If you have personal stories and you've been there, even better!!
2006-09-03 06:56:43 · 11 answers · asked by Patricia 4 in Travel ➔ Italy ➔ Venice
Venice isn't that big and it's easy to navigate by vaporetto. You could visit St Mark's Basilica and the square, also the Doge's Palace is next door and if you take a tour you can see the bridge of sighs from the inside. You'll be taking the walk from the prison cells that the convicts did!! The Rialto bridge is a short walk away and there are lots of shops and markets there. If you don't fancy shelling out 90 euros for a gondola ride, take a vaporetto all the way along the grand canal and invest in an Eyewitness Travel Guide which gives you a step by step commentary on the palazzi you will see. If you like art, you could stop off at the Accademia. There are the Islands of Murano and Burano which are lovely and many winding alley ways packed with beautiful shops and cafes. Lovely cafe but rather expensive is Cafe Florian in St Marks. You can have a drink and listen to their musicians play and sing.
Buona Fortuna
2006-09-05 09:44:21 · answer #1 · answered by samanthajanecaroline 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Venice is amazing and very unique.
When I went, I went in the off season, so although it was still crowded, it was much less so. If you stick to the main tourist areas for food and drink, you will pay alot. But to save a little you might try to "get lost" in Venice. It will be both lots of fun and also very rewarding.
Remember, it is a place of history and culture, not partying. Many tourists go there and abuse this city by polluting, littering, and going to the washroom in the canals, which is something I saw some backpackers do. Not only is it disgraceful, but it also ruins things for others and the cops are not very lenient about that sort of stuff.
Go with an open mind, a bit of money and a sense of adventure. There is no other place like it on earth. You will have a great time and learn lots.
If possible, try going when the Venice Film Festival is on or even better, the Venice Carnival. Both are amazing times.
ENJOY!
2006-09-03 19:17:46 · answer #2 · answered by Rick 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well it is different alright. I can't say I would really want to go again but it was interesting to see. I went when I was 18 and was backpacking around Europe. We stayed at this youth hostel that was like a big warehouse. You had to take the ferry bus to get there and for some reason there were no toilet seats. It was boring at night because there is really nothing going on at night and I think the curfew was at 11 and there were no more buses. It is eerily quiet at night since there are no cars and no night life. Walking around Venice is confusing even with a map because most of the streets are alleys and are not named on the map. It is kind of like walking around in a giant rat maze. It is also very expensive. I think the only thing we could afford was McDonalds (which was still expensive) and ice cream and pizza from street vendors. It is beautiful but very crowded. I thought the Doge's palace and St.Marks Basilica were worth seeing. If I was to do it again I wouldn't stay in Venice. I would stay in Padova just outside Venice and take the train in for the day and then leave. Oh one last good thing about Venice was the sunsets were something else.
2006-09-03 14:37:18 · answer #3 · answered by Constant_Traveler 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Venice is like no other city in the world. Stayed on the Plaza San Marco, which was very centrally located. The Best Western off the Plaza was reasonably priced and had enormous rooms, considering you're in Italy. The shopping is fantastic! The shopkeepers know each other very well, so if you can't find something you're looking for, ask a shopkeeper and they will point you in the right direction. Prepare to be totally lost in the beginning as it is truly an above-ground catacomb. Shop around for the best price for a gondola ride. Definitely take a boat tour....it is a great way to orient yourself and learn the locations of things like the Guggenheim, the Rialto Bridge (a can't miss), etc. Take special care to be sure you get on the right water taxi from the train station. They will all eventually get you where you want to go, but if you get started off in the right direction you'll get there much faster. Travel light, as pulling your luggage up and down the steps over the water can be pretty taxing. Have a wonderful trip!
2006-09-05 00:18:21 · answer #4 · answered by lucysmomma1 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Venice or Venezia is the capital of the region of Veneto and of the province of Venice in Italy. The city stretches across numerous small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. It is one of the most romantic cities in the world. Venice is famous for its ancient architecture and for its canals. It is built on an archipelago of 118 islands formed by about 150 canals in a shallow lagoon. The islands on which the city is built are connected by about 400 bridges. In the old center, the canals serve the function of roads, and every form of transport is on water or on foot. The history of Venice started in 422 when Roman refugees founded the old town. From the ninth to the twelfth century Venice developed into a city state. Its strategic position at head of the Adriatic made Venetian naval and commercial power almost invulnerable. The city became a flourishing center of the trade between Western Europe and the rest of the world (especially the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic world).
2006-09-06 07:30:42 · answer #5 · answered by Mihnea B 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
All of the answers above are fine except in one detail - Pigeons are Evil ! How someone can claim these cockroaches with feathers are romantic is beyond understanding.
By all means get the Lonely Planet Guide to Italy and also their City Guide to Venice. We use their guides a lot and find the unfailingly accurate and helpful.
2006-09-10 20:32:24 · answer #6 · answered by Prof. Cochise 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
my sister and i viseted Venice this past summer in july and wow is it AMAZING! the waters really smelly and dirty but it is a beautiful place.....everything there is done by water, the trash is picked up by boat, the mails delivered by boat, its really cool...i definately reccomend a gondola ride, the boat rower guys dont sing anymore but its amazing how the boats never touch anything! plus the people are super friendly, and the shopping there is great! lol....theres also street performers who dress up and look like theyre statues...there so still! Venice truly is beautiful and a goldmine of history...i love it there and hope to return someday....
2006-09-03 14:06:10 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ehi, if You go to Venice, remember to visit Padua too..
Is Amazing, there is the 2nd largest Place in Europe (Prato della Valle) 5th oldest University in the world, St Anthony church, and St. Luke tomb (in St. Justine church) and so many other activities...
2006-09-04 11:15:48 · answer #8 · answered by DGeneration 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Venice is Unbelieveable. i loved just riding around on a vapperetto (kinda like a bus) and just watching. Love the pigeons a St.Mark's and Marano is really cool too (Island where they blow glass)
2006-09-04 00:33:13 · answer #9 · answered by Mollu 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is an amazing place... Very romantic, charming and unique! Of course, each place is unique in its own way, but I mean here that it is unique because of its structure and traffic. No streets with cars, only the narrow ones just for walking and canals with gondolas and boats... Great architecture also... Many, many pigeons and many, many tourists... Very lively and very lovely place!
2006-09-10 11:23:55 · answer #10 · answered by Venus 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