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Jan

11

Venice Travel & Sightseeing Guide

Filed Under Italy

A trip to Venice
Venice is synonymous with romance. It is a beautiful and historical town known for its many canals and unique architecture, as well as the famous gondola – the Venetian traditional mode of transport. Small, quaint, rich with history, and imbued with flavours of the Old World, Venice is the ideal weekend destination for a romantic excursion with a loved one. Watch out for crowds in the summer during the peak tourist season. Truly a maze of cafés, bars, pubs, restaurants, churches, and museums, Venice is best experienced slowly in order to take in the sights and attractions.

Flights to Venice
Getting to Venice is made easy with many direct flights from all around Italy. Venice Marco Polo Airport services direct flights of budget airlines easyJet and Ryanair from London. Just 19 miles from Venice is another airport in the town of Treviso. At both airports, there are shuttle services to take you to Mestre on the mainland, the town closest to Venice. The most glamorous way to arrive in Venice is to arrange a private charter with your hotel to take you from the airport to the city onboard a luxury speedboat. If you are looking for a cheap flight to Venice try Ebookers.

Although the city is perfectly sized to be explored on foot, you shouldn’t miss the chance to climb aboard a gondola. The sights of the city are best viewed from the water while accompanied by a singing boatman. Travelling by gondola is an expensive but ideal way to move around Venice as it offers a chance to experience the traditional way of living in Venice.

Venice

Sightseeing in Venice
Famous for its ubiquitous pigeons, St Mark’s Square is a major tourist spot that is within walking distance of the intricately designed St Mark’s Church and the Doges’ Palace. Ornamented with golden façade mosaics, marble and bronze statues, and five domes, St Mark’s Church boasts a distinctive ornate façade that pays tribute to the beauty of Gothic architecture. The Doges’ Palace is another beautiful Gothic building that used to be the home of the Venetian Doges. From here, you should visit the bell tower and take a lift to the top of the tower, where you will enjoy a panoramic view of the city.

A sight not to be missed is the wooden Accademia Bridge built in 1932. Once you are in the area, you should also visit the Accademia Gallery and the nearby Peggy Guggenheim Gallery where works of Titian, Tintoretto, Bellini and Giambono - the giants of Venetian art - are housed.

Fun by night – eating drinking and partying
All around St Mark’s Square you will find cafés, pubs, and restaurants where you can people watch and enjoy espressos laced with whiskey. These venues are more for tourists; the locals prefer to hang out in the nearby town of Mestre. Campo San Bartolomeo and Campo San Luca are particularly good places for having a beer and mingling with the Venetians, boasting open spaces to enjoy al fresco dining, wine bars and restaurants.

Fun by day – shopping and activities
There are many alleyways in Venice that offer boutiques for browsing, or you can pay a visit to Murano to purchase some of the stunning glass for which the island is famous. The city’s principal shopping areas are the Mercerie and the Calle dei Fabbri, which are not far from each other. The San Marco area is home to a number of designer shops while the Piazza San Marco is good for jewellery. There are also a number of bustling markets like the food market in the Rialto area. Near the Grand Canal is an extensive market that sells fish.

Daytrips
Taking a boat trip out to the lagoon islands is a great way to spend a day outside of the city. Popular destinations include Torcello, Murano and Burano, each of them communities in their own right. The smaller and less accessible islands of San Lazzaro Degli Armeni and Lazzeretto Nuovo are also worth visiting.

The ancient town of Padua is a must-see for lovers of art. Located just a half-hour train journey away, the town is home to the famous Scrovegni Chapel and the beautiful basilica of St Anthony of Padua. Visitors can stroll through the charmingly quiet streets, enjoying magnificent churches, pleasant gardens and an array of frescoes in different locations.

The pleasant Adriatic seaside resort of Lido di Jesolo makes for a break away from Venice’s cultural attractions. This clean resort is well organised for holiday makers, with sunbeds, ice cream vendors, mini golf and children’s attractions.

Must-see attractions
The place that most people think about when they think of Venice is the Grand Canal, the major waterway of the city which is lined with graceful Renaissance buildings famed throughout the world. Explore the canal onboard a vaporetta and look out for notable buildings such as the Gothic ca d’Ora and the stunning Palazzo Corner.

If you like architecture, you must see the magnificent Gothic Basilica dei Frari, renowned for being Titan’s burial ground. Inside the church you can admire works by great artists, including Bellini, Titan and Donatello.

The Rialto is the commercial core of the city, and is one of the must-see sites for tourists. A colourful fruit and vegetable market merges with the larger gaudy tourist market, but the 16th century stone bridge over the canal is well worth a visit.

If you like arts and craft then head to Murano Glass Island, where visitors can see glass being blown and can buy glass objects from the showrooms. The Telecom Italia Future Centre is a great place for children to enjoy interactive exhibits in the restored 1,000-year-old convent.

Best time to go
Although Venice is most popularly visited between July and August, this is the time when the canals tend to smell because of the heat and the city becomes inundated with flies. A better time to visit is in either spring or autumn, when temperatures are more pleasant, but be prepared for thunderstorms and the possibility of flooding.

Each January and February, the magnificent Venice Carnival takes place when visitors can enjoy feasting, performance art and parties along with the locals.

Rainy day suggestions
With rain and thunderstorms being the norm in the spring and autumn months, it can be a good idea to plan a few indoor attractions. The Museo del ‘700 Veneziano Ca’ Rezzonico houses a grand collection of art, furniture and tapestries from the 18th century and is one of the city’s most important museums.

Other museums of interest include the Galleria Franchetti, with its Gothic architecture and sculptures, the Museo di Storia naturale and the Palazzo Mocenigo with its fabulous collection of period costumes.

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