The best of Venice?
 

Our upcoming trip includes 2 & 1/2 days in Venice. We have been to Venice once before. One thing that we plan to do is take the vaporetto to Burano and or Murano.

I want most of the balance of out time in Venice to be unstructured but we could have a portion of the second day for something preplanned.

So what are your opinions of the best of the best in Venice (maybe what is worth seeing twice). I like architecture. My wife like museums and churches.

We will be staying a few blocks from the Rialto.

Thanks

venice is such a beautiful city. murano and burano are fun to visit. buranco is a rather long boat trip over but worth it.
be careful in murano though because you can get stuck in "presentations and history of glass making" which is usually a sales pitch and you are a "captive" audience. unless you are extremely interested in glass and want to purchase glass glown items i would skip murano altogether.
-- for a nice evening out, i recommend going to the piaza de marco (st. mark's square) and watching the battle of the bands who play in the evening for the tourists.
-- a trip to the jewish ghetto is historically interesting.
have fun.

> be careful in murano though because you can get stuck in "presentations and history of glass making" which is usually a sales pitch and you are a "captive" audience.

That's only if you take those "free water taxi" rides sponsored by the factories. If you do it on your own with vaporetto, you can peek in to those demonstrations and leave as you please. I actually like Murano, not for the glass making but for a quiet time away from the crowded Venice mainland. Of course I like Burano too, though it's a lot longer ride than Murano as the poster above said. I have done a few times, Venice (Fondamenta Nove) > Murano > Burano, then return via Punta Sabbioni (change to Double decked bigger boat) > Lido > San Marco. Always timed it so that the boat arrives at early evening at San Marco. The sunset over Venice was always beautiful and worth the time. I did it only on sunny days though. Also Burano to San Marco via above route is also long so if you are rushed, maybe not a good idea.

My daughter and I actually enjoyed the free water taxi and demonstration on Murano. The boat ride across the lagoon on a beautiful sunny day was fun. The demonstration was very brief, then we walked through the glass showroom with no pressure to buy anything. We could leave at any time.

If you haven't taken the Secret Itineraries tour of the Doges palace, I would recommend that. You get to see hidden nooks and crannies of the palace, including the attic with giant beams made from wood soaked in salt water according to shipbuilding techniques that have lasted for centuries.

Here is my suggested itinerary for the city I spend the most time in, anywhere in the world:

For Venice, you want to see the history of La Serenissima, to get a sense of the Venetian republic at its zenith-to do that, you have to make the Palazzo Ducale your first stop, you'll want to see the astounding Sala dei Maggior Consiglio, with its huge Tintoretto mural on one wall, the portraits of the Doges along the walls (the Doges being the former civil head of authority in Venice) and the incredible frescoed ceiling-this huge hall, one of the largest in the world of its type, was the diplomatic reception area for the Republic during the 15, 16th century. You'll also want to tour the Basilica of San Marco next door, to see its magnficent golden mosaics inside, its frescoes, and to go up inside so you can walk around the outside of the Basilica to see the view.

In any visit to Venice, you'll want to take the vaporetto up and down the Grand Canal to see the magnificent palazzos that line the Grand Canal, but you'll also want to see the inside of one of these gorgeous palazzos as well, to see how the wealthy and titled Venetian families lived during the heyday of the Republic. For that you need to visit the beautiful Ca' Rezzonico on the Grand Canal, with its sumptious decor, and priceless art- works by Canaletto, Titian, and Tintoretto, which shows Venice and Venetians in various centuries, a fascinating pictorial history, as it were, with a lovely garden outside, and a nice little cafe for refreshment. Ca'Rezzonico is a must-see, IMO.

Then, I would suggest getting on the vaporetto, to go over for a visit to the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, where Benedictine monks have inhabited this island for over 1,000 years, to see their stunning complex of a church built by Andrea Palladio, with its priceless works by Tintoretto, Palma di Giovane, and Titian, its two lovely cloisters, but particularly, to go up in their campanile (bell tower) to see the incomparable views of Venice and the lagoon area-you can see everything from here, it seems-really stunning.

