Dean's 10 favorite things to do in Venice off the beaten path
 

10 things to do in Venice off the beaten path<BR><BR>1. Go to Murano and visit Franco Schivon and Murano Collection. These two shops don’t have demonstrations of how to make a horse out of glass. They actually have great pieces of art. Murano Collection is a joint venture between Carlo Moretti, Vennini and Boro and Tesovier. It offers well selected pieces and is very dramatically lighted. We have shipped many pieces from there to the US with no problems. They handle the VAT refunds shipping and insurance. Schiavon has a Japanese glass master, Tsuchida Yasuhiko, who makes one of a kind pieces. His work varies from the dramatic to the derivative. He is still young and you can see his development in his art. These two shops are much different from the multitudes of shops on the island. Get of the vaporetto at La Colonna. Franco Schiavon is on the left along the canal at Fondamenta Vetrai 15, and Murano Collection is across the canal at the first bridge. This area has the best concentration of really nice shops with really collectable art glass, not the schlocky Asian made stuff so common. Beware of your wallet however, not pick pockets but art glass ain’t cheap.<BR><BR>2. See the Carpaccio's at Scuole di San Georgio del Schiavoni. Incredible paintings on the themes of St George and the dragon and St Jerome. Stunning!<BR><BR>3. Go to Erberia Rialto and visit the art gallery and studio of Nicola Tenderini and buy a water color or oil painting from him. It won’t set you back much and the painting hanging on your wall will recall Venice for years to come. His technique captures the glint of the sun reflecting off the water. Sometimes I am startled by the motion in his paintings as I sit doing something else. Nicola is at Campo Bella Vienna - Erberia S.Polo 216. Monday through Saturday mornings only. By the way, the bar to the left as you face his shop is superb. Great panini and cappucino. Note that the locals never pay, the son just writes down a cryptic symbol in his notebook.<BR><BR>4. Go to Torcello and see the original Cathedral of the lagoon. There are two amazing churches there. Wonderfully desolate island loaded with cats.<BR><BR>5. Wander the back streets of Cannereggio. Once away from the touristy areas around the Rialto you come into quiet neighborhoods where you get a totally different feel of Venice. We found a sunken gondola around one corner. See the ghetto and take the synagogue tour. <BR><BR>

6. Visit the Ca D’Oro. This is a wonderful museum with its own Vaporetto stop but it was not very crowded and filled with wonderful objects including afreschi that used to be on some of the grand palazzi on the Grand Canal.<BR><BR>7. Go to Do Mori and eat and drink. <BR><BR>8. Go to Da Pinto for incredibly fresh fish at very reasonable prices. Drink Doro Princic wines and eat very good chichetti. Do not in any circumstances eat the pasta or pizza but do order the bacala mantecano (salt cod roughly pureed with olive oil and parsley).<BR><BR>9. Go to the Pescaria Rialto at 6 in the morning and see the fish market being set up.<BR><BR>10. Go to Campo S. Zaccaria and visit the gallery of Missiaja, a former architect who now is an artist. He specializes in the Comedia dell’Arte characters and a few Venice scenes. He uses some computer generated techniques along with hand applied color to hand made paper for his limited editions, and he uses more traditional printmaking as well. Achiugetta at Campo SS Giacomo e Fillipo is nearby so you can raise a glass and consume chichetti while you contemplate your purchase.<BR><BR>Please note: I have no financial interest in any of the stores and or restaurants mentioned here. I do own art from all the galleries so if you would all go out and buy their art and make these guys world famous I can become fabulously wealthy and move to Venice.<BR>

Dean, what a nice list and such helpful info. Wish I'd had it before I went to Venice in September. Now I'll just have to save it for next time. Nice way to do a kind of travel report without getting bogged down in day by day stuff.

Dean, you're fabulous. I bookmarked your tips on Rome, but my bookmarks don't work anymore. If I could bookmark this, I would certainly "add it to favorites". (I may try some of the suggestions in the replies to my posting about bookmarks this morning.) If I paid your airfare, would you go to Italy with me on my next trip? I'm so impressed with your postings, I'm almost serious.

