venice itinerary?
Jul 19th, 2010, 09:48 AM
#1
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venice itinerary?
GF and I land at Venice airport at 930am Tuesday and leave on Thursday around 1200 the last week of September. Our plan is to spend those days just wandering the streets/ canals of Venice. We will get a vaperetto pass and cruise along the grand canal, visit San Marco square and Bascillica and that's about all we have. We look forward to getting lost in the different neighborhoods and plan on getting up very early and going to Rialto market one of the mornings to experience the city without the crowds I have researched restaurants and will bring a list or map with us so I know what is close by when we get hungry. We have little time so I'm not sure we have time for tours and museums (ie Secret Itinerary), Are we making a mistake by just walking the different neighborhoods and just seeing what we happen to come across? Any suggestions about which neighborhoods are best to spend the most time in? We are staying in Santa Croce so we be in that neighborhood quite a bit.
Jul 19th, 2010, 10:12 AM
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Do your way and don't worry about what others say. Museums and the secret ininerary are nice but I won't push you to any of that when you have only 2,5 days (unless you are particularly interested in any of those). If you like Venice, you will come back for the things you feel you have missed. I might still suggest to be at Piazza San Marco once at night when the day crowds (most part at least) are gone though.
> wandering the streets/ canals of Venice
That's what I do every time I return to Venice. Wandering the streets. Do it especially at night. It still may be nice to visit the Island of St.Georgio (Vaporetto no.2) and take the lift (did I pay €4 last May?) at the back of the church to see the whole Venice and other islands from above.
> wandering the streets/ canals of Venice
That's what I do every time I return to Venice. Wandering the streets. Do it especially at night. It still may be nice to visit the Island of St.Georgio (Vaporetto no.2) and take the lift (did I pay €4 last May?) at the back of the church to see the whole Venice and other islands from above.
Jul 19th, 2010, 12:00 PM
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I agree take it as it comes. However in case you did not know you can pre book the church and its best IMHO to go in the evening the last 2-3 times slots because they turn on the lights and the mosaics just look great with the light on them. Also I would suggest you spring for the extra to go upstairs and see the real horses as well as enjoy the view from the roof.
Everyone has to basically find their own Venice. While there are the must sees the best advice is to wander, wander and wander.
http://www.hellovenezia.com where you buy you pass some have museum entry included you will have to decide which works best for you. 3 or 7 day. I often get the 7 day even if I am only there for 5 because of the various entries and the convenience of not having to buy ticket every time and pass's are good for the outer islands as well Murano, Burano, Lido, etc.
Basilica Reservations: http://www.basilicasanmarco.it/
Everyone has to basically find their own Venice. While there are the must sees the best advice is to wander, wander and wander.
http://www.hellovenezia.com where you buy you pass some have museum entry included you will have to decide which works best for you. 3 or 7 day. I often get the 7 day even if I am only there for 5 because of the various entries and the convenience of not having to buy ticket every time and pass's are good for the outer islands as well Murano, Burano, Lido, etc.
Basilica Reservations: http://www.basilicasanmarco.it/
Jul 19th, 2010, 12:16 PM
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www.eurocheapo.com Venice good food lodging xport tips
visit the touristy places very early...
vaporetto around visit the lagoon island tourist areas
in the middle of the day...Al Vaporetto has tasty food
from 6 euro no service no cover...Have fun,
visit the touristy places very early...
vaporetto around visit the lagoon island tourist areas
in the middle of the day...Al Vaporetto has tasty food
from 6 euro no service no cover...Have fun,
Jul 19th, 2010, 01:38 PM
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We went to St. Georgio Maggiore for their Gregorian Mass. It was a small service and all locals. We also went to the Friari. This is a church that looks like nothing special on the outside, but once you walk in, WOW. I would highly suggest going.
Jul 19th, 2010, 02:27 PM
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We spent a while walking around Venice - here are my impressions:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...st-verbose.cfm
Could be of interest.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...st-verbose.cfm
Could be of interest.
