Venice

Sussexscots · Sep 10, 2017

For a cheap lunch on the go and people watching, try Bacareto da Lele, Santa Croce, 183, 30100 Venice

Very cheap, very small snack bar - no inside seating -where tourists and locals get a quick - or long - lunch. Small glass of wine and a slider roll will set you back about three Euro. Sit by the canal or on the square nearby and watch the world go by.

And if you are going to eat or drink on St Marks Sq, take out a second mortgage or sell a kidney before you go.

PILTDOWN MAN · Sep 10, 2017

Flooded when I went. Struggled to get about.

OzMike · Sep 11, 2017

Get the water taxi back to the airport at the end and watch the hotel staff and boat pilot fight over who puts your luggage in the boat to get the tip.
The Murano glass place is a good visit along with the Doge's Palace and St Marks Square.
You will get lost, especially if you wander the lanes at night which can be very spooky.
I took my wife there for her 40th birthday and we had a great time, it is steeped in history.
Coffee in the Florian is a must as it is the oldest cafe in the world, supposedly, but watch the parquet floor as it is quite loose in places due to the flooding that happens.
St Mark's Basilica is impressive, as well as the Rialto Bridge and the Gondoliers.
Great view from the bell tower just outside the square, though it did look a bit iffy back then.
I can't remember the name, but we found a small restaurant, where all the walls were covered with candle wax which had built up over all the years and someone had sculptured it into masks, faces and shapes, the Goulash Bolognaise was so good that I had two lots.
We had a room at a hotel on the Lido, another island just off the coast and got a book of water bus tickets for the duration.
The folks at the hotel thought that wifey was an actress and I was her bodyguard !
All this was 16 years ago though, probably changed lots since then, fond memories.

Raleigh Chopper · Sep 11, 2017

It has changed.
The Doge's palace is now a Weatherspoons.

Questions · Sep 11, 2017

The Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti is a stunning building that houses some superb art if like me that's what you like. I spent most of my 2/3 days in galleries and did the 'Just one Canaletto' gag enough times for my wife to threaten divorce.
Normally when you arrive in a great city by train you sometimes have to check you've come to the right place.
Not Venice - you come out of the station and just gulp when you see The Grand Canal for the first time.
Couldn't get out of St Marks square quick enough though, so busy. To be honest although I suppose you have to see it there are so many beautiful piazzas and walks that one shouldn't waste too long there.

Questions · Sep 11, 2017

Oh yeah ......and f.ucking gondoliers. ( one for the old Python fans there)

Herr Tubthumper · Sep 11, 2017

PILTDOWN MAN said:
Flooded when I went. Struggled to get about.

Gondola?

Herr Tubthumper · Sep 11, 2017

Questions said:
The Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti is a stunning building that houses some superb art if like me that's what you like. I spent most of my 2/3 days in galleries and did the 'Just one Canaletto' gag enough times for my wife to threaten divorce.
Normally when you arrive in a great city by train you sometimes have to check you've come to the right place.
Not Venice - you come out of the station and just gulp when you see The Grand Canal for the first time.
Couldn't get out of St Marks square quick enough though, so busy. To be honest although I suppose you have to see it there are so many beautiful piazzas and walks that one shouldn't waste too long there.

Just one Canaletto gag noted. I'll see how many times I can say it.

PILTDOWN MAN · Sep 11, 2017

Herr Tubthumper said:
Gondola?

No, unable to see if they were in a canal or street. Everyone stayed indoors.

smudge · Sep 13, 2017

Just back from a run, great way to do a bit of sightseeing if you don't have time. Certainly some of the best views while running you'll get. Need to know where you're going though, which I've finally worked out after many runs. You can't go in the main tourist areas, just too crowded.

KingKev · Sep 13, 2017

Ciccheti
Aperetivi

Sorted &#55357;&#56397;

Dorset Seagull · Sep 13, 2017

I know I will be in the minority but I found it all a bit commercial with the gondolas less than romantic with all the texting and mobile phone calls. To be fair I was only there on a day trip and it was 40 degrees with stifling heat. It felt a bit like a glorified version of the Lanes

Raleigh Chopper · Sep 13, 2017

Dorset Seagull said:
View attachment 89306 I know I will be in the minority but I found it all a bit commercial with the gondolas less than romantic with all the texting and mobile phone calls. To be fair I was only there on a day trip and it was 40 degrees with stifling heat. It felt a bit like a glorified version of the Lanes

I am not much of a romantic but Mrs Chopper and I took a Gondola in the evening and asked to stay on the tiny back canals, all dimly lit against the old decaying houses, went past Casanovas house, it really was extremely romantic, so much so that I proposed to her under the bridge of sighs.
I am failing to see how you can compare Venice to any part of Brighton. Venice is totally unique, even commercialised.
Even the homeless beggers are in dinghys.