And finally, I would suggest a tour of La Fenice, the exquisite Venetian opera house, to see Venice's present day culture, and I would try to get tickets to a performance so you can experience this opera house and its magnificent acoustics.

www.teatrolafenice.it/index.php

Or, as an alternative, I would get tickets to a performance at the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista, to a concert or an opera that they regularly present. San Giovanni Evangelista is a stunning building going back several centuries, with murals and paintings by the great Venetian masters Bellini, Carpaccio, Tintoretto, Tiepolo, sculptural work by Mauro Codussi, among others. It is used by the Venetians for cultural presentations, and the President of Italy came for a visit just last week. The vast salon of San Giovanni is where the concerts are held, and it is truly stunning. You can view the salon, and/or purchase tickets for a concert at this website:

www.classictic.com/venues/52.html


These are some of the places I would advise to see for a first trip to Venice, to get a sense of its history and culture, past and present.

Girlspy...what if you truly had only l and a half days?

gipsytravel - I love your suggestions.

Girspytravel, you make such good suggestions, many of which I will use.
But realistically, how many hours would
it take to go to San Giorgio Maggiore
and back ??

It's about a 3 minute vaparetto ride from San Marco to San Giorgio...well worth it! Take the #82, but make sure you are at the right stop. I don't remember the name of the stop, but if you are at the Grand Canal, facing SG with your back to San Marco, it is the one to your left.

If I only had 1.5 days (my first trip there was that short), I'd do the Secret Itinerary Tour, visit the Basilica, ride up and down the Grand Canal, go to San Giorgio, walk the Zattere at sunset, visit the Friary (sp>)church, have gelato at every campo :)

Walk around from one campo to the other... I like the Rick Steves walks. Have pizza at the place at the foot of the Accadamia brige, walk across the Rialto bridge, have more gelato!

Spend the evening in San Marco, listening to the orchestras. Treat yourself to a table and have a very expensive glass of wine or mug of coffee or hot chocolate, but that buys you the table for the night. Listen to the bells at midnight.

Get up at sunrise and walk along the Canal, particularly around San Marco...wonderful to see the mists clear and see the gorgeous sites of Venice come awake!

Ok, that's it...I HAVE to go back to Venice!

Anne

bookmark

The best of Venice? It's Venice! buy a 2 or 3-days vaporetto ticket and "feel" the town. If you don't have much time, just leave Burano and Torcello (there'se a beautiful little church) for some other time. Murano is well known but, besides the glass industry, not worthwhile a visit (in my humble opinion, of course!), specially if you are short in time.

bookmark

Venice is the perfect place to do without an itinerary. Just get out and start walking! Or hop a vaporetto on the grand canal.

The one thing I would research better than I did my first two trips is restaurants. We didn't have very good luck just doing that by chance.

Thanks everyone.
I am going to discuss the 'secrets itinerary Doge's palace' with the family. Is there a way to buy tickets for that on the internet? thanks

bookmark

Try tickitaly.com/tickets/itineraries-tickets.php

Great suggestions!

Big Red-your tickets for the Doge's Palace can be bought directly on the Venice Museums website here:

http://www.museiciviciveneziani.it/f...;sezione=musei

Scroll down to Secret Itineraries "tour in English:"

http://www.teleart.org/itinerarisegr...al=english2006

Then click foward to the month and the date in question, and click on the time-a pop-up screen will appear and you can book it from there-make sure you get the 16 Euro regular ticket, which will include a tour of the Palace and the Secret Itineraries Tour.

Also, Jane-Anne is right-you take the #82, to "Maggiore" -and this will take you you around an hour or so, with the artwork in the church, to walk around outside, and go up in the magnficent Campanile-a must-see for a first visit.

ljc-if I had a full one and a half days-I would go first to the Doge's Palace-you have to see this Palace to get a sense of Venitian history, then, to the Basilica di San Marco) but not long here) then get on the vaporetto to peruse the Rialto fish and vegetable market, walk along the top of Rialto bridge to take pictures, and do a bit of shopping, and then go that night to a bacaro there behind the fish and vegetable market-pick one-Bancogiro, Al Merca, Do Spade, Cantina do Mori-to do as the Venetians do, have some delicious cichetti novetti (tapas-like appetizers, except way better than tapas) and wine. For dinner I would go in San Marco to the lovely, romantic TRATTORIA SEMPIONE and snag a table by the window so you can touch the gondolas as they go by.

