We are planning on taking a 2 day side trip to Venice in mid July. Since our time is limited I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to maximize our sight seeing time in the city. Also any recommendations as to what hotels to avoid...Thanks
Posted by
Palm Beach, Florida, United States
536 posts
Bill - Maximizing your time in Venice means walking a great deal - BUT - It's all good. From Piazza San Marco you can walk down the Riva Degli Schiavoni by all the vendors and Cafes on the Canal. You can walk over to The Rialto area with it's markets , shops, and Cafes. And if you get lost - GOOD !! No problem - As you come to an intersection simply look up on the wall and you'll see , for example - per rialto or per San marco - the path to take to get back to where you want to be.
You can also take a FREE water taxi out to Murano and sit and watch glass blowing demonstrations - absolutely fascinating - the tickets are available from you Hotel or from any number of fellows handing them out in Piazza San marco.
At night go enter the square and watch the "Battle of the Bands", as the Cafes compete for your attention. Watch but do not sit down - the cover is pricy.
As for a Hotel here's my suggestion -
http://www.hotelcasanova.it/
Located directly behind Piazza San marco it is manned by my friends Dario and Stefano - has a very nice FREE breakfast and , as I say, a great location.
Enjoy Venezia, Greg
Posted by
Texas
518 posts
I'll second the Penione Guerrato. We enjoyed the location too.
Posted by
Albany
161 posts
My suggestion is to walk walk walk. The pleasure in Venice is that everyone walks and you will stumble upon things you wouldn't expect to find-- a quiet square with a fountain and a restaurant, or the Peggy Guggenheim museum, the palazzo where she once lived. We found a restaurant only frequented by locals, way off the beaten track, where the fisherman who supplied seafood to the restaurant was eating himself-- these were the freshest clams I've ever had.
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12313 posts
Like Laurel, I say walk, walk, walk, especially early morning and at night.
Also be sure to see the Duomo San Marco when it is lit up. When lit, the tiles (I think glass tiles) look like the entire place is made of gold!
We rented an apartment from Hotel d'Art. It worked well for us but we never saw more of the hotel than the lobby. You should check out reviews, recommendations and rates at tripadvisor.com