Venice: what are your favorites

Just walking around in the evening seeing the lights in reflected in the canal.. I don't think of Venice so much as a "site " destination as an "experience" one. My dd and I did enjoy the Costume Museum though.

The Frari Church, while off the beaten path, includes a walk through some areas not dominated by tourists, and such wonderful art! I also recommend the campanile of San Giorgio Maggiore.

One is seeing the Duomo when the interior lights are on. They are on during Mass and some other time during the day.

The other is wandering aimlessly at night when the tourists have thinned out.

I think that Burano is an excellent site to see. It is on the vaporetto route from Venice to Murano, and then from there off to Burano. By vaporetto it takes something like forty minutes if my memory serves me, but it is well worth the visit.

Download Rick's audio guides for Venice - I did them all and they were terrific, including the helpful hints. Be sure to print out the maps too.

As mentioned above, the Frari Church is a gem (one of Rick's audio guides).

My very, very favorite was going to St Mark's Square at dawn to watch the sunrise, before the tourist hordes, before the vendors set up their kiosks.

Buy the vaporetto pass. Getting a front seat on the Grand Canal and watching Venice slip by. . . do it at least once during the day and once at night.

Agree with just wandering around, especially in the back alleys where you come upon a square and have it to yourself. The Rialto market was a lot of fun early in the morning, watching the locals wake up and buy their items. But for me the highlight was probably the Jewish Ghetto tour, which you take from the museo ebraico. I personally found it fascinating, insightful, enjoyable, and some of the things the guide said just made me fall in love with Venice.

Far from the Madding Crowd, the park on the eastern end of the island past the Biennale d'Arte. Peaceful with pine trees and people out an about with their families and dogs. GREAT spot to watch the sunset and be way from the hordes of tourists. A meal at Tratoria da' a Marisa. Truly a "neighborhood" gem. Every little tableau you find when you get away from St. Mark's Square and get lost.

I thought the Doge's Palace was very interesting. At St. Mark's cathedral, consider seeing the altar and going up to the 2nd floor for great views into the church, onto St. Mark's Square and to see the 4 original bronze horses up close. Both cost extra (church is free), but I think they're worth it. I believe Sundays have the longest hours with lights on - really highlights the mosaics. Also, plan time to wander the back streets. If you get lost, hop on a vaparetto and go back to a familiar place. Consider getting the vaparetto pass, which reminds me of another great sight - riding down the Grand Canal.

We enjoyed a Pub Crawl.After we finished we were in an area we never visited before without tourists.

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions.

I think I will get the pass that covers a lot of the churches, that should take me away from the hourdes of tourists some of the time.

happy Travels. 30 days 'til Italy!!!!!!!!

I agree with Frank above about seeing the Doge's Palace and St. Marks interior and then going up on the balcony overlooking the square. Also wandering the back alleys and canals -- day and night. Burano is great also.

Burano is beautiful, well worth a visit.
We were in Venice last November and we went to a concert of Vivaldi music, held in a building in St. Marks square- it was excellent. If you like classical music, it's worth going. I can't remember the name of the building, but if you're interested, just send me a message and I'll dig it out of wherever I've 'filed' it.

Venice rivals Paris for my favorite city in the world. But what has been so memorable is going out in the evening to the little bars (bacari) for the little snacks they have (cichetti). One place we went to on our last trip had a strawberry crab dish. It tasted exactly like what you would expect...