Here's a picture of the Sempione, with excellent seafood dishes and friendly staff-many pictures taken of it because of its picturesque location:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbonney...n/photostream/

I would then take a gondola ride in the evening, or a late night vaporetto ride down the Grand Canal, starting from around Rialto, down to San Marco, so that I could see all the beautiful palazzos, lit up with their Murano chandeliers, and ornate furnishings much of it visible as you glide down the Canal.

Looks like the La Fenice tours are with the audio guide unless you can muster up a group of 10 and arrange a group tour?

http://www.festfenice.com/index.php?...94&lang=en

Also, what about Ca' d'Oro? Worth checking out?

We will be traveling to Venice June 23-29 with our 18 year old daughter.
I have read in all of the travel books we need either a Blue or Orange card for discounts and should buy a Rolling Venice card for our daughter, and museum passes and church passes....not sure what to purchase in advance.
Which card should we purchase and does our daughter need a Blue/Orange and Rolling Venice card?
Girlspytravel******a special thank you for your tips. Trying to figure out how to navigate has been a little overwhelming and your input has been wonderful.

Thanks Everyone,

We are booked for tours of Doges Palace and also Museo Accademi (?spelling?). We'll be in Venice miday Friday.

Now, any recommendations for quality, medium priced restaurants near the Rialto bridge? please

bkmk

bookmarking.thx!

For Girlspytravel: Your suggestions are great and we are actually considering a night at the opera. I have never been to an opera, but always wanted to. Venice seems a good place to start. There aren't many tickets left the night we want to attend, but we can choose from the Loggione and Galleria at 59, 29, & 23Euros; and Palchi Laterali at 29 & 23 Euros. There are some more expensive tickets in PL area at 106 and 135 Euros, but I really should limit the budget to around 60 Euros a piece. Do you recommend any of these areas for listneing and viewing? Does it matter? Oh, will a casual dress for me and slacks and a collar shirt for DH be sufficient? We don't bring fancy clothes when we travel and besides that DH is not the jacket and tie kind of guy :-).Thanks for your help.

:) Thanks everyone!

job816, the cheapest areas allow practically no or even no view of the stage at La Fenice. However, people do move from their assigned seats to stand at the back. And the advantage of the cheapest seats is that they are actually quite comfortable, because they are individual padded chairs, with sufficient space between them. But not being able to see anything is not so great. Also keep in mind that any supertitles will be in Italian, not English.

I can't advise you of the best seat to buy, but do consider what you want from the experience.

As for how people dress, I saw a full range from formal to not.

bm

Job-sorry to answer your question at such a late date, but I've been busy doing my thing south of the border!

You absolutely should go to La Fenice for a night at the opera-it's a wonderful way to experience the real Venetian scene-and there's going to be a world premiere there this upcoming season, I believe-SO MUCH is going on in Venice right now-there's a BRAND NEW FOURTH BRIDGE!!! It's up, (structural beams) and the YouTube video of the major parts of this bridge coming in and passing at midnight some weeks ago to the thousands of cheers and whistles of Venetians and tourists alike standing along the banks and up above on the Rialto bridge as it made its way on a special barge at low tide to its new home there at Pze. Roma-connecting Pze. Roma and the train station-was WAY COOL! Venice City Hall even put the video to a jazz track-you can view it still on their website I think: comune.venezia.it. It will be some months before it officially opens for business-the first new bridge on the Grand Canal since the 19th century-a new contemporary work of art on the Venice scene by the famed Spanish architect Calatrava-with high symbolic value as it represents the Venice of the future. The naming game begins (it will NOT be Ponte Calatrava) say city officials.

But I digress. Back to your seats, you know, if you pick the right Loggia and Galleria seats at 23 Euro, those seats directly in front of the stage, not on the extreme left and right sides, then you will have an excellent, unimpeded view, albeit rather high up. So look at the seating chart, and pick those seats accordingly.

As for dress, it depends on what night, and what seats-if you sit way up high in the Galleria/Loggia seats-casual dress is fine, but if it is a big premiere night, and you get the more expensive seats, then people do dress up for those nights and in the boxe seats-suit and tie for the men, dressy dress for the women, those premieres are typically, a Friday or Sunday night premiere.

Thanks for info, bookmarking

girlspytravel - welcome back! I'm leaving for Venice in 5 weeks and your suggestions have been very helpful in my trip planning. Can't wait!

