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Venice, Italy – An Orientation to Venice

Tue, May 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

There is no simply other city on Earth like Venice. Its iconic canals and unique cityscape have drawn visitors for centuries. Royalty, authors, statesmen, movie stars and ordinary people have come here, and been changed by the city’s spirit and beauty. They call it La Serenissima, meaning the most serene.

Venice. The Grand Canal - View from Rialto

Venice. The Grand Canal - View from Rialto

From the Piazza San Marco to the Bridge of Sighs, and out to the Venetian Islands, a trip to Venice is a trip to the heart and the soul of Italy.

HOW TO GET TO VENICE

Arriving by plane

If you’re flying into Venice, you will probably arrive at Marco Polo airport, on the mainland.

Venice When Flying Into Marco Polo Airport

Venice When Flying Into Marco Polo Airport

From here, there are several ways you can get to the city center and your hotel.
1) You can take a water taxi with set rates, depending on where you are going, and how many people are in your group. The water taxi is quite expensive.
2) You can take a water bus called Alilaguna. This costs much less than the taxi, and they have several lines that can take you all over the city. The ticket agent can tell you which stop is closest to your hotel, and then you can walk from that stop.
3) You can take a shuttle bus to Piazzale Roma, which is the bus / car / train hub in Venice. This is not exactly a charming introduction to Venice, but many people do arrive this way. From here, you could get a water taxi or vaporetto to your hotel, or just walk if you are staying near here.

You may fly into Treviso Airport instead, especially if you’re flying on Ryannair. From here, there are buses that take you to Piazzale Roma.

Water taxi prices
Alilaguna water bus from the airport
Airport shuttle bus

Arriving by train

Taking the train can be an excellent way to travel around Italy, or further afield in Europe. If you’re arriving in Venice on the train, you will pull into the Santa Lucia Railway Station, which sits at the entrance to the Grand Canal.

Italian Train

Italian Train

You can easily walk down the Strada Nuova to the city center from there, or you can take a vaporetto (water bus) from the jetties right across from the train station, or you can get a water taxi.

Arriving by car

Small Italian Car

Small Italian Car

With all the paintings and photos of boats and canals, you probably already realize that Venice is not the world’s most car-friendly city, but you can drive there. It will involve dropping off your rental car, or parking your car and leaving it before you head into the historic and watery center of town.

The Ponte della Liberta connects Venice to the mainland. This bridge will get you into Venice, to either the Tronchetto or Piazzale Roma, where there are a number of indoor and outdoor parking lots. You may have better luck finding a spot at Tronchetto, since Piazzale Roma is used by all the car rental agencies, and by every Venetian with a car. Parking fees vary from lot to lot.

Once you unload your luggage, you can easily reach the city center by taking a vaporetto (a Venice water bus), a water taxi, or you can walk.

LAYOUT OF VENICE

Venice (Venezia, in Italian) is one of the most charming cities you could ever visit, but it can also be daunting, for many of the same reasons. Built on more than 100 small islands in the saltwater Venetian Lagoon, along the shoreline of the Po and Piave Rivers, there are enough natural geographic barriers and diversions to make the most dedicated urban planner cry.

Venice From Above

Venice From Above

While its winding streets, romantic bridges and watery canals are unique and picturesque; they can also be quite confounding.

It may seem like a bit of a maze, but once you figure it out, Venice is fairly accessible.

The old city center is divided into six parts, called sestieri. They are Castello, Cannaregio, San Marco, Santa Croce, Dorsoduro, and San Polo. The islands around Venice are Giudecca, San Giorgio, Murano, Burano, Torcello and the Lido.

WHERE TO STAY IN VENICE

Each of the districts in Venice and the Venetian Islands has its own distinct rhythm and flavor. San Marco is the heart of Venice, and it’s the tourist hot spot. If you’re in Venice for only a short time and want to see everything, you want to stay in San Marco.

People in San Marco

People in San Marco

East of that is Castello, Venice’s largest and most varied district, stretching from near the Rialto out past the Arsenal and the Public Gardens. Furthest to the north is the mostly residential district of Cannaregio. These are both lovely districts with plenty of hotels if you’re planning a longer, more leisurely stay in Venice.