Great information Dean, I've cribbed the information on the shops.<BR>Now I'm going to add my own faves:<BR>Papier Mache: Castello 5175, Calle Lunga Santa Maria Formosa. Open 9am to 7:00pm and often on Sundays. This workshop/retail store is a gem if you are interested in handmade masks and can pay accordingly. The decoration determines the price and masks come in all sizes and are made to be hung rather than worn. These are just gorgeous, and the owners (husband and wife) take great pride in their work.<BR><BR>"my" glass shop is a factory showroom also: Albarelli & Nielsen, ponte Vivarini 143, 30141 Murano. It is located literally at the foot of that bridge, shop doesn't have a prominent sign. They are the current owners of the original Seguso factory and designs.<BR>Mostly modern designs. I have never been disappointed with them. After my last trip my item unfortunately arrived broken, due to a problem with UPS packing and shipping. Albarelli sent me a replacement while UPS was still<BR>"investigating".<BR><BR>And like you, Torcello is one of my favorite spots in Venice. In good weather I can think of no greater pleasure than seeing the golden mosaic inside the cathedral and then splurging on a leisurely and expensive lunch on the terrace facing the garden of the Locanda Cipriani on Torcello. Ivana can't do any better than that. Of course the mosaic is awesome even without lunch.<BR>And I'll mention one small museum:<BR>The Museo Diocesano: Leave Piazza San Marco from the Piazzetta do Leoni, to the left of the Basilica as you face it. Turn right immediately and find Ponte della Canonica. Across this bridge and immediately to the right is the not-prominently-labeled entrance to this small museum which has mostly church treasures, occasional special exhibits, tapestries designed by Tintoretto and Tiepolo, and Pope John XXIII's red cardinal beret (he was the Cardinal in Venice before being elected Pope). What makes this museum most worthwhile to me is its small arched courtyard cloister with delicate marble pillars, lovely and peaceful to see. It creates a soothing break from the nearby bustle of San Marco. Museum is closed Sundays I think, and open other days only until noon or 12:30.

topping for Glynis!

Dean,<BR><BR>I had bookmarked your Toscana Suggestions posting also, but I didn't remember that it was yours. When it reappeared today and I revisited it and saw that it was also by you, my admiration for you went up another notch. Your reports are exactly what I was hoping a forum like this one would provide. But if I may make one tiny suggestion, I would ask you to include a little cost information. When I read your reports, I usually want to try to include some of the things you describe in my next trip. Cost info (ballpark figures would be fine) would help me decide how many and which of them I should try to do next time and which I have to save for another time. But, again, many thanks for your great reports.

Dean,<BR><BR>Before anybody jumps on me, I want to say that I made my comments about the cost info based on a very cursory review of your Toscana Suggestions post. I remembered that it was wonderful, but I thought I also remembered that it was one of the posts that had me wondering about costs. After I sent my comments, I went back and looked at the Toscana post again, and I see that you did include cost info. So I apologize, and ask you to keep up the good work.

Hi dan<BR>I won't speak for Dean, but I'll speak for myself about including cost info in postings, or in my travel files which I send out a lot. I don't routinely include cost info of my own, because<BR>prices can change so often (especially with lire in Italy), but mostly because<BR>SOME of the places I go to are not especially budget-minded and I've been slammed in the past concerning paying high prices for meals or hotel rooms, or not being thrifty. We have often discussed ad infinitum here that some of us splurge on some items in our lives and not on other items, but sometimes money issues, like other subjective issues, wake up the trolls. Which I hope I'm not doing here.

thank you<BR>thank you<BR>thank you!

