Anyone Traveling to Venice?

[Palanan]

So, we all have to dream a little, and I'm starting to think about Venice.

Has anyone been to Venice recently, or thinking about going? My last trip to Europe was years ago, very rushed and whirlwind, and I'd like to do some more careful planning for the next one. If anyone is familiar with Venice, I'd appreciate any advice.

[Anarion]

So, we all have to dream a little, and I'm starting to think about Venice.

Has anyone been to Venice recently, or thinking about going? My last trip to Europe was years ago, very rushed and whirlwind, and I'd like to do some more careful planning for the next one. If anyone is familiar with Venice, I'd appreciate any advice.

I was there a couple years ago. I recommend that you travel in May or September if you can. I traveled there in May and it was quite crowded already, especially when a cruise ship arrived. I would not want to go in the middle of summer. It's also very warm so May and September have better weather while mid-summer would probably be miserable.

If you have shows or music you'd like to see there, book a hotel and have them assist you with booking things in advance. The Teatro La Fenice is quite spectacular. I toured it, and I think a show there would be incredible.

Gondola is worth the price, but the price is not low. The glass work is also worth the price, which is also not low.

It's quite nice at night, especially near the waterfront and along the Piazza San Marcos.

I'll look up the name of the hotel where I stayed later tonight. I can't remember it off the top of my head. It was upper end, but not as expensive as the most expensive places in the city.

It is literally impossible to go wrong on restaurants. You would have to actively try to get bad food.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Anarion
I was there a couple years ago. I recommend that you travel in May or September if you can. I traveled there in May and it was quite crowded already, especially when a cruise ship arrived.

I appreciate the suggestions, and I definitely want to avoid cruise ships if I can.

Any reason not to visit earlier in the year, say March or April? I've been tracking the temperatures here lately and they're more or less in line with where I live. I don't mind a little crisp weather if it means fewer people to deal with.


Originally Posted by Anarion
I'll look up the name of the hotel where I stayed later tonight. I can't remember it off the top of my head. It was upper end, but not as expensive as the most expensive places in the city.

Well, I doubt if I can afford anything close to upper end, but I'd be interested in where you stayed anyhow, to get a sense of how the prices scale.


Originally Posted by Anarion
It is literally impossible to go wrong on restaurants. You would have to actively try to get bad food.

Wow.

I live in 'Murrica, in a region where bad food is all around me. It's a struggle to find halfway decent food around here.

Is the food in Venice classic "Italian," as we know it, or more cosmopolitan? I ask because I was at a conference in Northern Italy some years ago and my gawd, for a week it was solid pizza, pasta and pesto. I like all those occasionally, but not as a uniform diet.

[Anarion]

Found it. It was the Best Western Hotel Bisanzio Venice (not to be confused with the one in Ravenna). You could visit earlier, but I think it's a bit miserable if it's cold because the nice part of the city is being outside over water and taking boats around.

The food is classic Italian, but you don't have to order pasta. There's lots of fish, you can get risotto instead of pasta, and the places I went often had potato gnocchi as well.

[Brother Oni]

Unless they've tightened up the environmental laws since I was there about a decade ago, do be prepared for the smell from the canals.

Try not to buy anything from the main tourist trap cafes, like on St Mark's Square as it can be ridiculously expensive. A bit of hunting around will find you a local supermarket where things can be had for much more reasonable prices.
As Anarion mentioned, the gondalas are not cheap, but it is an experience.

[Kalmageddon]

I live there, ask me anything. :smallsmile:
One thing I would like to correct straight away is the idea that you can't go wrong with restaurants. You absolutely can, speaking as both a native Venetian and as someone that has worked as a chef. Although I guess it depends on your standards on what constitutes "good food", most restaurants are actively scamming tourists, especially with seafood, like selling sole as turbot and frozen food as fresh. Definetly avoid the ones on the main "streets" (makes me cringe to call them that way, there is exactly one street in venice, the others are calli, fondamenta and so on...), although I do have some recommendations if you trust my opinion.

Definitely travel here in May, if you have the chance. The weather is usually at its best in May, while in the summer it's already really hot and unbearably humid. Autumn can be nice as well, though it depends on what kind of summer we got that year, sometimes the heat and humidity drags on until November.

Another random advice: bring comfortable shoes and if you are a lady or plan on coming here with one, forget high heels. They will literally kill you. Well, not literally, but in Venice the best way to move around is by foot, seeing how there are no cars and the boats tend to be slow and, if you are not a native, incredibly expensive and the "streets" are not asphalt so they tend to be quite irregular. So keep that in mind.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Anarion
Found it. It was the Best Western Hotel Bisanzio Venice….

Okay, thanks very much.

Might be a little too swanky for me, but apparently it's in a good location, so I'll keep it in mind.