If you prefer to stay where there’s great nightlife, San Polo is home to Rialto Bridge, busy markets, and some of the finest restaurants in Venice. Arty and studenty Dorsoduro is also busy and vibrant.

Santa Croce is mostly residential, and where you will find the public garages, the ferry to the beaches on the Lido, and the port. This is the place to stay if you’re planning regular day trips outside the city.

Mestre is technically part of Venice, but sits on the Italian mainland. It’s your cheapest option, but it’s also the furthest out and the least appealing.

GETTING AROUND IN VENICE

You can easily make your way around the city by water bus, or vaporetto. There are also water taxis, but like at the airport, this is your most expensive option. If you just need to get from one side of the Grand Canal to the other, you can hop on a cheap and pretty gondola ferry, or traghetto, which cross at a number of places on the Grand Canal.

Gondolas Crossing The Grand Canal - Venice, Italy

Gondolas Crossing The Grand Canal - Venice, Italy

The very best way to get around Venice is on foot.

Make sure you invest in a detailed map of Venice that includes all the vaporetto and traghetto stops.

Vapporetto (water bus) info & route map

Alilaguna water bus route map

EXPLORING VENICE

Make sure to take the time for a tour of the Venetian Islands. A three-hour excursion leaves from the pier at Riva degli Schiavoni, taking you past San Giorgio and San Francesco del Deserto, then makes stops and brief tours at Murano, Torcello and Burano. If you want more time to explore, vapporetti leave for the islands every hour from the Fondamenta Nuove. Check the water bus map and schedule for specifics on where you want to go.

If you feel like a day at the beach, head to the Lido, a narrow strip of land between Venice and the Adriatic Sea. It’s a 20 minute boat ride from St. Mark’s, and was built into a summer resort in the early 1900s.

Lido is a narrow strip of land between Venice and the Adriatic Sea

Lido is a narrow strip of land between Venice and the Adriatic Sea

While it doesn’t compare with the best of sun spots in the Mediterranean, its leafy streets and sandy beaches are lovely, and a nice change from Venice.

Wherever you choose to stay in Venice, you are guaranteed to enjoy its enchanting canals, beautiful buildings and fascinating history. Wander its calli, campi and campielli without being afraid of getting lost. You’re bound to discover something fascinating around the next corner.

VENICE RESOURCES

General info on Venice

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Venice, Italy – The art, the miracle, the inexpressible

Mon, Aug 22, 2011 By 1 Comment

Venice is not just Venice. More than any other city in the past it has become transformed within the imaginations of artists, painters, poets, prose-writers. Yet it remains very much as it was at the height of its greatest artistic achievements, during the Renaissance.

Grand Canal Venice

Grand Canal Venice

As early as 1882, Henry James observed that the most obvious thing to say about Venice is that there is nothing left to say. Works of art associated with images of Venice tend to stick in my mind and evoke its atmosphere and architecture. Wagner regarded Venice as a good place in which to compose because you could see the crowds and yet to be alone. Palaces, canals, gondolas, effects of light seen across the Lagoon at dawn and sunset, dissolve into a colorful Romantic vision.

Venice: A city to get lost in

Street Shops

Street Shops

The advantage of getting lost was that one found so much. Every few yards there were surprises. A dark passage-way opens onto the wide brilliantly lit expanse of a square enclosed by houses of different heights with narrow steep shuttered windows in grey peeling walls. At each corner a calle leads out of the square. I do not know which to consider the continuation of the one by which I have entered. Nor I do care. On one side of the square there is a shop, with a window full of toys. In the square itself there is a booth where a few vegetables lie on a bench under a striped awning. Choosing at random my way out of the square I go along a calle which leads to a bridge over a canal.

St Mark’s Square: the heart of Venice

My wanderings throughout the years brought me always back to St Mark’s Square, which has been compared to a ball-room, but which to my mind is more like the central chamber, interior cavity of a body, containing the heart. For St Mark’s Basilica truly is the hollow centre of Venice, with its great arched porch, and two attendant porches on each side.

