Venice.....Advice.......

ely

Hubby and I going to venice for weekend. 1st time away without children in over 4 years, so I'm trying to make it special.

Arrive friday evening and leave sunday tea time

What are the must sees......places to eat....things to do etc....

Any advice / suggestions would be greatly appreciated......

We plan to have a romantic meal out Saturday evening....any good suggestions without breaking the bank......

Thank you in anticipation ............

skintscotsman

i'll warn you now......the place stinks!!!

maybe won't be so bad in the winter but I went in August when I were a lad and it stunk to high heaven!!!

spaggy

Hi ely,

It wont stink in february... we went a few years back with the children (yes not very romantic!) and with regards where to eat I recall only eating at MD's!!! I think we were the only ones on a gondolla with a crying baby!!

Its a beautiful and unique place that you will really enjoy...

stellagypsy

I went last year in March. It definately did not stink!!

There are lots of little places to eat which are reasonably priced, we ate in a little cafe near the Rialto Bridge, prices as I recall were similar to home but it was just pizza slices / pasta dishes (yummy though!). Obviously you can pay a lot for a proper sit-down meal but we didn't. Avoid eating in St Mark's Square - it is lovely but the cafes and bars were very expensive. There are MacD's etc if you are stuck.

We went from the Marco Polo airport and used the water taxi (10 Euros wach each way) to get to Venice itself. It drops you off close to St Mark's Square. I HATE pidgeons (?sp) and there are loads of them,you can even buy a bag of food to feed them - EEEEEKK! Needless to say, I didn't bother with that! Went to St Mark's Square then off to look at some of the shops at the far end. Bought some murano glass jewellery from one of them - about 15 Euros for a loveley beaded necklace. Also there are market stalls, I bought my artist son a Leonardo t-shirt and some bits of jewellery for his GF. didn't go on a gondola as that did not appeal to either of us, also it looked a bit pricey and as this was tagged on to the end of our skiing trip we were almost at the end of our Euros! There are also the equivalent of the looky-looky men you get in Spain sellig handbags and fake designer gear etc - if you want to buy anything really haggle with them, One of our number got them down from 50 E to 12 E for a handbag!

You will enjoy it - wish I was going again!

HTH Stella xx

teddie2003

Have a look at the venice hotel thread on this site, loads of good tips.

Get a good guide book with a good map in it eg lonely planet.

Have been in March Last year and Sept 04, didn't smell on either visit.

GH

The best advice I can give you is to give it a miss and go somewhere else. It's a vastly over rated , vastly over priced smelly and uninteresting doss hole.

popapapa

Hi Ely,

you lucky thing... is it next week end? between 18th and 28th there will be the Carnival there which would have been really interesting to visit (one of the best in the world).
are you flying to Treviso or Venice Marco Polo? If you are going to Treviso do not take the bus into Venice but go to TReviso train station and jump on a quick train to Venice (max 30 minutes, but check train times at http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html)

I come from the Veneto region and went to uni in Venice and I must admit that it really stinks at times (mostly on sring low tides) as there are no sewage systems in the place!!! saying this early feb should be ok especially with the heavy snowing in the mountains...

If you want to try a gondola on the cheap try crossing the Canal Grande in between Accademia or Rialto bridge where some gondolieri offer a crossing service (should cost about £ 1.00) but if you want a gondola just to yourselves try to bargain a price as most gondolieri are struggling these days...

My favourite restaurant is Cirpriani in Torcello http://www.locandacipriani.com/english/ristoeng.htm, which can be a bit pricey but very much worth it for a special occasion (you can also go for lunch, it's the only thing on the island...)

Buy your Murano glass in Murano and you'll get a free seat at a factory glass blowing venue (you will see plenty of them as you land from the traghetto stop).
Also, I find the Jewish Ghetto (near railway station) really interesting to see and the biennale is a must too (http://www.labiennale.org/en/index.html) check what's going on there.

I would also say that a coffee at the Florian in St Mark's square is very expensive (probably £30.00 now) but on a special day with the orchestra playing and the sun shining it does really make you feel on top of the world.. and you can seat there for ages...You are sitting in one of the most beautiful places in the world!!!

Most importantly, take your time to wonder around and just discover hidden corners and square all over. This is how you can enter its magical world.You can freely roam at night too as there is very little crime in Venice (watch pinpocketers though especially on traghetto). A Bacaro is also a good place for a meal as it combines the atmosphere of a country pub with a good degree of jazz music.

Enjoy!

ely

GH wrote:

The best advice I can give you is to give it a miss and go somewhere else. It's a vastly over rated , vastly over priced smelly and uninteresting doss hole.

Thanks. great advice !!!!!!!!!!!!!

ely

spaggy wrote:

Hi ely,

It wont stink in february... we went a few years back with the children (yes not very romantic!) and with regards where to eat I recall only eating at MD's!!! I think we were the only ones on a gondolla with a crying baby!!

Its a beautiful and unique place that you will really enjoy...

We will try thank you xx

gustav

GH wrote:

The best advice I can give you is to give it a miss and go somewhere else. It's a vastly over rated , vastly over priced smelly and uninteresting doss hole.

...so you didnt enjoy it then