I would like to hear from people on what their top things in venice are to do...basically not the 'given' items like the plaza, but memorable experiences like a stroll, a visit to a random place, etc.

Basically, when did you experience something cool without looking for something cool?

Hi neil,

A serendipitous event cannot be planned. Just wander through Venice. Something nice will happen.

We went to Venice for our honeymoon. What we ended up liking the most was taking late evening walks. The crowds are thinner, and stores are less busy. We enjoyed walking with no destination in mind and most evenings ended up sitting at an outstide cafe drinking wine or sharing dessert. It was great people watching. My biggest advice would be to pick an area/neighborhood each day and just explore what is in that area. Vince is the city meant for long walks and exploring. There is something magical in every part of that city.

We were in Venice this March and had a lovely experience.

We asked the concierge at our hotel to recommend a concert and he got us tickets to Interpreti Veneziani. They are a serious music group (as opposed to the groups that dress up in Baroque clothes and only play Vivaldi's four seasons. The group generally plays the Baroque music of Venice and the venue was the Chiesa San Vidal, a small Baroque church near the Accademia Bridge.

The area itself is lovely and we sat in a spacious nearby square talking to the local people on a beautiful night while waiting for the concert to start. There were lots of people taking their dogs for a walk, and lots of children playing: a nice, quiet neighborhood, different from the more traveled areas.

The music was wonderful by itself but there was added magic because we heard it in the city of its birth, in a lovely church, the typical venue of the era.

A memorable experience.

Ira's right. To me, Venice <b>is</b> the experience.

My advice: start in Piazza San Marco, start heading vaguely west, then turn abruptly north. Continue on for about 15 minutes, until you are lost. Then start looking for a cool-looking cafe, or a church you've never heard of before, whichever comes first.

If it's a cafe, order a drink. If it's a church, step quietly inside and look around at the artwork.

Enjoy!

As a fan of the ordinary wherever I go, my favorites in Venice were...

When I couldn't find the grocery store I knew was nearby &amp; followed an old woman with her empty wheelie cart, who lead me right there.

The post office was pretty interesting.

And lastly some wonderful and unusual gifts I found in a hardware store.

We were strolling from HARRYS BAR back to our hotel. Stopped in a small store named MAX's. They had some handcrafted things. We found a carved Pinochio that is one of our favorite art purchaes ever. It is a very unique item and a work of art. We think of Venice and that night when we look at it in our home.

To the other comments: Everyone is giving you good advice. Just stroll Venice, get lost and you will find your own special moment. You cannot duplicte what others have found to be special.

Oh, I know all about strolling around a foreign town and the wonders one can experience.

However, I just like to hear other absurd stories...it helps me 'keep my eyes open' when I travel.

Get up before sunrise and as the sun is just peaking out go to St. Marks Sq. and walk as far around the area that you can! That is the best time to see Venice! I got some great photos that time of day and I really enjoyed the quiet time. I could almost feel like the city was mine!

top random experience in venice: getting lost on foot!

now you're mentioning absurd stories? What are you really looking for, nice unexpected experiences or strange things that happened?

either random or absurd saudi guy...

neil_t_us: On our first trip to Venice, we stayed in a modest little hotel on one of the narrow, back canals (short distance from San Marco). We were on the second floor with windows that looked out over the small canal. On the first morning, I awoke early, went to the window and looking over the canal, watched this part of Venice spring to life. Deliveries were made, trash picked up, commutes to businesses in process, etc., all by gondola of different sizes. It was incredible to watch that morning and I fell in love with Venice for ever.

We were in Venice this past March and really enjoyed wandering the streets. One afternoon, we rounded a corner and there was a fellow on the street playing a tune from The Nutcracker Suite on crystal glasses. It was beautiful and something I will always remember!

We arrived into Venice one evening and on the way to the hotel we noticed all these picnic tables on the walkways - hmmm, we must have missed a big festival. The next morning we discovered that what we missed was the &quot;high water&quot; which was a memorable experience in itself. The morning was very dreary and very wet but around two in the afternoon the water went down, the sun came out, the bell tower chimed and all the pigeons flew up, circling around the piazza - magical. Happy travels!!

Ah - when we went to Venice a couple of years ago, we were eager to go to a wine tasting since Italy has the BEST wines out there... we asked the guy at the hotel desk to name one, he did, and we went out to find it.

We couldn't find it, so I asked a waiter at an outdoor cafe we were passing if he knew where the place was we were looking for. He says, &quot;that place? for a wine tasting? No! Go here! It's the best!&quot; and gave us directions to a better wine tasting. We get to the place, in some dark alley, ask for the wine tasting and the guy, who was apparently the owner, just looks at us and says,&quot;how in the world did you find us! No tourists know where this is!&quot; He was amused, and led us into this room with wine bottles from wall to wall and let us sample as much wine as we wanted. We all stumbled out of there eventually, but they were so friendly and there wasn't an American in sight. Absolutely the best experience.

Going for an early morning job about 6:30am... San Marco was deserted as was almost every other main sight. Absolutely magical

Wandering back to our hotel, saw a mom with her son, about 2 or 3 years old. Mom stops, boy stops, boy pees in canal, pulls up his pants, and they move on. Cracked us up!! Wish I'd had my camera out... that's just something I don't think you'd see anywhere else!

We went to the Jewish ghetto while we were there. And went back Fri evening for Shabbat services in one of the Temples. One is open in the winter and the other in the summer.
Anyway I was upstairs with the women and my hubbie was downstairs with the men, I was trying to follow along in the prayer book, but it was in Italian and Hebrew. It was really neat to be able to recite the same prayers we say at home in a foriegn country that I cannor speak the native langueage but that we shared the Hebrew prayers.....
Of course when I get lost at home I refer to the English....this was a llittle challenging when the only other words on the page are in Italian!! LOL!
We also bought a little hand blown glass Moyel! (And the baby had all parts!!)

we sat down for lunch our last day in Venice at A La Madonna. We were seated next to an English couple celebrating their anniversary. Through the course of conversation we learned her mother and my mother in law were 13 years old
and young german jews who were transported out of Germany to England on the Kindertransports 6 months apart.