St Mark's Square

St Mark's Square

One never forgets on Venice that the city is completely unlike anywhere else. Venice is a marble lung at this end of the Adriatic which breathes in and breathes out each day, according to the tides, the sea.  The harbor has entered into every crevice it the city, become its very existence. Thus transport in Venice means the sea – traditionally the gondola. This introduces into it an element or condition which is like a different dimension of time. To recognize this, one only has to consider, for example, the effect upon New York if all the streets and avenues of Manhattan were excavated and made into canals!

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Murano, Burano – When in Venice, Visit the Islands

Tue, Sep 21, 2010 By 7 Comments
When you’re talking about visiting Venice, it’s tempting to focus on its world famous canals. It’s easy to understand why. From the birthplace of a pope, to the homes of Richard Wagner and Lord Byron, from the fictional homes of Othello and Desdemona, to Harry’s Bar (and the invention of the Bellini) – just one gondola ride down the Grand Canal has enough historic star power for a lifetime.

But no trip to Venice is truly complete without a visit to the tiny and beautiful lagoon islands.

Venice sits on a kind of archipelago, made up of many small islets, jutting into what’s known as the Venetian lagoon. The city of Venice is the largest settlement, but there are nearby islands, such as Murano, Burano, San Michele and Torcello, which are well worth experiencing.

Canal on Burano

Quiet canal on the small island of Burano

For centuries, Murano has been the home of the world’s best in stunning glassware. Burano is famous for its colorfully painted houses. San Michele is the final resting place of many famous names, and Torcello offers a once-in-a-lifetime look into the city’s past. Each island can be reached by waterbus, or vaporetto, and is just a short ride from Venice.

Murano

Murano glass

Murano is famous for blown glass

Murano is known as the “glass island”, because of its centuries-old glass production. The glass produced here is colorful and exquisite, and has been sought after around the world since the ninth century.

When you visit Murano, you can see the famous glass kilns lined up, and several are open to the public, so you can walk in and watch glass blowers creating their art. One of the oldest glassworks is Venini, whose works can be seen in museums around the world. If you want to learn more about the venerable tradition and see some wonderful historic pieces, check out the Glass Museum. Of course, no visit would be complete without out picking up a few stunning souvenirs of your own!

Burano
While Murano built an international reputation for its glass-making, neighboring Burano is famous for its lace work. The delicate pieces of art have been made here since the sixteenth century, and of course, there is a Lace Museum to find out how it’s done. Burano is the prettiest of the lagoon islands, with all of its houses painted in vibrant blues, yellows, purples and greens. Make sure to visit a bakery and sample the local bussolai burnanelli, light and delicious round butter biscuits.

 

Torcello shrine

Small shrine on Torcello

Torcello
Torcello has an altogether different feel. In the 10th century, nearly 10,000 people lived and worked on the island. Today, it’s home to only 20 people, but the ruins of the old buildings, churches and homes are still there, crumbling and overgrown. Its unique charm attracted Ernest Hemingway in the 1940s, and you can still have dinner at his favorite restaurant, Locanda Cipriani.

San Michele
San Michele also offers an interesting glimpse into the region’s past. As you walk through the walled cemetery, you can see the graves of Igor Stravinsky and Ezra Pound, among thousands of others.

For centuries, Venice has attracted visitors from around the world with its unique architecture and city planning. When it’s your turn to experience this incredible city, make sure to look past the obvious, and take the time to visit the lagoon islands for a truly wonderful glimpse into the region’s varied and picturesque past.

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Venice gondoliers for Obama

Sat, Oct 25, 2008 By 25 Comments

Gondeliers in Venice are known for seranading their passengers as they glide through the canals of Venice.

Even in Italy, people are paying attention to the US Presidential election, and here it’s no different, as these gondeliers express their preferences in song! Destined to be a classic. :-)

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Venice, Italy – Planning your trip to Venezia

Wed, Oct 22, 2008 By 9 Comments
There is no place on earth quite like Venice, Italy. It took a tremendous feat of engineering to create a city out of 118 small islands… and nature may someday reclaim this “living museum” of gondolas, bridges and ornate churches and palaces. Venice is sinking and has been for years, and sea levels are rising, and if global warming is as much of a threat as we think it is, they may rise much higher. If you want to see Venice at its best, try to plan a trip soon! Here are a few tips to help in planning your trip to Venice.

