much - just ordered on Amazon the first book "Willful Behavior", now I will have to go back and order the "Venice" book. Am excited as I had never heard of this writer before and love mysteries and Venice to boot.

If you have read Donna Leon's Guido Brunelli mysteries, follow up with Brunelli's Venice which traces the routes he takes in various books and includes extracts from the books Lesley, that's a GREAT hint. We just ordered from our Amazon friends. Can't wait for the delivery.... BTW - I'm sure it was a slip, but it's "t"s in the name, Brunetti....

I would vote for the Dorsoduro area. We enjoyed just walking around the area.

I like buying the Chorus Pass which enable one to visit some 16+ churches for 10 euro. One of the churches is the destination but the walk or boat ride to get there is very enjoyable and allows one to see more of Venice and art in situ. The pass is good for a whole year. http://www.chorusvenezia.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37&Itemid=25

Made 5th trip to Venice this past July and finally went to Peggy Guggenheim Museum. Don't miss the garden where Peggy is buried along with her beloved dogs. The Dorsoduro neighborhood is very nice for escaping the crowds and we always go to San Giorgio Maggiore and up the belltower for beautiful views of Venice. The church right on the waterfront on Giudecca is worth a visit too. We love just wandering and "getting lost" in Venice. Have not had the black squid in Venice but ate black risotto in Dubrovonik, Croatia, and it was quite good.