Venice - Recommendations and Review

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Where to start…Venice is one of those places that I had always heard about but never thought I would have the opportunity to go.  I am so grateful that I had the chance to go and explore this unique and stunning location.  Just getting to Venice can be an adventure.  With several options to choose from, picking the right option for you and your vacation will be important.  We chose to arrive by train.  I would love to see Venice from the air sometime, but for our experience, arriving by train was perfect.

 

Nothing truly prepares you for your first glimpse of Venice.  Because of the way it was built, it just rises out of the water.  No shoreline, no sandy beaches, no buffer at all between the buildings and the water.  Then once in the city, the never ending labyrinth of streets, canals, and squares is enough to boggle the mind.  Once we learned how the city came to be, it all started making a little more sense, but since the city was never planned, it is just controlled chaos.  The one thing you can count on is each section has a public square, a church, and of course, at least one bridge.  There are 425 bridges in Venice.  Today 30% of the original canals have been filled in and turned into walkways, but there are still a lot of waterways.

 

The buildings themselves speak to the age of the city.  Because the best way to grow is up, the buildings often have different architectural details on the exterior from floor to floor depending upon the era and what was popular at the time.  Venice enjoyed over a thousand years of stable government and growth.  Today, sadly, the population of Venice is shrinking.  Thanks to the popularity of AirBandBs property owners have found it more advantageous to rent out their units to tourists than to the locals.  This is driving the cost of living up to where most locals can no longer afford to live in the city.  A little sad to see.

 

There are several options for getting around Venice. First, and probably the most romantic, is by Gondola.  These popular boats are everywhere and are used mainly for crossing the canals.  Tourists enjoy them for the romance of it all.  Stations can be found throughout the city.  Walking is the most cost effective, but after a long day of roaming around and getting lost in back alleys, your feet might thank you for another option.  There is a water “bus” system that you can use to get to the major places in the city.  Just like a land buss, these water buses have set routes with set stops.  You can buy a one time pass good for about an hour, a day pass, or a multi-day pass.  Depending on your needs and length of stay, there is probably one that works for you.  The water taxis are a bit more pricey and will vary in cost wildly.  This should probably be your last option for transportation.

 

However, you choose to get around, be sure to allow plenty of time to just roam!  This is a stunning city with a crazy history and no sense of order but it is worth every second of your time.  Venice has it all, casinos, a red light district, ancient buildings, and more churches than you could ever visit.

Planning a trip to Venice?  Contact us, your Venice experts to help you plan your perfect stay in this stunning city.