Make a excursion to Veniceto travel in one of the most beautiful in the world.
Over its 1700-year history, the city has been at the crossroads of major European artistic, musical and political developments.
It was a maritime power for centuries and is thought to have been the world's first financial center.
Since it's important to prepare for your trip, let me guide you through this article!
Excursion to Venice: article summary
Venice excursions: plan your trip
To plan your trip, it's important to know the basics about Venice.
When is the best time to visit the city?
Being close to the sea, Venice has a generally mild climate, although it can rain almost all year round. Summers are humid and winters can be misty and wet.
To avoid large crowds, spring and autumn are the best seasons to visit. Venice experiences flooding, or aqua alta, about 60 days a year, from October to early January. In Venice, keep an eye on the weather every day, and always carry an umbrella!
Getting around Venice
The Grand Canal, which runs through the center of the city, is like the main street of Venice, and the vaporettos are its public water buses. They are the main means of public transport in this canal-filled city, criss-crossing the main waterways.
Vaporetto no. 1 runs alongside the Grand Canal from the station and makes many stops, so it's a good way to navigate the main canal and get a good overview of the city. If you want something closer and more personal, take a cab and a gondola, although they tend to be more expensive.
Excursion to Venice: What are the different things to do?
Venice has many world-renowned museums and attractions, but you'd be surprised how much you might enjoy strolling along the canals off the main tourist trails or taking advantage of other free entertainment this ancient city has to offer.
See Piazza San Marco
Visit Piazza San Marco is Venice's main square and is surrounded by chic cafés and boutiques. Although it's a great place to admire the scenery and the people, you'll certainly pay a high price to sit at an open-air table. In the evening, you can also enjoy street concerts.
Saint Mark's Basilica
Saint Mark's Basilicaconsecrated in 832 AD, is a beautiful church blending Eastern and Western architecture.
Doge's Palace
Visit Palazzo Ducalealso on Piazza San Marco, is the most impressive building in Venice. It was the political and judicial center of the Venetian government until the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797. The palace was linked to its prisons by the famous Bridge of Sighs.
The Rialto Bridge
This is the main bridge across the Grand Canal in the heart of Venice, and is over 400 years old. Nearby is the RialtoAn interesting and lively food market with many small stores.
Excursion to Venice: what to eat and drink
Seafood are an integral part of the delicious Venetian cuisineThe same goes for polenta and rice. Seppia, or cuttlefish, is popular, and risotto nero (black rice) is colored with its ink. Try zuppa di pesce (fish soup) in one of the city's osterias. You won't be disappointed!
Cicchetti, or small aperitifs, are served in Venice's bars and are often eaten before lunch or dinner, but, like Spanish tapas or Greek meze, you can also eat them before dinner. order a few for a light meal.
Typical Venetian wines are made from grapes grown in the Veneto region. These include citrusy Soave, sparkling Prosecco and dark-red Valpolicella. Cocktails are popular here, from the peach Bellini, invented in Venice, to the Aperol Spritz, Negroni and other classic Italian cocktails.
Where to stay in Venice?
The old Venice city center is divided into six districts or sestieri. Cannaregio, the most densely populated, is close to the station.
Next comes the Castello district, the largest, and the famous San Marco district, home to its piazza and basilica of the same name, are on the Grand Canal side.
The Santa Croce district, the only one with a bridge to the mainland and some car traffic, is on the other side of the Grand Canal from the station.
The San Polo district, with its famous eponymous church, and the Dorsoduro district, located on Venice's toughest and most stable island, are within easy reach of each other. the other side of the canal from Piazza San Marco.
Many of the city's best hotels are located in the San Marco district, near Piazza San Marco, the most popular tourist area. One of my favorite hotels, right next to San Marco, is the Hotel Flora. For other establishments, here's a non-exhaustive list in this article.
How to get to Venice?
Venice lies in the Veneto region, on Italy's northeastern coast, and is protected from the Adriatic Sea by a strip of land called the Lido.
The best way to get to Venice is by train, to the Santa Lucia station at the north-western end of the city. There's also a bus station and parking lots nearby, at Piazzale Roma. Venice also boasts the small Marco Polo airport of Venice, and from there you can take a bus or boat to the old town.
Beware of customs!
When you enter Venice's many churches, you should dress modestly. This means no short shorts or skirts, and no bare shoulders. These rules apply to everyone, regardless of gender. If you're not dressed accordingly, bring a large, light scarf to drape over yourself.
Although alcohol is a big part of Venetian and Italian culture, public drunkenness is not, and Venice closes surprisingly early. In the middle of the night, don't talk too loudly - your voices in the street carry all the way to the windows of residents' apartments.
A trip to Venice is a dream come true. To complete the enchantment, I advise you to visit as many places as you can! For example, you'll be sure to make the most of your vacation.
What to do in Venice in 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, 5 days, a week?
Whatever the length of your stay, I invite you to download my special Venice guide.
It's free and in PDF format.
All you have to do is tell me below which e-mail address you'd like to receive it at.
EDIT: you can't enter your email?
Take the quiz at the top of this article and you'll be able to register your email address to receive the special Venice guide!
Leave a Reply