MartiMac

2 women traveling to Italy in late October, and will have 3 nights in Venice. We are looking for recommendations/suggestions for hotels and any "can't miss" sites for our brief stay. Any information will be greatly appreciated.

Dayle

MartiMac,

Venice is full of wonderful sites, architecture and art. Start with a good guidebook and see what sounds interesting to you. There is much more than 3 days worth in Venice so you have to decide what your priorities are. Why did you decide to travel to Venice to start with?

Also, use the "search" box above and start reading. There are hundreds of posts about Venice and Venice itineraries. You can often tell by others' descriptions what might become "must sees" for you!

I've visited twice for a total of 7 days and still have many things I would like to see in Venice.

Buon viaggio!

Mimar

For hotels, we need to know your budget and what kind of room you're looking for. European hotels have true singles so your choices are 3 singles, one triple (which will probably have a double bed and a twin), or a twin room (2 twin beds) + a single. Or 3 doubles for more space.

The single best thing to see in Venice is Venice itself. And you can best see it by just walking around. And by taking the vaporetto the length of the Grand Canal.

hpeabody

I found the hotel Ca' dei Dogi to be very pleasant and in a great location around the corner from St Marks Square.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ce_Veneto.html

Rastaguytoday

Many years ago, Rick Steeves said on one of his travel videos, to just get lost in Venice and wander aimlessly.

I tried it, found it very interesting, and went to places I would not normally see as a tourist.

When I wanted to get found again, I just started paying attention to signs, et voila.

HappyTrvlr

The Chorus Pass gives you entry to 16 art filled churches
in different areas of the city.www.chorusvenezia.org. It gives you a destination and will take you off the beaten path.

jamierin

One of the not to be missed things to do in Venice is the Secret Itineries tour at the Doge's Palace.

I have included the link here for tickeys. I just purchased mine for August (!).
http://www.vivaticket.it/evento.php?...op=museiCivici

MartiMac

Thank you for your responses and suggestions. As far as accomodations, we've viewed some with $$-$$$ signs, and like smaller, more personal places as opposed to large hotels. Most of the time we enjoy self catering, but since ourstay there is fairly short, we thought we'd look for different venue. Prefer to be close to good cafes, etc, but a good walk from the high traffic areas. A double room is sufficient.
Love wandering aimlessly and soaking up the culture and people. A museum or 2 max. Love the recommendation re: cathedrals! We are big explorers, too.
Martimac

Peter_S_Aus

My daughter and a friend stayed here a couple of months ago, and it worked well for them. One good thing - the B&B is really easy to find if you take the vaporetto to the San Toma stop on the Grand Canal. There are no bridges to cross between the San Toma stop and the B&B.

http://www.alcampaniel.com/

You might take a look at http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm - a long trip report, but with a few ideas of things to see.

arvedg

October is a fantastic time to visit Venice!

Generally walking town is the most important thing to do here, especially if you leave the crowd behind by taking a left or right turn into one of the empty alleys. Getting lost in Venice is a wonderful experience for at least one day.

Despite heading for the the main attractions you can go for the wonderful church dei Miracoli in Cannaregio, search for the book shop Acqua Alta (sestiere Castello) or just make your way to the wonderful Campo San Giacomo (sestiere San Croce) and watch Venetian life unfold in the afternoon. There also is an interesting church in the place. The waterfront at Zattere (sestiere Dorsoduro)is a great place to hang around for relaxing in the afternoons and around sunset.

With three days time you might consider a day of island hopping to Murano, Burano and Torcello - or a half day trip to Burano only. So far some quick ideas.

Lots of travel tips for Venice I have put down at http://gintenreiter-photography.com/...ce-travel-tips.

I don't want to recommend specific hotels. But in general you don't have to seek for the upper class level (which aren't wrong either if you want to afford). There are many charming 2-3 star places in town. The only thing: Don't even think of staying in Mestre, on the main land. It won't add to your Venice experience.

Wish both of you a nice stay in town!

SavTrav

One must see is Piazza San Marco at night. During the day it can be quite crowded and noisy. But we would stroll down after dinner and just wander around the square. While the venues aren't open it's a perfect time to notice details of the architecture that you could easily miss.

Eating like a local. We always are fascinated by local customs and try to follow the locals lead. If you see a group of Italians, hang back watch what's going on for a bit and join in. This way you really get a sense of the town. For example, with our last trip we noticed that around 6-7 pm each day there were crowds in various sweet shops having drinks. After wandering in we enjoyed a "spritz" with an entire room where we were the only non-Italians.

Also in Venice, you will find a lot of "cicchetti" basically small plates around 1-2 euros. Stand up and have a glass of wine and eat things that you can't recognize. If you choose badly, it will only cost you a euro! For a great experience we ran into this place by accident

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...ce_Veneto.html

Have a great time and get lost in Venice.

Uma

Go across to the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, take the elevator to the top of the church for wonderful views.
We also enjoyed the Secret Itineraries Tour of the Doge's Palace mentioned above. Loved Alle Testiere -- tiny restaurant with two seatings and great seafood.

MartiMac

Wow!!!! Thank you all for these wonderful suggestions and links for information! It is becoming apparent that we need more time - guess we'll have to go again! Martimac

arvedg

MartiMac - "guess we'll have to go again"

You're moving in the right direction

tuscanlifeedit

Peter_S

Al Campaniel has gone into my permanent file. That looks like a great place and a great bargain. Thanks for sharing it.