Originally Posted by Anarion
The food is classic Italian, but you don't have to order pasta. There's lots of fish, you can get risotto instead of pasta, and the places I went often had potato gnocchi as well.

I love fish and I love gnocchi, so this could work out well.


Originally Posted by Kalmageddon
I live there, ask me anything.

Outstanding, thank you very much. I just might. :smallbiggrin:


Originally Posted by Kalmageddon
Definitely travel here in May, if you have the chance. The weather is usually at its best in May, while in the summer it's already really hot and unbearably humid.

I'll keep this in mind, although I do worry about crowds. I'd rather have heat than crowds.

As for humidity, I spend a lot of time in marshes and swamps, and I grew up in warm climates, so I'm tempted to see if Venetian humidity can beat Texas or Florida humidity. :smalltongue:


Originally Posted by Kalmageddon
...in Venice the best way to move around is by foot, seeing how there are no cars and the boats tend to be slow and, if you are not a native, incredibly expensive and the "streets" are not asphalt so they tend to be quite irregular.

This was something I wanted to ask, as to how walkable Venice really is. On the map it only looks three or four kilometers east to west, and part of the fun of exploring is finding little out-of-the-way corners that most people might not see.

So, for someone who's a good walker, and accustomed to walking several miles each day, is it feasible just to walk everywhere in Venice?

.

[Killer Angel]

So, for someone who's a good walker, and accustomed to walking several miles each day, is it feasible just to walk everywhere in Venice?


Leaving aside that there's a great difference between walking at your pace and crawling through streets full of people... no, you can't just walk everywhere, because while the city itself is full of bridges (more or less little, that often act as choke points), there are also the islands that you want to see (Murano, Burano and so on), and those require boats.

[Kalmageddon]

Leaving aside that there's a great difference between walking at your pace and crawling through streets full of people... no, you can't just walk everywhere, because while the city itself is full of bridges (more or less little, that often act as choke points), there are also the islands that you want to see (Murano, Burano and so on), and those require boats.

Clarification: inside the historical center (ie Venice itself), yes, you can walk everywhere and in fact you should try and do so because as mentioned the water bus is expensive as hell. In Venice you can get basically everywhere in about half an hour, probably a little more if you don't keep a brisk pace as a matter of habit (most natives do).
All the minor island scattered around the lagoon however are, like Angels says, reachable only by boat.

As for crowded, if you don't visit during summer or carnival, it's not as bad as people might think, it's still crowded, but it's not like you are going to "crawl" at a snail's pace. Beside, I tend to find tourists are not really in a hurry since everywhere they go they find something to look at or photograph, so I'm confident you're going to be fine moving around on foot.

On the subject of moving around the city, basically everywhere you go you can find yellow signs painted on the walls with a black arrow and writings saying stuff like "Rialto", "Piazzale Roma", et cetera. Those are the itineraries, basically they point you to the main "sections" of the city so you should pay attention to them. For example, Rialto is where the famous bridge with all the shops on it is, Piazzale Roma is what links Venice to the mainland and so on and so forth.
I would say, don't bother with a map (beside using it to get a general sense of where you are) or similar smartphone apps because in Venice they are difficult to decipher and Google maps and similar programs go insane trying to figure out where exactly you are inside the maze of "streets", beside they are often wrong.

[Palanan]

Okay, thanks for the clarifications on crowds and walking. It'll probably be busier than I'm used to, but it sounds much more walkable than most places I've been.

So, here are a few more basic questions:


1. How concerned do I need to be about pickpockets or other kinds of crime?

2. Are there any bookstores which would offer English translations of books on Venetian history? I love sampling bookstores wherever I go.

3. Are there any worthwhile historical museums you could recommend? I'm kind of a museum guy.

[Killer Angel]

As for crowded, if you don't visit during summer or carnival, it's not as bad as people might think,

This explains a lot. I visited Venice in summer. :smalltongue:


3. Are there any worthwhile historical museums you could recommend? I'm kind of a museum guy.[/INDENT]

It's plenty of museums, but I highly recommend the Naval Historical Museum; it's located close to the Arsenale (a complex of shipyards which was the core of the Venetian republic's naval power)

[thorgrim29]

It's been a bit over a decade since I've been but I remember the Doges' Palace (wow, much palace, such history, amaze). Also, pigeons. And while we didn't go inside the Cathedral built during the Black Death looked very nice.

[Kalmageddon]

Okay, thanks for the clarifications on crowds and walking. It'll probably be busier than I'm used to, but it sounds much more walkable than most places I've been.

So, here are a few more basic questions:


1. How concerned do I need to be about pickpockets or other kinds of crime?

2. Are there any bookstores which would offer English translations of books on Venetian history? I love sampling bookstores wherever I go.