Thanks for the info bookmarking

bookmarking

What a great thread! we will be in Venice for three days in late October - these suggestions will be studied carefully! Thank you to everyone who took the time to write.

Thanks, DPerry, I DO wish I could be there now!

And everyone who will be in Venice this coming two weeks or so (my very favorite time to be in Venice) will REALLY be in the thick of things! First, the VENICE FILM FESTIVAL kicks off this Thursday, Aug. 30-Sept. 8, Woody Allen's new movie, George Clooney's new movie, Brad Pitt's new movie, Kenneth Branagh's, and a favorite of mine, French director Eric Roemer's new movies, as well as an interesting post 9/11 movie by American director Joe Haggis (In the Valley of Elah)among many others-one of the strongest American film offerings in a long time will be premiering and vying for top honors. If that were not enough, Venice and Italian Govt. officials will be announcing this week the magnificent NEW Palazzo del Cinema which is going to be built on the Lido for all the future film festivals to come! Molto eccitante!

Then, as is the case every first Sunday in September, Venice's most glorious festival (I think!) THE REGATA STORICA will be held, with all the magnficent historical boats, and boat races all day-I was at the Regata last year, on a PERFECT first Sunday in September- the weather was so gorgeous-I have one of the pictures I took as my cell phone screensaver-it is really a magical event to see- anyone staying in Venice, along the Grand Canal particularly, this Sunday will have first-class seats, plus all the parties that go on in all the palazzi - great fun!

There are new WEBCAMS for Venice-now, there's a webcam at Rialto Bridge put out by Venice City Hall, (Comune di Venezia) in addition to the two of Piazza San Marco and Ponte Noale, here:

http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm...T/IDPagina/893

You can refresh the page for the Rialto webcam, by pressing F5.


And last but not least, you can see the new "quarto ponte" (fourth bridge-as it is called until it is officially named) here at the Santa Chiara Hotel's webcam, which is where one side of the bridge is anchored:

http://www.hotelsantachiara.it/

And that incredible YouTube video of the pieces coming down the Grand Canal at midnight you can see here-and I highly recommend everyone going to Venice to watch this video-it's really something!

http://nuovavenezia.repubblica.it/mu...a/home/1046206

Buon Viaggio!

I had three and a half days in Venice and did most of what's on girlspy's list (except the Fenice tours were already sold out when I got to the city). I just walked a lot otherwise and visited churches and things. I highly recommend going out to San Giorgio Maggiore and also going up in the Campanile for a gorgeous view of the Grand Canal and Piazza San Marco.

I went to Burano and Torcello, and while they were pretty, quaint and interesting enough, I wished I'd spent that day in Venice proper exploring more. It took a while to walk to the vaporetto on the opposite side of Venice and then to get out there and back. With less time than I had, I'd suggest you just stay in Venice for that reason.

This thread has been so helpful. One more question: what would you advise doing on the first day after arriving early morning following an overnight flight from the USA? Is there anything that fits better for the jet lagged traveler w/o much or any sleep?

Cindywho:

If it is very early and you're sure you can make, you may want to visit the Basilica San Marco. Early morning is a good time, being among the first to enter, because there are less crowds.

I am one who thinks a big impact is good while I'm suffering from flying overnight. Boom! Oh my gosh, look at that... I sort of forget how awful I feel.

One of the worst arrivals I can recall is landing in Rome early in the morning, getting a car, driving to our vacation rental outside of Florence, then having to wait around, then having lunch with the people I was working for, then waiting a little more. Waiting when overtired is not fun.

I say make a reservation at some place easy to visit, such as the Basilica, and jump right in. Then have lunch and you will really feel like you deserve a rest.

I think the Basilica is stunning.

I think the Torcello mosaics are also stunning, but you don't really want that after a long flight and on a short trip.

Another thing about the Basilica, visit it at several times during the day. The facade changes color with the daylight. In the early morning, it's soft pinks and pastels, mid-day it's bright white with the streaming sun and at sunset it is a soft peach. It was here that I finally realized what Monet was seeing with my very own eyes.

I went to Piazza San Marco at 5 a.m. on the day I left Venice (had early flight) and I was all alone with the pigeons. Just heavenly.