Questions · Sep 13, 2017

All this talk has made me think I want to go back so am booking tomorrow for January. I want to see it quieter this time. Can visit Padua as well which we didn't have time for last time. Flights £50 at moment..... that'll do.

Questions · Sep 13, 2017

Dorset Seagull said:
View attachment 89306 I know I will be in the minority but I found it all a bit commercial with the gondolas less than romantic with all the texting and mobile phone calls. To be fair I was only there on a day trip and it was 40 degrees with stifling heat. It felt a bit like a glorified version of the Lanes

The Lanes........ Venice....... :lolol:

Does the Sussex Arms still have those Bellini and Titians on the the back wall.

Raleigh Chopper · Sep 13, 2017

Questions said:
All this talk has made me think I want to go back so am booking tomorrow for January. I want to see it quieter this time. Can visit Padua as well which we didn't have time for last time. Flights £50 at moment..... that'll do.

Venice can be chuffing cold in winter and this may sound stupid but it is prone to flooding.
If I went back I would like to go at carnival time, all those fantastic masks and costumes, I think it is in springtime but not sure.

Questions · Sep 13, 2017

Raleigh Chopper said:
Venice can be chuffing cold in winter and this may sound stupid but it is prone to flooding.
If I went back I would like to go at carnival time, all those fantastic masks and costumes, I think it is in springtime but not sure.

Acqua alta occurs all the time around full and half moons but it's mainly the lagoon area around St Marks that floods. If it does there are areas you can visit that rarely flood.Couldnt face all the hoardes again in summer. Went to Rome last January and it was -4 with a biting wind but it never bothers me. Long Johns and a few grapas and you're sorted.

Shropshire Seagull · Sep 13, 2017

Apparently, there's more canals in Brum than Venice [but fewer Gondolas].
Bet you won't find a shop selling masks in Venice either .....
Pizza & gilato a must in one of the little back streets [passages] is a must.
We did a guided tour of the Basilica and all in the tour party were issued with walkie-talkies with ear pieces so the guide could talk quietly but everyone could hear every word [and in English too] - best ten-Euros spent while I was there.

Nitram · Sep 14, 2017

Venice

If you are only there a few days stay in the main part of the city close to St Mark's Square. It will enable you to wander around early in the morning and evening when no one else is around. It essentially gets busy when the tourist ships dock during the day. Highly recommend the Bauer Hotel.
You will also be close to the Damien Hurst exhibition and a short walk (ten minutes) to the Rialto bridge. If you walk from the Rialto to the Fish market you will pass a number of restaurants by the Grand Canal. It's a good place to sit and have a drink. They were the first banks of Venice. This area in the evening also has lots of bars where younger Venetians hang out drinking wine and chatting it has a really nice vibe.
Near the Rialto up a side alley is the Trattoria alla Madonna, a good place for lunch and has wonderful spider crab.
Just north of this area is a great restaurant Vechio Fritolin that we try and go in when we visit Venice. http://www.veciofritolin.it/it/homepage

I would limit the places to visit if you are on a short trip.
Must do is the Doges Palace and if interested in modern art Peggy Guggenheim Museum. Trip up the tower (Campanile) in St Marks Square, but get there before 10am. If you don't want to queue for St Marks, go to the side entrance where the marble lions are, and see what time the services are and walk in.
On the canal the vaporetto No.1 will take you along the grand canal.
Venice is full of little bars serving 'tapas' style dishes part of the fun is just wandering around getting lost and finding new bars. Get away from the main areas and you will be surprised how few people you will see, especially at night, when it can feel quite creepy, especially if you remember the film 'Don't look now.'
Off the wall suggestion is to go to the Jewish Area. It's was the original ghetto area and can be accessed through a wooden door which was the one closed at night to segregate the area. There is some moving artwork in the Square.
As others have said on arrival at the airport book a private launch to take you into Venice it's well worth the expense. Despite what others have said Venice can be no more expensive than going out in Brighton to a good restaurant, you can pay the earth but there are plenty of reasonable places to eat and drink.
Have a good trip.

Albion my Albion · Sep 14, 2017

I've mostly found the ghost adventures in older Euro cities very interesting.

http://www.venice-tourism.com/en/events/ghosts-venice

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