Jul 19th, 2010, 02:37 PM
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I think it is a mistake not to at least have circled on your map the the world class treasures of Venice. It has become a cliche that "wandering" and "getting lost" is the ultimate experience of Venice. Also, maybe because I live in a fishing town with a fish market, I don't think the prime sight of Venice is the fish market. (I didn't when I lived in New Jersey either. We had a nice Whole Foods and if I wanted, I could have gotten up early and driven to a fish market in Brooklyn or Sandy Hook.)
Venice is rather small, but there is less reward in trying to cover every neighborhood than there is occasionally stepping INSIDE A MAGNIFICENT INTERIOR to see one of the greatest explosions of art and craft Europe has ever produced.
The magnificent interiors of Venetian churches and 'scuolae' have no parallel in the rest of the world. If you don't have a guidebook that adequately describes the interior of San Marco, Santa Maria Gloriosi dei Frari, Santa Maria dei Miracoli and other phenomenal treasures, they are easy to find.
By all means, do it your way. But first read up and make an informed choice.
Venice is rather small, but there is less reward in trying to cover every neighborhood than there is occasionally stepping INSIDE A MAGNIFICENT INTERIOR to see one of the greatest explosions of art and craft Europe has ever produced.
The magnificent interiors of Venetian churches and 'scuolae' have no parallel in the rest of the world. If you don't have a guidebook that adequately describes the interior of San Marco, Santa Maria Gloriosi dei Frari, Santa Maria dei Miracoli and other phenomenal treasures, they are easy to find.
By all means, do it your way. But first read up and make an informed choice.
Jul 19th, 2010, 04:59 PM
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My take on the Frari.
23 January, and we have had a morning taking us from the sublime to the ridiculous. I’ll start with the sublime – the Frari Church.
If you only visit one church in all of Venice, the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, aka “the Frari” is it. While the Basilicca is Byzantine, the Frari is pure, soaring, spiritual, take your breath away, Gothic. You walk in the front door, and the whole 100 metre long nave is laid out before you, a visual procession. There is a monument to the sculptor, Canova, which is the most achingly beautiful work of art I have seen anywhere. It was created by Canova’s pupils, to a design created by Canova, but intended as a monument to Titian. It is simplicity in itself, the figures at human scale, the bronze door into the sepulchre where Canova’s heart rests in an urn is invitingly ajar. The angel and lion of Venice are both mourning, and the funeral procession leads to the bronze doors, representing the gap, the space, the ultimate divide between living and dead. You could study the face of the woman carrying the urn for hours. It brings a lump to my throat, a tingle up the spine.
The monument to Titian stands opposite, and shows in bas-relief the painting by Titian, the Assumption of the Virgin, that stands over the altar. Titian died of the plague, and always wished to be buried in the Frari. At the time, authorities had decreed that plague victims were to be buried in mass graves. A rare exception was made for Titian, and he’s buried in the Frari, as a genius ought be.
Titian painted a Madonna for the Pesaro family in 1509, which hangs in the Frari. There are both Saints, and members of the Pesaro family in the painting. The faces are all turned to the Madonna, except St Peter, who is looking at Jacopo Pesaro, Titian’s patron, who kneels to give thanks. And also, Lunardo Pesaro, who gazes outwards towards the viewer, almost in a way confronting the viewer, challenging the viewer. “Well, are you going to look at the Madonna, or are you going to look at me”. He inherited the family fortune and looks as if he knows it is coming his way.
Another thing in the Frari Church is the Nativity. It is fascinating – an Italian village with animated figures, with the village coming to life, chooks being fed, a man fishing, knife grinder at work, plus sound effects. I liked it – little kids would be fascinated, and you enter the chapel by the side door closest to the campanile, which is presently having some seriously heavy restoration. The movement of the campanile is being tracked, with an accuracy of one hundredth of a millimetre. These buildings are being cherished.
Now the ridiculous – or at least the strange.
Riduculous / Strange No 1. In the Frari church, on the left hand side, past the Canova monument, past the monument with the four huge Negro gentlemen to a deceased doge, one Doge Giovanni Pessaro, 1669 (described in my Rough Guide as surely the most grotesque monument in the city, “a German sculptor called Melchiorre Barthel must take the blame”) there is a small unexploded bomb mounted on the wall. It fell in February 1918 on the Frari, and failed to detonate. I assume it’s been disarmed.
