Should we add Venice to our itinerary?
 

I know several people have posted about whether Venice is worth seeing or not. My husband and I decided to skip Venice in our 2 week trip to Italy this May/June. We were pretty confident we wouldn't miss it (heard it was an overpriced tourist trap). But some good friends of ours told us that it was their favorite Italian city. Here is our itinerary:

5 nights Florence
2 Siena
2 Cinque Terre
4 Rome

So my question isn't whether or not we should go to Venice, but WHY you like or dislike it.... If you disliked it, please give me specifics. Thanks!

I fall into the "I Love Venice" camp. I go to Italy often and love it all - but Venice is my absolute favorite city. It's like no other place in the world. To be in a city, so rich in history, where things have not changed in hundreds of years; where the only sounds are people talking, water lapping, boats, footsteps; where there are fabulous sites around every corner; where you can walk and walk, get lost but can never really get too lost; I can go on and on...

On the negative side, yes it's expensive [but I don't think much more expensive than Rome or Florence]; some people think the canals are "smelly" - 1) I don't go in the middle of summer, and 2) the beauty is far more overwhelming to me than any smell.

I'm such an overwhelming fan that I'm not very un-biased. If it were me, I would take a night from Florence and Rome and spend it in Venice.

Hope this helps and, regardless of your decision, I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time...

Dona

I'm firmly in the "don't miss Venice" camp. It's magical, especially at night and in the early morning. I agree with LaBellaDona, take a night (or two) from Florence and one from Rome. Which cities are you arriving/departing from?

Also firmly in the "don't miss Venice" camp. Coming here to this forum is one of your best tools in seeing that you have minimal contact with the (modest) undesirable tourist trap element of Venice - - and get the best value for the considerable expense of seeing Venice.

Best wishes,

Rex

I have only been to Venice once before and I?ll re-visit for 2 nights only in May. I might have skipped it this trip but I am traveling with my 2 sisters and a friend who have not been to Italy before and we have the time to explore a bit?

From memory I am not knowledgeable enough to know the tourist areas to avoid, but I?m sure you?ll figure it out if that?s what you want to avoid.

Although I do appreciate the craft of Venetian glass personally to purchase it does nothing for me nor do the masks. So my only negative was seeing the heavy promotion of glass and masks everywhere and really it was more the shoppers, not the actual shop keepers that made me wonky. When I found my self in hoards of shoppers I would exit stage right, I got myself out of those areas quickly.

There is much to see and enjoy?. Basically I am not a shopper but I am a walker and a Venice was a lovely place for me to stroll and get lost many times! I didn?t mind a bit, I mean hey I was getting lost in Venice.

Looking at your itinerary I?d chop 2 nights off Florence and spend it in Venice.

Hi,

Skipping Venice is like going to the Louvre and not bothering to see the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo.

Venice is not an overpriced tourist trap. It is one of them most interesting and beautiful cities in Europe.

You can take one night from Siena and one night from Florence and visit Venice.

You could also just skip the Cinque Terre this trip.

i have to weigh in for venice also...we went twice to italy before we went to venice. on our third trip i told my husband i was going with or without him, he relented and we loved it. it is like no other place ever imagined. unless you plan on repeat visits to italy, yes, yes, yes, go to venice. i assure you that you will not regret it.

Hi Kyriaki. I love Venice and had an absolutely wonderful week there two years ago this April. Accomdations and meals in Venice certainly aren't inexpensive but if you stay and eat in places off the beaten tourist path, it's not <i>that</i> expensive.

The main reason I love Venice is that it is -- with its canals and <i>no cars</i> -- unlike any other city in Italy or, for that matter Europe. It's beautiful, magical, and very romantic with an incredibly rich history.

Another vote for Venice, it's our favorite Italian city and 2nd only to Paris overall in our experience. The canals (they don't stink btw). The labyrinth street plan which makes walking and getting lost a pleasure. That magical feeling of history, art and culture unique to Venice. The peace and quiet of life with NO cars or vespas. A gondola ride in the moonlight.

No way I would miss it. You could easily cut Florence and Rome back to 3 nights and spend 3 in Venice. Or do the Cinque Terre another time. Lots of possibilities.

I will add yet another vote to Venice. Take some time from Florence and/or Rome and spend some time in Venice. We can all try to explain why you should not miss this beautiful city but until you actually experience it yourself you will never be able to understand what we are trying to say. One of the saddest things I can think of would be to die without ever having experienced Venice. Have a great trip!

