fpsoley

planning a third return trip to venice. have done all the popular tourist attractions. does anybody know of unusual sights or attractions in venice thank you

viking

Be sure to allocate a lot of time to the Maritime museum - you can hardly work in all their 5 floors into their short opening hours. Males may want to start at the lower floors with it's macho stuff, while females may want to get started on the amazingly varied top and middle floors.

While at that fishtail end of venice, away from the maddening crowds, stroll the hugely wide and long Via Giussepe Garibaldi which is a canal that Napolean filled in. There are food markets and a nice park with actual empty shady benches to rest on. There is a yearly street festival here lasting a week with free entertainment on stages - anyone know when?

I hope you have put lots of time in the island of Burano, and not been talked into the other islands as a reasonable substitute. The fast ferries to there start from a quiet backside of Venice that should be explored carefully - esp the backside of Castello.

More centrally, there has been refurbishment of villas/museums on the side of the main canal opposite the train station. Better stroll that whole side to see what has changed, going even past Rialto area. Also hope you haven't missed that Bovorelo (sp? means snail) tower that just barely pokes up above rooftops in a maze west of San Marcos.

2Italy

Take a look at http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2
about Erotic Venice.

travelgirl2

Have you been to the Guggenheim. It was an offbeat little museum which we enjoyed.

ira

Hi fp,

Get up early and visit the fish market by the Rialto bridge just after dawn.

caroline_edinburgh

Hm, I'd have classed the Guggenheim as one of the best-known attractions ! Anyway...

Last time we visited Wagner's old rooms in what is now the casino & it was very interesting. You have to book a tour due to the tight casino security.

Will you be there when the Biennale (world's biggest & best contemporary art event) is on ? June-Nov - www.labiennale.com.

Have you been to the opera at La Fenice ?

BellaLuna

Buongiorno fpsoley,
for a slightly different POV and some places that probably never make it into guidebooks, check out this website a friend of mine created. He is a native Venetian, therefore much of the site is in Italian, with some articles in English.
www.ivangianni.it
buon viaggio
BellaLuna

stuart2611

Bella Luna,
The link you posted does not work. Can you try again. Thanks.

caroline_edinburgh

It works for me.

franco

You might want to have a look to this Venice sightseeing thread: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34791890
If you have any specific questions, just ask them there.

Margo

Here is a suggestion that I wish I had before I visited Venice last June (for the third time). Read "The City of Falling Angels" by John Berendt. It is non-fiction about the buildings and sights in Venice and the people who have lived in them. It really made me want to go back and search out some of these palazzos and churches. Even has the history behind the Guggenheim museum.

Steve_James

Hi FP - If you're interested in opera and looking for a special experience in Venice ... you might want to check out'Musica a Palazzo'.

We went to a performance of 'La Traviata' by this group. It was a highlight of our stay.

This organisation has recently started offering operatic and musical evenings in the XVII century Palazzo Barbarigo-Minotto - just off the Grand Canal.

" 'Musica a Palazzo' recreates the magic of the 'Salotto Musicale' - with a piano and several instruments accompanying the performers against a backdrop of various rooms of the Palazzo Barbarigo-Minotto.

Each Act takes place in a different room of the palazzo, allowing the audience to become part of the ambience. The singers move among the audience - and the intimacy creates a unique, unforgettable evening."

Steve

suec1

We were in Venice this fall for the third time. We went to lunch one day at the Locanda Cipriani on the island of Torcello - it was the best day of our visit. The ride over is interesting - you go past the cemetary and Murano and Burano and on the return you get great views of Venice from the water. The food was delicious and not the most expensive meal of our trip. Also the service was very gracious which we did not actually find to be the norm in some of the Venetian restaurants. It was just a gorgeous day and we wandered the garden at the restaurant after lunch. By the time you go over and back it takes alot of the day but we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.