Riduculous / Remarkable No. 2. Canova was honourary President of the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts.
Ridiculous / Bizarre No 3. Canova’s heart rests in the monument to him in the Frari, most of his body at Possagno, and his right hand is somewhere in the Academia. (Footnote - I've since been informed that the various parts of his body may have now been reunited.)
23 January, and we have had a morning taking us from the sublime to the ridiculous. I’ll start with the sublime – the Frari Church.
If you only visit one church in all of Venice, the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, aka “the Frari” is it. While the Basilicca is Byzantine, the Frari is pure, soaring, spiritual, take your breath away, Gothic. You walk in the front door, and the whole 100 metre long nave is laid out before you, a visual procession. There is a monument to the sculptor, Canova, which is the most achingly beautiful work of art I have seen anywhere. It was created by Canova’s pupils, to a design created by Canova, but intended as a monument to Titian. It is simplicity in itself, the figures at human scale, the bronze door into the sepulchre where Canova’s heart rests in an urn is invitingly ajar. The angel and lion of Venice are both mourning, and the funeral procession leads to the bronze doors, representing the gap, the space, the ultimate divide between living and dead. You could study the face of the woman carrying the urn for hours. It brings a lump to my throat, a tingle up the spine.
The monument to Titian stands opposite, and shows in bas-relief the painting by Titian, the Assumption of the Virgin, that stands over the altar. Titian died of the plague, and always wished to be buried in the Frari. At the time, authorities had decreed that plague victims were to be buried in mass graves. A rare exception was made for Titian, and he’s buried in the Frari, as a genius ought be.
Titian painted a Madonna for the Pesaro family in 1509, which hangs in the Frari. There are both Saints, and members of the Pesaro family in the painting. The faces are all turned to the Madonna, except St Peter, who is looking at Jacopo Pesaro, Titian’s patron, who kneels to give thanks. And also, Lunardo Pesaro, who gazes outwards towards the viewer, almost in a way confronting the viewer, challenging the viewer. “Well, are you going to look at the Madonna, or are you going to look at me”. He inherited the family fortune and looks as if he knows it is coming his way.
Another thing in the Frari Church is the Nativity. It is fascinating – an Italian village with animated figures, with the village coming to life, chooks being fed, a man fishing, knife grinder at work, plus sound effects. I liked it – little kids would be fascinated, and you enter the chapel by the side door closest to the campanile, which is presently having some seriously heavy restoration. The movement of the campanile is being tracked, with an accuracy of one hundredth of a millimetre. These buildings are being cherished.
Now the ridiculous – or at least the strange.
Riduculous / Strange No 1. In the Frari church, on the left hand side, past the Canova monument, past the monument with the four huge Negro gentlemen to a deceased doge, one Doge Giovanni Pessaro, 1669 (described in my Rough Guide as surely the most grotesque monument in the city, “a German sculptor called Melchiorre Barthel must take the blame”) there is a small unexploded bomb mounted on the wall. It fell in February 1918 on the Frari, and failed to detonate. I assume it’s been disarmed.
Riduculous / Remarkable No. 2. Canova was honourary President of the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts.
Ridiculous / Bizarre No 3. Canova’s heart rests in the monument to him in the Frari, most of his body at Possagno, and his right hand is somewhere in the Academia. (Footnote - I've since been informed that the various parts of his body may have now been reunited.)
Jul 20th, 2010, 12:08 PM
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Thank you for your suggestions. We do plan on going to the Frari and also plan on circling our own "highlights" of each place we plan to explore. The tip that the original horses in St Marks are worth the money (more importantly the time) is good to know. I did not mean that we will only be "wandering" around outside. I meant that we will pick certain neighborhoods to walk around and try to see some of our highlighted places if time allows. Besides San Marco and the Frari which area would you spend your time in if you only had a small amount of it? I was thinking of walking through San Polo to Frari then make our way through Dorsoduro to gondola workshop area and then going to San Giorgio Maggiore (not sure if it's possible to get there from Dorsoduro). Am I being foolish by trying to narrow down a part of the city? I have heard many times Venice is small, but small enough to explore most of it in a little over 1.5 days?
