What are your favorite things to do/see in Venice?

The time of year your visiting may make a difference in the answers that people offer.
But we were there a year ago, going again this Oct. The rowing lesson we did was fun. it included stops for food in the locals area, great fun. Friendly gals, very good experience. We also liked the fort area visiting the boat museum.

https://rowvenice.org/

Wow. Where to start, leaving aside the Doge Palace, the Basilica and so on.
Venicekayak.com, really fun and worthwhile.
The Frari church.
Afternoon spritz in Campo San Barnaba, at the Ai Artisti bar.
Lunch at Al Archivo, bar just over the bridge in front of the Frari.
Picnic on Certosa, although your time might not allow.
The Library at the hospital, a gory display of surgical instruments, some three hundred years old. The library has a most beautiful ceiling. Perhaps better after lunch, it might destroy your appetite.
The naval museum, and there are two of them. The one closer to the Arsenale is more enjoyable, on Fondamenta De l’Arsenal.
The Tre Ochi photo gallery on Giudecca
The Campanile on San Georgio, gives a better view than the Campanile in the Piazza.
The Querini Stampalia Foundation just off Campo Santa Maria Formosa, a good cafe, clean toilets.
The Acqua Alta bookshop.
The statue in the middle of Campo San Stefano, known to Venetians as the Book Sh!!ter.
The Rialto fish market first thing in the morning, have breakfast there as the Venetians do (coffee and croissant). With your back to the Grand Canal, walk through the fish market, there is a cafe to your right. IT IS LOUSY. But the tiny cafe to your left once you have wal;ked through is good.

OK, too many things. We are returning to Venice on May 3rd for ten nights. A friend in Venice is publishing his second novel, set in Venice, “Vengeance in Venice”, so there is a party we must attend. You might like his first novel, “The Venetian Game”, by Phillip Jones. The book mentions many places in Venice.

One thing you might want to check out is the cruise ship schedule for while you are there. If you google ‘cruise ship schedule Venice’, you can see how many ships will be in port on the days you are there. Then, it’s simple to avoid piazza San Marco, Rialto, etc. on those days. I’ve done that on my last two trips and feel it’s been a big help.
For me the ‘must sees’ other than the Basilica San Marco and the Piazza, the Rialto market ( seeing the bridge from the water ) - riding the vaporetta down the grand canal, wandering the streets in Dorsodoro or Cannaregio, Burano Island, listening to the dueling orchestras in the evening in Piazza San Marco and getting lost wandering the small streets.
There is a cichetti tour recommended in the RS book that’s I enjoyed and it’s reasonably priced. I also found a ‘free walking tour’ for my next trip in May that looks good.

I took Alessandro's cicchetti tour last year and it was interesting and fun, but heavy on wine and light on food - maybe not so interesting for someone not old enough to imbibe. The Secret Itineraries Tour at the Doge's Palace is very interesting, history and insights into daily life in the Middle Ages.

Having three days there, you should go off to one of the smaller islands. My favourite is San Giorgio Maggiore for the beautiful grounds and view of Venice from the bell tower. Others like Murano, Burano or (for a more developed, beachy kind of place) Lido.

Regarding the cruise ship schedule, it seems like you can't avoid them completely. When I look at it, I see ships arriving every single day. This is very different from when we were there in 96 and 97. However, I am pleased to see that while we are there (from May 29th to June 1st) there is only one ship arriving each day (and leaving the next day), whereas after we leave I see days where multiple ships arrive.

I have to say that I know there are plenty of people who like them, but for the life of me, I just can't figure out the appeal of being on a cruise ship.

Getting lost in the small alleys of Venice is one of my favorite things to do as well as taking a day trip to Burano. Burano is a pastel wonderland to enjoy strolling. We also enjoyed the seafood at "Al Gatto Nero on the island." As far as sights go I think the Friari church, St Mark's and the Dodge's palace are the best. Everything else is so-so.

Wandering around the back streets and getting away from the crowds. Try to get "lost" although it's hard to do on an island. Jewish ghetto area and museum, trip to Murano and Burano.

Taking a day on the Laguna for Murano, Burano, and Torcello. Get off the vaporetto at Mazzorbo just before Burano and have lunch at Trattoria Maddealena. Be certain to make a reservation. Walk out to Santa Elena, the tail of the fish, where there are fewer tourists and more Venetians.

We did a Murano/Burana/ Torcelli visit last time we were there, and I enjoyed it, although I was not that interested in Torcelli. Not certain with only the equivalent of 2 1/2 days that there is really time to go out there, because it takes a good part of the day to go there, wander around, and come back. BUt I am certainly considering it.

Maybe not as far as Torcello, but the vaporetto ride across the lagoon to Murano is worth it just for the ride.

My advice also, if travelling with a 16 and 18 year old. Give the Doges palace a miss. Let them visit it when they are adults.

Peter S,

I am curious as to why you think the Doge's palace is not worth a visit with kids. My younger son wants to be an architect and is very interested in art and architecture. But, we will be seeing plenty of other museums throughout Italy, so I don't see this as a "must visit". Do you feel it is much less interesting than other sites in Venice?

First, a piece of advice. It is really unlucky to walk between the two columns bearing St Theodore and the Crocodile in the Piazzeta. The guy who figured out how to raise the columns was given licence to operate gaming tables between the columns. When the city fathers got grumpy about the gambling, they started to use the air space above the tables for public executions. Don’t say you were not warned.

