juliette

Hi <BR>I'm off to Venice for a weekend for the first time. Can anyone tell me what are the best places to see, what not to try and fit in, and what's a good guidebook to get? Any other tips would be very gratefully received. <BR> <BR>Cheers

howard

The best suggestion I can give is: Do a lot of walking and get lost among the maze of little streets, little bridges and little canals. Yes, you're supposed to get lost in this maze. What you discover is the fun and joy and enchantment of Venice. Every corner you turn is another photo op!

howard

P.S.: Make sure you also see the Duomo and Doges Palace and go to St. Mark's Square in the quiet of the early morning!

Dick

In addition to Howard's suggestions, if you have any interest in art you must leave time to visit the Accademia and, if your taste leans towards modern art (mine doesn't particularly, but I went anyway) the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. Both are located close to each other on the Doursodoro (sp?) side of the Accademia bridge across the Grand Canal. Though less breathtaking than San Marco, we also enjoyed visiting the I Frari church, also on the Accademia side of the Canal. <BR> <BR>Do not, under any circumstances, accept an offer of a free boat ride to Murano to tour the glass works. It's a scam to get you into the sales rooms where they can apply some high-pressure tactics. We got sucked in and lost half a day before we could get a boat back. <BR> <BR>We found the Michelin Green Guide most useful for the nuts-and-bolts information, including maps, and the Cadogan guide the best for the fill-in-the-blanks stuff.

elaine

Hi <BR>I have some sightseeing notes in my Venice file; if you'd like to see it, email me. <BR>About the free boat rides to Murano. <BR>My hotel offered one, probably in cooperation with one of the factories. I already knew that I wanted to browse in several factory showrooms on the island. I along with 3 others from my hotel gladly accepted the fast and free ride, and when I got to Murano I thanked the driver, tipped him, and struck off on my own, which I told him in advance that I was going to do. I returned to Venice later at my own pace on a vaporetto, having already looked up the schedule. Anyone would be free to do the same. The others from my hotel did <BR>go to the "sponsoring" factory showroom, shopped for a while, but still returned <BR>to Venice when they liked; in fact, I met two of them again at the Murano vaporetto stop on the return trip. They were happy with their purchases at the one factory, and I was very happy with mine made at another factory. I would just avoid the many glass gift shops on the main drag of Murano; they have nothing unique, and much of their glass isn't even made there, some of it is Czech. If you bother to go to Murano, stay with the factory showrooms.

Jan

Juliette - I agree with Howard competely. With such short time, just walk, walk and walk. We also enoyed a night of local opera that was incredible and took a boat to Lido for a night of gambling. Tips on the boats to the glass factory are also spot on. Accept the ride, but know how to manage it. Such a beautiful city. Very romantic. Watch a "Room with a View" before you go.

jim

Sorry, but the previous post is dead wrong about the Murano factory. It's an overpriced, high-pressure rip-off where the come-on is to see the glass blown by hand, bu tin truth they try to whisk you away from the glassmakers and into the showroom as quickly as possible. Authentic Murano glass can be bought right in Venice for much cheaper than at the Murano factory. And you won't waste a half-day, as one post mentions.

elvira

Which factory, jim? there are several on the island. Dick, why did you wait so long for a boat? were the vaporettos not running? How did the factory personnel keep you in the showroom?

Bob

One tip: A fun way to see Venice is to buy a ticket on a Vaparetto and stay on for the entire round trip. You can see the entire area that way. We usually can work ourselves to a good seat in the bow after one or two stops. Then just sit down and relax and take pictures. Have your tour book with you to read about the various houses you will pass. <BR> <BR>You can also purchase Vaparetto tickets that are good for three days or a week. It is less expensive and less hassle than buying one each time you board or each day. If you are going to use the Vaparetto, this is the way to go. The guy in the ticket booth can tell you what is available. That way you can use the vaparettos and get on and off anywhere. <BR> <BR>Murano: Interesting to see and visit the different shops. Don't be scared off by the above posters. Go on your own and wander in and out of the many glass shops. It is still fun to see them making some of the objects, other than the "little horses." <BR> <BR>In Venice: We enjoyed shopping in a small store called Max's. It has nice handcrafted items and mass produced items. Find Harry's Bar and as you exit the door of Harry's walk to your right away from the canal. Max's will be up on your right a few meters. <BR> <BR>Visit the lobby of the Danielli Hotel just to say you have seen it. Very beautiful. <BR> <BR>Top of the tower in St Mark's is good for photos of the entire area if line not too bad to get up there. <BR> <BR>Don't worry about the crowds in the day time. They all leave at night...which is the best time in Venice anyway. Enjoy.