I, too, am in the &quot;don't miss Venice&quot; camp. It's more than just a city-- it's more of a total experience. But there is no other place like it. The word &quot;magical&quot; comes to mind over and over.
Arriving by train, and seeing the Grand Canal for the first time is breathtaking.
Going through a city that has no cars, wandering over the many bridges and small canals, is thrilling.
The sights are lovely, but the entire city is the important sight. You can EASILY avoid the tourist crowds by just walking away from the main tourist centers.
And Venice at night is probably one of the most romantic places on earth.
Anymore reasons needed?

You MUST see Venice..we have been there twice before for 3 days at a time..this year we decided to go for 8 days and really see the place..Its a magical city, and definately not a tourist trap..just dont have a $30. coffee at the Florian...then again it did come with an orchestra and an incredible view..and it was the best coffee I ever had..
enjoy your trip!

Venice is NOT to be missed. Five nights in Florence is too much to start with, and there's no need to move just down the road to Siena for two nights, so you've got plenty of time to fit Venice into your itinerary. I can't imagine staying away from Venice because it's &quot;an overpriced tourist trap.&quot; There are tourists there because it is one of the most enchanting places on earth! Price&yuml;? Fair enough, but not significantly more than elsewhere in Italy.
Do yourself a big favor and go to Venice

LOL! Well then. Venice it is! :) I'm not a romantic and neither is my husband so we thought we'd be fine without it. We also wanted to spend a decent amount of time in the towns of Italy rather than only visiting the big cities (that's why we're spending 5 nights in Florence b/c most of those days will be spent driving around Tuscany). There is no way we will miss Cinque Terre (we love to hike!), but I'm sure we can squeeze a couple nights in for Venice.

Thanks so much for your input!

Kyriaki; you've made a good decision (going to Venice). Take two days from Florence (right down the road from Venice) to do Venice. Spend a day seeing the major sights, San Marco Square, Rialto Bridge, Doge's Palace, etc. and spend a day just wndering. You can't get lost because you are on an Island. If you come to a canal, just back-track until you come to a bridge or a Traghetto which will ferry you across the canals. On the day you wander, try to start at the fish market (beyond the Rialto Bridge). Really interesting and some good cafes in the area.
Keep your two days in Siena which will give you a full day seeing that lovely city and a day to wander that part of Tuscany and then go to San Gimignano late in the day when the tourist buses have left. The village is totally charming at that time of day (say four o'clock on.
You have a great trip planned. Enjoy it.

Kyriaki, you and your husband may not be romatics now, but you may be when you get to Venice. It's been known to happen!

:-) :-) :-)

Venice is a unique world treasure. There is no other place on earth like it. That's why a lot of people go there.

And, yes, there are tourist traps in Venice, because of all the tourists. But that does not make the city of Venice a tourist trap.

Generally, people who come away with the impression that all of Venice is a tourist trap or a Disney-type theme park are , frankly, very ignorant. They tend not to have done much reading about the city before their trip and think that the city is nothing but the Grand Canal, the Rialto Bridge, and the sights immediately around P. San Marco.

As such, they don't allow enough days to visit anything else and end up being part of the ignorant daytripping herds that thunder down &quot;Daytrippers' Alley&quot; each day--from P. Roma or the train station, roughly along the Grand Canal to the Rialto Bridge and on to P. San Marco. Thousands of them all with the same limited itinerary in mind.

Looking right and left at the other sweaty, backpack schlepping tourists, in a narrow band of the city that contains the lousiest most overpriced cafes, the tackiest souvenir shops, the most jaded shopkeepers, and the most daytripper trash (water bottles, gum and gum wrappers, ticket stubs, etc.), the herd stampedes to P. San Marco. They stand in long line, drink $5 cokes, buy $2 postcards, and have a generally crappy time.

They don't realize that if they had done some research, they could be just a few blocks away enjoying some wonderful sights in near solitude, eating much better meals at much lower prices, and buying those postcards for 50 cents. Folks who do their reading beforehand visit all the major sights before the daytrippers arrive and after they leave. Unlike the daytripper or the one or two night stayer, they aren't forced to visit the most famous sights when they are the most crowded.

All right, all right--enough ranting.

Go to Venice--but know what's there before you go.