As Dan pointed out, i do try to include cost in some of my posts and did not here. I do try to include prices because I have had a lot of meals etc where the food is good but not worth the money. I have found that prices in Italy are fairly stable depending on the lira. These costs are based on a Lira of 2100. So for this list:<BR><BR>#1 Murano-- Schiavon and Murano collection-- if you have to ask you can't afford it. Museum quality pieces (limited runs of 100 or less signed by the artist) start at over $1000 us but there are pieces in the hundreds of dollar range that are still really wonderful. Looking is free.<BR><BR>#2 Scuole di S. Georgio L4000 or under $2.00<BR><BR>#3 Nicola's pieces are under $100 right now because he is an undiscovered genius. The bar is super cheap.<BR><BR>#4 Torcello- Cost of a Vaporetto ride unless you lunch at Cipriani which I have not done yet. That may set you back $100 or more a person. There is another trattoria on Torcello which is more reasonable but I don't know how good it is. Looks nice.<BR><BR>#5 Canneregio- Free and the tour of the Ghetto is L12,000 or so.<BR><BR>#6 Ca d'Oro- huge bargain, free or just a few thousand lire<BR><BR>#7 Do Mori- cheap if you drink cheap (maybe $10-20 a person for a lite nmeal of chichetti and un'ombra) but there are wines at around $10.00 a glass that retail for $50 to $70 a bottle in the US.<BR><BR>#8 Da Pinto will run L100,000 or about $45.00 for two: antipasti, a platter of grilled fish for 2, a bottle of Doro Princic.<BR><BR>#9 Pescaria Rialto- Free.<BR><BR>#10 Missiaja- free if you look, $10.00 for a small print or a box of note cards on handmade paper, $300-$400 for medium and small hand painted items, more for larger ones.

have done most of these. #1 sounds like it would be fun.

<BR><BR><BR><BR>Great list!<BR>Curious, has anyone been to Carnivale? I'm making plans to go for a few days this year (arriving a few days before). <BR>

Dean and others ... many thanks for the tips!

Dean and others,<BR>Thank you. I am one Fodorite who appreciates even a ball park cost figure. I should think most readers would like to know for budgeting purposes. If they can't afford it, don't go---- but don't criticize.

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Topping for Roland.<BR><BR>p.s. Thank you for your great posts on Rome, Florence, and Venice, Dean. I've saved them for (hopefully) my next visits.

Great info --- thanks for sharing Dean!

This is why you ahould stay in Venice

Dean, wow! This is fabulous! I'll be in Venice next month, tho only for 3 days & nights. This is just what I was hoping for. Thank you thank you!

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This is a great list - thanks everyone.<BR><BR>I am taking my girlfriend to Venice for the first time in February (9-15th) and would welcome any advice on the Carnival (e.g. free events, best balls, type of costume to wear etc.) and romantic places to take her for Valentines.<BR><BR>Thanks<BR><BR>Colin<BR><BR>

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Dean, What is chichetti?

Chicetti are little hors d'ourvres (sp)<BR>Similar to tapas, but a Venetian specialty

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Dean: Thanx for the tips on Venice. Reading these responses, I note references to a previous posting re: Rome. Where can I find it?

-<BR>URL =<BR>http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2<BR>and is titled 'Dean's Rome Suggestions'.<BR><BR>FYI --- Dean also has an excellent thread from October about Toscana suggestions.

topping for carrie. happy honeymooning

Just a note here. When I find a post that is particularly helpful, humorous, or just plain interesting, I highlight the copy, press control-C, open a new page in my word-processing program, paste, and save. My hard drive is filled with wonderful posts from this board.

Hi Dean thank you for your post. I have taken down your information. It is nice when people share experiences such as yours. Prices, well...I can find out when I get there. I figure that most hand blown glass can be pricey. Keep posting!

Er... shouldn't that be '...off the beaten canal' ?

Excellent info-- thanks Dean

thanks Dean for tips on Venice and Rome. Do you have a thread for Florence?<BR><BR>thanks in advance.

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I just found this and now I will have to look for some of your other postings. I am a novice so can you please tell me where Da Pinto and the one mentioned before it (started with "DO...") Thanks for the great info,<BR>Debbie