Patrick

And the very best part of Venice is St. Mark's Square at night. Sit and sip a very overpriced coffee or drink and listen to the "battle" of the orchestras. While most squares in Europe "entertain" you with second rate guitar player, mimes, etc, Venice entertains you with wonderful classical music from three different small orchestras, and around the corner --one jazz group. The high drink prices are a small price to pay for such wonderful entertainment in such a magnificent setting--although many people avoid the cost by just standing around and listening. OOPS, are you going now? Not so sure that happens in December?

Dick

To clarify a bit in response to Elvira's question: we stayed longer than we wanted because of some combination of: (1) it took us a while to catch on to the scam - our fault, admittedly (2) we actually started to get some perverse amusement out of looking at room after room of all that ghastly overpriced crap - OK, there were a few tasteful things, but only a few (3) the motoscafi took us directly to a dock at the back of the factory - don't remember the name, which began with a "B" - and the dock wasn't connected to anything else and we had no idea where we were (4) it was pouring, and I mean POURING, rain complete with some pretty impressive thunder and lightning and we had only our mini-umbrelllas so weren't in a mood to go exploring (5) they kept promising that the boat would be along any minute and we figured - perhaps wrongly - that the time spent in finding the much slower vaporetto would be longer than just waiting it out and (6) who knows - it's just one of those things that you look back on and wonder about. Our reaction to all this was shared by the other folks who got suckered along with us, by the way. <BR> <BR>My advice was not to accept a FREE boat ride and I'll repeat it (though it sounds from Elaine's comments that it can work out if you know the groundrules before starting) If someone wants to visit Murano on their own schedule then that's fine, though as Jim said there are plenty of places in Venice to buy glass if you're into that sort of thing, and if I only had a weekend (to get back to Juliette's original question) I certainly wouldn't waste any of it on Murano.

Paulo

Juliette, I fully agree with Elaine and Dick that having only a weekend to spare, 99 times out of 100 one shouldn't spend any of it in Murano. Of course, the exception might be if you're into serious glass buying (which I would translate into: you know what you're looking for and have a pretty good idea about how much it should cost or if you're very much initiated on Murano glass). <BR> <BR>If by weekend you mean flying in on Friday and flying out on Sunday, I would follow Patrick's suggestion of spending Friday night at San Marco square. Since long I've been recommending Venice visitors to have their first San Marco square experience either very early in the morning or in the evening. <BR> <BR>On Saturday, I would show up at San Marco square not later than 8:20am. To the left of the Basilica's facade there's an entrance door. Just get in. If anybody asks you what's up, just say you're going to attend mass. The mass should be over shortly after 9am and you (+ no more than 15 other people) will have the Basilica all for yourselve. When the front doors open at 9:30am, if you care to visit the Pala d'Oro or go up the loggia, you'd be the first in line. Exiting the Basilica you may visit the Doge's Palace (a certain must if you're staying 2 days). You should be done maybe a shade after noon. <BR> <BR>In principle, the rest of your time in Venice should be reserved for strolling, visiting a church here and there as you go along. In my opinion, there's no room for visiting the Accademia for a 2-day visitor (unless he's already been to the Doge's Palace in a prior trip). <BR> <BR>Personally, I would choose Dorsoduro to stroll on Saturday afternoon (visiting the Frari church along). On Sunday I would start with sections of Castello and bend into Cannaregio (would visit the San Zanipolò and the Madonna dell'Orto churches and would go on through the Ghetto). <BR> <BR>A #1 vaporetto trip back and forth Canal Grande is also a must (I like doing it early in the morning and at night - very few people on one hand and special light on the other). <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR> <BR>

M.E.

Try the Knopf Guide book of Venice. Beautiful!

Kathy

Just got back last week from Italy and spent 2 days in Venice. Day #1 was the Doge's palace (ok - definitly get a guidebook-we used Rick Steve's Mona Winks. The descriptions the museum had in English were limited and pretty dry) and St. Mark's (amazing). We also did a gondola ride (another ok - I got just as much out of the water boats and walking, but it was a must for one of my friends and I don't regret doing it). The second day we took the free boat ride to Murano (free was good, enjoyed the glass making demo, browsed the showroom for a bit - surprisingly little pressure, loved typical Venetial chandaliers (sp?) the rest was pretty over the top for me, then wandered the island). We then took the boat to Burano, which was a surprising trip highlight for all 5 of us (small island, few tourists and wonderful photo opportunities of the brightly painted houses). Got back by mid afternoon. Evenings were spent wandering the streets and eating lots of gelati. I skipped the art museums, since we were going to get plently of that later in the trip, so I can't comment on them. If you plan on taking the water taxis, the 1 day or 3 day pass is a great time and energy saver. The general opinion of my friends was that Venice was great - not so much for any specific sight, but for the atmosphere. It's a city that you can do at whatever pace you'd like for a weekend - jam it full or take it very leisurly. Either way I think you'll have a great time.