Another execution thing. Facing the Doges Palace, with your back to the lagoon, count to the third column from the corner. It is ever so slightly out of line, Stand with your back to the column and try to move around it. You will fall off. Condemned criminals were given this test, if they did not fall off, they were spared, a trial by gravity. But they all fell off.

So I am risking execution, crucifixion, judicial drowning or burning at the stake for the heresy I am about to commit.

There is so much more to Venice than just the top attractions, Doges Palace, Basilica and so on. It is the sights and details that are off the tourist trail that can fascinate, things that are endlessly engaging. And of course the Biennales plural, Art and Architecture. This year it’s architecture, running from May to November.

So I suggest skipping both Basilica and Doges Palace, and going for the second rank attractions. Maybe pick up a copy of Secret Venice by Jonglez, a book full of quirky details, like why is there a single white stone in the pavement outside San Pietro in Castello. I think that those small details might engage your kids more than the big ticket sights.

While the Archi Biennale will be happening, it really takes a couple of days to do it justice in the Giardini and Arsenale. (That’s why I’m visiting Venice for a fortnight in September, and I’m not an architect.) But pick up a copy of the brochure at the Biennale office, Calle Valoresso, second left when you exit the Piazza to the west. The brochure will list many venues scattered over Venice that are free to enter, many inside buildings that are otherwise closed. The New Zealand pavilion would be worth a look.

Maybe check out the work of Carlo Scarpa (just google him), Venice’s best known modern architect. The work he did at the Querini Stampalia Foundation makes that place my favourite venue in Venice. The detailed tiling in the pond could have designed by Mondrian, and his use of washed concrete is superb – you can see the pebbles in the mix, the provenance of the structure. He was much influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright, strong horizontals, and if you look through the window of the Olivetti showroom in the Piazza (north side, 40 metres west of Quadri’s), you will see a stair that looks like a Falling Water inspiration.

So, so much to see, so little time. But you can always return. Many times.

A really good book is “venice” by Morris. written in 1960, still the best book to have in order to get a handle on La Serenissima.

Thank you so much for your mention about the Biennale. I have herd of it before but know very little about it. I will research.....

The Brochure for the Biennale has just been released.
It is here:
http://static.labiennale.org/files/architettura/Documenti/brochure-16mia.pdf

And another great web site is this one.

https://www.theveniceinsider.com/

I should probably stop shovelling stuff at you, but you would understand that I am a bit of a Venice nut case.

why don't you let the kids find out about Venice and be your tour guides? Get them engaged and it will be more fun for all. If they liked the Indiana Jones movie filmed in the town, find the library/church (we did and its not easy but exhilarating when you do) and the area around it. Did you know there was a Jewish quarter in Venice and 200 Jews were trained off the island and taken to concentration camps during WWII? The quarter is filled with history and bronze plaques there and not far from the train station. Next to the Rialto is a newer building that houses upscale stores, but you can go to its roof and have a look at the Grand canal? They have maps up there that names the churches and places of interest. Best of all, get lost and get away from the crowds.

The rowing lesson ttmom12 mentioned is through a company called Row Venice. It’s a club of primarily female rowers who participate in gondola racing competitions and have an interest in preserving ancient gondolas. You can book a day, late afternoon with snacks or evening row and they will teach you how gondolas are rowed. One of the highlights of our last trips to Venice was learning to row and then actually rowing on the Grand Canal. Your teenagers would love it. We did the cichetti (late afternoon) lesson, which was really fun.

For some reason we seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time standing on the Rialto Bridge watching the rhythm of daily life on the Grand Canal. Watching the delivery barges dock, disembark with their cargo over the 4 other barges that had previously docked and then disappear into the city with their cargo strapped to a cart only to return a half hour later with a fresh cup of espresso. A great way to spend an hour (or two) and to fully understand the essence of my favorite city in the world.

Finding my way to the Gondola workshops - old wooden buildings looking like an alpine village was transported to Venice, and watching a repaired gondola being relaunched.....

Having an expensive lunch break at one of the cafes on the Piazza San Marco and enjoying people watching and the live music......worth every cent!.....

Walking past the Basilica, realizing there was no queue and enjoying a peaceful and solitary visit.......

Gaining into Santa Maria del Salute and listening to the organ for about an hour....

Taking the Vaparetto out to the Lido, walking down to the beach and enjoying a picnic lunch surrounded by Italian families......

Lunch on a canal side outside the Ghetto and then wandering around the Ghetto......

Sitting in my hotel room watching the rain pour down and a pigeon trying to keep dry under the eaves of the house at the end of the garden.......

On the same rainy day, taking my laundry to a launderette and popping next door for a coffee and pastry and chatting to some other visitors doing the same thing......

Watching boats fulfilling the roles of ambulances, cop cars, delivery trucks, taxis, buses, private cars etc....

The Guggenheim Museum, nice cafe for lunch and the modern artwork is a welcome change from all the Renaissance art work you see in Italy.....

......so much to see and appreciate about Venice. Love it!

We are here now, and my favorite thing was the rooftop visit Marie mentioned. It is free but you need reservations you can make online. It is on the top of T Fondaco Dei Tedeschi department store. There are instructions on how to make reservations on signs at the start of the escalator and at the entry to the terrace or www.dfs.com.