3. Are there any worthwhile historical museums you could recommend? I'm kind of a museum guy.

1- Venice is a pretty safe city, I used to say that you could stroll around naked in the middle of the night and nothing would happen to you... In recent years the immigration problem has sort of ruined it (sorry, but that's just a fact) and now you have to be on the lookout for fake "luggage delivery services" and there have been some news about aggressions against tourists on the streets at night. With that said, it's probably still miles better than any big city you could have visited in the past.

2- There are, yes, quite a few in fact. I'd suggest visting the Acqua Alta bookstore, located near Campo Santa Maria Formosa, which has a very peculiar layout, I won't spoil it for you, but it's an attraction in and of itself even if you don't buy anything.
The Libreria Goldoni, near Campo San Luca, also sells a reasonable selection of books in English.

3-Ok, I know this will sound kind of strange but... There are literally hundreds. Palaces, tons of churches, even some "steetside" sites, you can just pick at random and I'm sure you'll find something worth visiting. With that said, I'd be more than happy to suggest a few specifically tailored to your tastes if you want to be a little more specific on what you like. You can even contact me via PM if you want, I love my city and it's a pleasure to help you appreciate what it has to offer.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Killer Angel
...I highly recommend the Naval Historical Museum; it's located close to the Arsenale (a complex of shipyards which was the core of the Venetian republic's naval power)....

This just became my number-one item to visit, thank you.

:smalltongue:


Originally Posted by Kalmageddon
I'd suggest visting the Acqua Alta bookstore, located near Campo Santa Maria Formosa, which has a very peculiar layout, I won't spoil it for you, but it's an attraction in and of itself even if you don't buy anything.

Okay, this sounds very interesting, I'll have to keep it in mind.

Any gaming stores? I love visiting gaming stores in other countries.


Originally Posted by Kalmageddon
With that said, I'd be more than happy to suggest a few specifically tailored to your tastes if you want to be a little more specific on what you like. You can even contact me via PM if you want, I love my city and it's a pleasure to help you appreciate what it has to offer.

Very much appreciated indeed.

.

[Kalmageddon]

This explains a lot. I visited Venice in summer. :smalltongue:



It's plenty of museums, but I highly recommend the Naval Historical Museum; it's located close to the Arsenale (a complex of shipyards which was the core of the Venetian republic's naval power)

Oh yes, the Naval Historical Museum is absolutely amazing! It's both huge and very well kept, though you'll have to remember that it's open only in the morning.

[Anarion]

For museums there really are many. The line gets blurred too because there are historical sites as well as collections of art. I thought the Gallerie dell'Accademia had a wonderful collection of art, and I would also recommend the tour of the doges palace (take the extra lap around the prisons, it was quite interesting). St. Mark's Basilica (which is also in the Piazza San Marcos, right near the Doges palace) is also a sight to behold both inside and out.

[Palanan]

So, here's another question: are there any other places to stay besides touristy hotels?

I ask because one book I've been reading, on the history of a Venetian convent, mentions that today the convent allows visiting female students to stay in some of the unused cells. I wouldn't qualify for a convent, but wondering if there are other options like this available.

[Kalmageddon]

There is something for university students on erasmus and possibily the Armenian priests have a hostel of sorts on their island, but I haven't checked in quite some time.
Otherwise, there are quite a few apartments you can rent for whatever time you plan on staying here, which might be the best option from the economical standpoint, though not by a large margin, everything in Venice is expensive.

You might also want to check for accomodation otuside of Venice itself, like in Mestre, which is a 10-15 minutes drive from Venice and could have some more reasonable prices. Venice has an excellent public transportation network so you shouldn't worry about getting to Venice in time for whatever activity you could have planned, you are covered literally 24 hours a day, every day.

[Brother Oni]

Venice has an excellent public transportation network so you shouldn't worry about getting to Venice in time for whatever activity you could have planned, you are covered literally 24 hours a day, every day.

How much Italian would you need to know if you wanted to take this option, or would there be sufficient English signs/speakers about to muddle through?

In comparison to Japan, the further off the main tourist track you get, the less English there is and the more Japanese you need to know (local buses and trains pretty much have no English and only limited romanji).

[Kalmageddon]

To take the bus? Well, not much... The time tables for the various bus lines are self-explanatory once you know where you are and where you are going and I'm pretty sure that online you can find them in English as well, seeing how Venice has so many tourists at all times of the year. The bus drivers themselves usually understand some English and are willing to give advice and if you buy your tickets in Piazzale Roma (the previously mentioned connection to the mainland in Venice) the employees should be able to speak English as well.

You will also avoid a lot of confusion once you realize that in Venice itself there is exactly one bus stop: Piazzale Roma, simply called Venice in the time tables, and it's the end of the line for all bus lines that go there.
There you go, site in English: http://www.actv.it/en/movingmainland/movinginmainland

[Brother Oni]

Oh good, because my Italian is limited to what I remember from schoolboy Latin and from watching subtitled Inspector Montalbano. :smalltongue: