First timer in Venice
 

My husband and I will be going to Venice for 4 days in the middle of September and would love to hear any suggestions on what not to miss, restaurants, shopping tips. Thanks in advance!

You'll love it! Venice is unlike any place on earth - magical. St. Peters Square is really neat (pleasant place to sip cappuccino (sp?) in the evening). You have to take a gondola ride (even though the prices are ridiculous - $60-$80 US - but hey, when will you be there again?). We just wandered all over the place. Enjoyed visiting the island of Merano (sp?) where they make all kinds of glass.
<p>
Four days will give you lots of time to just wander and check things out. If you need a cheap, but clean and simple place to stay, e-mail me and I'll look up the place we stayed at three years ago. Enjoy!

Go to the beach (the Lido) from St. Marks by boat, if your budget allows have dinner at the Cipriani Hotel, or definitely have a drink (Bellini) and/or dinner at Harry's Bar. Lunch outside on the porch of the Bauer Grunwald Hotel and our best memory was seeing the opera, "Otello" at the Doge's Palace. If you can take the train out of Venice toward Milan, stop for a day in Verona--home of Romeo and Juliette, a beautiful walking city with much history and wonderful restaurant, 12 Apostoli. We like it even better than Venice, but don't miss Venice your first time around!

There are so many books on Venice...actually libraries! I suggest A Wanderer in Venice...if you can find it (try a library); an old but reliable source for walks and interesting comments during your walks. The Piazza San Marco is the center of tourist activity as the large piazza faces the campanile, Doges Palace and St. Marks. (Napoleon said it was the grandest drawing room in Europe) All of these buildings are worth the time, if you have it, to go into and take a tour in English (rent the cassettes). Once you've done some of the obligatories, just wander, get lost (you will anyway) and absorb this magical place. Time permitting I suggest the Ca Rezonnico - a splendid residence with wonderful paintings, frescoes and period Venetian furniture. The Academia and environs; For day trips, go to Torcello for lunch at Cipriani or the other "local" spot, then stop at Burano to walk and enjoy this fishing village...a meal here was a highlight several years ago. Murano, the island of the glass factories (fornace) is worth a half day also. It is possible to watch the pieces being made and there are lots of shops...plenty of junk, but some pretty things too.
I think many people think of Venice as a stopping off point, a day and a half. I've spent as long as 2 weeks and know I haven't scratched the surface. One point, with the exception of the more expensive hotels and Harry's Bar, Venice isn't known for its fabulous food. The pizza is fine and some pastas, or more locally risotto. But it isn't like the Tuscan or food from the south. Venice is a magical spot and the light plays tricks...look at some paintings by Monet and Turner...Canaletto (views are exactly the same) and Guardi to prepare yourself further...then the food won't matter. A MUST: sip a pro secco (Italian champagne) in the Piazza San Marco in the evening...you will have stars in your eyes! Enjoy.

I keep hearing about the Bauer Grunwald Hotel in Venice but am having a hard time getting contacting the Hotel via the internet. Any suggestions?

Wow. I just got back from a trip to Venice and otherr
regions and it was fantastic. Murano, gondolas,
st. Marks square, are good things to do but that is
just the tip of the iceberg. One thing to keep
in mind is that the further from st marks square
you get, the less expensive stuff is. THe stuff in
st marks is for people who come for a day, an hour,
but if you dig, you'll find so much more beautiful
stuff. Gondolas are cool if you have someone special
to do them with. I skipped it because it was
pricey, and I didn't want to go with five other
people. . .I guess it's a personal preference thing.
Check out the masks. Find places wherre they make
their own masks instead of bringing them in from other
places(easy to find -- the owner is
usually sitting at a desk working on a mask when
you come in, and there will be an awful smell of
paint thinner. But it's less expensive). Okay,
small tip. Go to a little fishing village not
everyone knows about called Burano. Not Murano, with
glass, Burano. It is beautiful. They are famous for
handmade lace and embroidery, and there are priceless
pieces there. And the neat thing about Burano is, the
buildings are all painted in bright colors. Blue,
fire engine red, yellow, sea green, even purple. It's
the neatest thing. Just walk, shop, breath, take a
nice relaxing morning. Try some lemon "granita" (like
a really good slushie) if you get hot. It's great.
Get 24 hour vaporetto passes. A Vaporetto is like a
bus, and with a 24 hour tourist pass you can go anywhere
at any time on any vaporetto. Just don't lose the pass
(which I did). Oh, and at night, grab a vaporetto
that doesn't have too many people on it (okay, so it's
a practical impossibility -- just stand near seats
and wait til people get off) and take a rround trip
all around the island of Venice. You'll go out into
the open sea, and see all the lights put there to guide the
vaporettos, and feel the breeze -- if you get seats,
it's the most beautiful experience in the world. If
you don't get seats, it's a pain in the butt -- at
least try for a railing to lean on. Venice is totally
different at night. Walk all around and get lost and
then find your way back. Yeah, I agree with the
above statements -- Venetian food is not all that
rremarkable. A lot of their pastries are soaked in
liquer, a fact a friend and I discovered by accident
one night. So beware, a lot of stuff isn't as good
as it looks. So, having babbled on for about a novel
and a half. . . email me for more. Have a wonderrful
trip!

Sorry. I forgot to tell you to go to the Naval
Museaum. It's near St. Marks. Face the water, turn
left, cross a bridge, find a place with park benches
and flowers, and there you are. (totally lost, right?
It's pretty easy to find, ask someone.) If you're
a fan of ships DO NOT MISS IT. And see the almost
ware house like extension of the museaum -- leave
the museaum and walk for a bit and it's behind it
somewhere. It has full size ships and old gondolas
and even three old motercycles, heaven knows what
they're doing there. Anyhow, it's a great museaum.
Try it. Lots of cannons.