Jul 20th, 2010, 12:49 PM
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Your plan sounds like a good one.
You need to take a vaporetto to reach San Giorgio Maggiore.
Yes, Venice is relatively small. I can walk from the train station to Piazza San Marco in 30 minutes, probably less.
You can estimate walking time for Venice at http://maps.google.com/
You need to take a vaporetto to reach San Giorgio Maggiore.
Yes, Venice is relatively small. I can walk from the train station to Piazza San Marco in 30 minutes, probably less.
You can estimate walking time for Venice at http://maps.google.com/
Jul 20th, 2010, 12:56 PM
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Venice may be smaller than you think and you can wander neighborhoods day and night. But I do recommend going to the church and the Doge's Palace. Venice is such a unique city with a much different, far more secular history than many other parts of Italy and you'll miss this if you just wander around. A tip for the Basilica, if you walk to the left of the Basilica you'll find a bag check for the church. It's 1 Euro or so. If you check your bag they let you immediately into the church and you can avoid the line. I got the tip from Rick Steves, which I highly recommend for any trip to Italy, it was indispensable.
Jul 20th, 2010, 08:51 PM
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> I was thinking of walking through San Polo to Frari then make our way through Dorsoduro to gondola workshop area and then going to San Giorgio Maggiore (not sure if it's possible to get there from Dorsoduro).
Sounds like you are actually planning well what you will do.
As I wrote above, vaporetto No2 from Zattere stop/Dorsoduro, a short walk from the Gondola yard, would take you to San Georgio Island via Giudecca.
> A tip for the Basilica, if you walk to the left of the Basilica you'll find a bag check for the church. It's 1 Euro or so.
It was free of charge a few years ago when checked my bag, in another small church on a side street. Now you have to pay?
Sounds like you are actually planning well what you will do.
As I wrote above, vaporetto No2 from Zattere stop/Dorsoduro, a short walk from the Gondola yard, would take you to San Georgio Island via Giudecca.
> A tip for the Basilica, if you walk to the left of the Basilica you'll find a bag check for the church. It's 1 Euro or so.
It was free of charge a few years ago when checked my bag, in another small church on a side street. Now you have to pay?
Jul 20th, 2010, 11:01 PM
#16
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>Sounds like you are actually planning well what you will do.
I still like my original idea but I cannot stop myself from looking at a map and imagining where I will be walking when I'm there. As I'm discovering one of the joy's of travel is...... planning the trip.
I still like my original idea but I cannot stop myself from looking at a map and imagining where I will be walking when I'm there. As I'm discovering one of the joy's of travel is...... planning the trip.
Jul 20th, 2010, 11:10 PM
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If you really want to have some fun, use Google maps and the satellite map. Then when you zoom in, you get a 3-D view, which you can rotate and "walk"your way around.
Try and visualise from the map how you'll walk from Santa Croce to San Marco, via the Academe bridge. (We get lost on the map, but we're OK on the ground.)
Try and visualise from the map how you'll walk from Santa Croce to San Marco, via the Academe bridge. (We get lost on the map, but we're OK on the ground.)
Jul 21st, 2010, 07:33 PM
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Kappa1, my recollection is that I paid a Euro for the bag check, but perhaps it was just a tip. Either way, well worth it.
Mike7--it's ok for you to go with the intention not to do anything, maybe keep a short list of things to do if you feel you'd like to do more. Don't forget that at night you'll be doing a lot of nothing but relaxing, perhaps wandering around seeing the beautiful bridges at night. You should also definitely chill out and have a glass of wine in San Marco and listen to the dueling orchestras.
Mike7--it's ok for you to go with the intention not to do anything, maybe keep a short list of things to do if you feel you'd like to do more. Don't forget that at night you'll be doing a lot of nothing but relaxing, perhaps wandering around seeing the beautiful bridges at night. You should also definitely chill out and have a glass of wine in San Marco and listen to the dueling orchestras.