When to go

Venice is hot and muggy in summer, and cold in winter. The best time to go is April or May… you’ll get mild spring weather, and miss the worst of the summer crowds. June through August is “high tourist season” in Venice — it seems like half the world is trying to squeeze itself into the small city during these months, and the situation is not helped by the hot and humid weather. After August, the weather is cooler but the crowds subside somewhat – so September and October are also good times to plan a trip to Venice.

Rialto Bridge on a busy day

Rialto Bridge on a busy day

If you like festivals, Carnevale is the Venetian answer to Mardi Gras. However, the Carnevale that exists today is a commercial revival of an event that natives actually stopped celebrating in 1797. Other festivals include the Venice Biennale, a modern art exhibition that happens in April, during odd-numbered years only. The Venice Film Festival is an annual event that happens in late August.

You can do Venice in a day if you like…but you really shouldn’t! Why rush? Stick around for a few days or even a week to sample all that this city has to offer.  To pique your interest, check out a leisurely morning in Venice.  Yes, this could be you!

How to get there

If you are arriving in Venice, Italy by plane, the Marco Polo Airport is about 13 km away. From the airport, you can proceed to Venice by either land or water. The most cost-efficient option is simply to take a bus. ATVO buses leave from the airport and will drop you off at the Piazzalle Roma in Venice. If you want to go by water, there is a hydrofoil connecting the airport to Venice and surrounding islands. Speedboats called water taxis are also available, but they are significantly more of a drain on your budget.

Looking for flights to Italy?  My favorite site by far for checking flights and fares is Kayak.com, where you can search the best deals from 100+ sites all in one place.

Getting Around

There are two modes of transportation in Venice – walking and floating. The city is relatively small, so traveling by foot is not a problem. However, it’s easy to get lost. If and when this happens to you, just keep walking and enjoy the experience… you’ll get to see more of what real life is like in Venice that way!

There are several options for water travel in Venice. Your best bet for most transportation needs is the vaporetto, or water bus. You can buy a travel pass to save on ticket costs. Gondolas are expensive and cheesy. They are fine for a one-time photo op after you’ve had a few glasses of wine, but not really a viable means of everyday transportation. Water taxis are also expensive, but less embarrassing than a gondola ride. The exception to the “no gondola rule” is a commuter gondola called a traghetto that ferries people across the Grand Canal.

Where to stay

Historic Venice is divided up into 6 neighborhoods. Of these, lodging in San Marco tends to be the most expensive, but is also the most convenient to the Piazza San Marco. Dorsoduro is primarily residential, but has some hotels that offer better pricing, and are still close to the action. You can also rent an apartment-for longer stays, this is often cheaper than getting a hotel room. San Polo is an excellent neighborhood to stay in if you can-it’s charming and medieval, and convenient to all sorts of shopping, including Venice’s famous fish market. Santa Croce has good bars and pizzerias. Canareggio is the quietest neighborhood, and one of the most picturesque-if you need a retreat from the crowds, this is it. Castello also has some excellent places to stay – if you avoid the border with the Piazza San Marco, that is.

Another option is to stay on the Lido, an island just outside of Venice. There’s a beach, restaurants and nightlife, and the city itself is only a short vaporetto ride away.

You can find information on hundreds of Venice hotels at Venere.com, along with ratings, maps and photos.

What to do

  • Basilica di San Marco – Venice’s main cathedral is a feast for the eyes, richly decorated with a Byzantine feel.
  • Gallerie dell’Accademia – The best of Venetian art, with work by Giorgone, Titian, and Veronese.
  • Peggy Guggenheim Collection – Need a break from Renaissance art? Check out this superb modern art collection, with pieces from Dali, Picasso and others.
  • Doge’s Palace – Tour the former headquarters of the Venetian republic-you’ll get a sense of the grandeur and pageantry that characterized old Venice at the height of its power.

And above all? Savor the experience, and have fun in Venice!

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